The shifts in hotel bookings are well documented. Ever since online distribution started, more travelers book online and through digital channels that historically didn’t exist. And within the last 5 years there are important shifts happening with the booking behavior of customers booking through a Third-Party Agency. This notion or thought is false. The booking behavior of the business traveler is also shifting at accelerating rates over the past 5 years. In fact, more and more business travelers are booking travel agency based business through channels outside of GDS.
Below is a table displaying the breakdown of all travel agency production, excluding OTAs, across 35,000 branded properties in the United States broken down by the channel booked through.
Travel Agency (excluding OTAs) Room Nights as % of Total. January 1, 2015 - October 31, 2019
The big takeaway is in 2019 (YTD through October), 21% of all agency business, excluding OTAs, was booked outside of GDS. Industry-wide that’s $2.5B of business booked in the non-traditional method. Across a portfolio of properties, or at individual properties, depending on the property and market, that could be ~$1,000s - ~$100,000s of agency business booking and actualizing outside of GDS. And that number is growing YoY.
Are you sure you’re aware of all your agency business and market demand?
Improving agency business performance is one of the few things that is completely within the control of the property revenue and sales team. The first step is just gaining full intelligence - being able to see the full picture of agency business your property has actualized vs. the full demand present in the market.
The whole goal of our Third Party View product on the Hummingbird Platform is to:
We are able to track, map and report on all IATA/agency associated bookings regardless of Channel - no matter the way it was booked if it was associated with an IATA # - you are aware of it.
We let you filter and slice that data to match the profile of business that best suits your property’s situational, seasonal or budgetary needs vs. available demand.
3. Convert that targeted business by having the business intelligence to more accurately and evenly negotiate and convert that uncaptured business.
Know competitive ADRs and revenue metrics. Understand lead time, length of stay, loyalty and booking pattern details that more efficiently and effectively target agency business that is right for you.
The first and most fundamental step in improving is being able to understand what is possible vs. what you’re currently doing. At the most basic level, Third Party View empowers and enables users by providing a clear, complete(all channels) and fully accurate picture of agency business booking into your hotel and market.