MIAMI – Hotels and other tourism businesses seeking bookings through travel agencies are facing growing pressure to provide consistent prices, detailed information and clear sustainability credentials as agents become more selective about which products they recommend to travelers.
A global survey of more than 750 travel agents found that 94% consider price parity very important, while 63% said they would avoid booking an accommodation if they discovered discrepancies in its pricing.
The findings come from a biennial study conducted by Takedown Research for travel distribution companies Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport.
The results highlight the importance of maintaining consistent rates across distribution channels at a time when agents can increasingly compare prices and content through sophisticated digital platforms.
Hotel information itself has also become an important part of the sales process. According to the research, 90% of travel agents use descriptions supplied by hotels when comparing properties and making recommendations to clients.
Sustainability is also moving higher on the list of factors considered during the booking process.
The survey found that 88% of agents believe sustainability is important to their customers when selecting a supplier. A lack of environmental information or credentials can influence booking decisions, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The findings could be particularly relevant for tourism-dependent destinations such as Curaçao, where hotels and other tourism businesses increasingly compete internationally for bookings distributed through travel agents and digital reservation systems.
The study also found that advertising within Global Distribution Systems can influence agents’ purchasing decisions. Approximately two out of three agents said advertisements appearing within GDS platforms could affect their booking behavior, while one in four reported having booked a hotel as a direct result of an advertisement.
Exclusive offers appear to have the strongest influence. Fifty-seven percent of agents identified GDS-exclusive offers as something that could encourage them to make a booking.
Verified rate parity was cited by 36%, while loyalty benefits and summaries of customer reviews were each mentioned by 34%.
The research suggests advertising can also have an effect beyond an immediate booking. Visibility within a GDS can increase brand recognition and make a hotel or other tourism company more likely to be considered during future searches and recommendations.
For hotels, airlines, destinations and other tourism suppliers, the findings indicate that simply making inventory available through distribution systems is no longer enough.
Travel agents increasingly expect competitive and consistent prices, accurate and comprehensive product information and sustainability details that can easily be incorporated into recommendations to their customers.
With artificial intelligence also becoming more deeply integrated into the travel sales process, the quality and consistency of the information supplied by tourism businesses could become even more important as both agents and technology increasingly use that data to compare competing destinations and products.