Hotel Versus OTA Direct-Booking Tussle Will Shape Distribution for Years to Come
Skift Take
The Most Important Story: 2024
These are the headlines that drove the conversation in the travel industry in 2024 and will continue to dominate in the new year. See all storiesOne of the most important stories regarding online travel agencies and hotels in 2024 was a Skift Research report — and accompanying posts like this — forecasting that hotel websites could overtake online travel agencies and be the dominant digital channel for hoteliers by 2030.
This balance of power between the distribution channels has been a key friction point since the early 2000s when Expedia and Hotels.com burst on the scene, demanded pricey commissions, and dominated hotel distribution.
The pendulum has swung back and forth over the years, with online travel agencies picking up share coming out of the pandemic. In 2024, according to Skift Research, online travel agencies had a slight edge over hoteliers in hotel gross bookings, $266 billion to $262 billion, respectively.
The Hotel CaseThe case for hotel dominance by 2030 is based on a a hotelier survey wher
