The company found that the leading demand channels, Booking.com and Expedia, performed the highest for U.S. lodging businesses with Airbnb climbing the list to No. 3. Airbnb continues to perform as it rises in popularity with more traditional hotel businesses adopting the channel in recent years, signifying the continued convergence of the hotel and short-term rental industries.
“One constant for lodging businesses is competition for bookings,” said Sebastien Leitner, VP, strategic partnerships, Cloudbeds. “And now as we see lodging sectors start to merge, putting traditional hotels in direct competition with short-term rentals, the competition is only going to get more intense. As the industry changes, it will become more important for hoteliers to optimize their distribution strategy with the right channel mix to increase their visibility, target the right audiences and generate more demand.”
Top 10 revenue-generating distribution channels in the U.S.:
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Airbnb
- Hostelworld
- Vrbo
- Agoda
- HotelTonight
- HRS
- Hotelbeds
- Google Hotel Search
With hundreds of distribution channels available, it can be challenging for properties to choose the right channel mix for optimal exposure across different regions and target audiences. Over the past few years, Cloudbeds has reviewed the top-performing distribution strategies for properties of various sizes and found a 6+ channel recipe encompassing global, regional, local and niche OTAs that best fit a property performs the highest. Data revealed that lodging businesses connected to at least six distribution channels saw an average revenue increase of 27% in comparison to properties connected to only one channel.
For more information on building a strong channel mix and a comprehensive overview of all the top distribution channels, download a free copy of “The Big Book of OTAs: A Hotelier’s Guide to Top Distribution Channels” at cloudbeds.com/online-travel-agencies/.
Tags: Agoda, Airbnb, Booking.com, Cloudbeds, Expedia, Google Hotel Search, Hostelworld, Hotelbeds, HotelTonight, HRS, Sebastien Leitner, Vrbo
