For over twenty years, hotel marketing has relied on the traditional online distribution mix—split between OTAs, indirect B2B wholesalers, and direct channels like a hotel’s own website.

​

This strategy worked exceptionally well in the early 2010s when platforms like Expedia and Booking.com were still driving the monumental shift from offline to online travel bookings.

​

Social media, at the time, was still an emerging phenomenon. Discovery and inspiration were largely in the hands of traditional media outlets, while influential voices on social platforms were just beginning to find their footing and build their audiences.

​

Fast forward to today, and while OTAs remain a vital part of hotel distribution, the landscape of traveler expectations and marketing possibilities has evolved dramatically. The problem? Hotel distribution hasn’t kept up. The way OTAs present hotel options today remains largely unchanged from a decade ago—a massmarket transactional experience:

​

• Small, static thumbnail images.
• Text-heavy descriptions.
• Limited video content (if existent at all).

​

The emphasis remains primarily on price comparison and speed but fails to capture the unique, experiential value hotels provide.

​

Despite this change, OTAs continue to play a dominant role in hotel distribution.

• According to Skift’s latest Hotel Distribution Outlook, OTAs account for the largest share of hotel gross bookings (despite a minor decrease in market share over the past five years).
• When combined with indirect B2B wholesale channels, third-party intermediaries are responsible for approximately two-thirds of all hotel sales today, underscoring the continued reliance on these platforms.

​

The Role of OTAs: Why They Still Matter (But Must Evolve)

​

To be clear: OTAs undeniably play a vital role in the hospitality ecosystem.

• They solve discoverability challenges, particularly for smaller, independent hotels.
• They invest in cutting-edge technology, data, and media presence that individual hotels cannot match.
• Most importantly, they provide scale, bringing in substantial demand and booking, providing a reliable source of demand for properties of all sizes.

​

In simple terms: Hotels rely on OTAs to reach global audiences that would otherwise remain out of reach. OTAs are the backbone of demand generation for many properties. However, the limitations of the current OTA model are increasingly difficult to ignore.

• The Commission Trade-Off: Is the Value Worth the Cost?
• The Static, Transactional Content Problem
• The Missed Opportunity: Why Static Content Falls Short
• Reimagining Hotel Marketing: A Shared Opportunity
• The Case for Change: Hotels Want Direct Bookings