< < < < < < < < < < < < TECHNOLOGY / INSIGHT
19
WHY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT TRIPTEASE’S PRICE CHECK WIDGET
I
f you’re a small accommodation provider and you’re wondering why you keep hearing about the controversial Price Check Widget
by TripTease, look no further. Here’s what happened, and what it means for your bed and breakfast, inn, small hotel, or guesthouse.
What happened? The largest online travel agency
(OTA) in the world,
Booking.com, has taken legal action against TripTease because of its Price Check Widget. TripTease’s Price Check Widget
sits on the result pages of hotel web- sites, showing the prices for a room at a property at 3 different OTAs. The consumer can then compare the ho- tel’s direct rate to that of the OTAs and select the best deal. According to the Priceline Group
(who own
Booking.com), TripTease is “unlawfully accessing” data to collate information provided on the widget. TripTease maintain that they
aren’t doing anything illegal. Howev- er, they removed
Booking.com from the Price Check Widget shortly after hoteliers were threatened with legal action by
Booking.com. TripTease is now putting Book-
ing.com rates back into the widget because many of the 8,000 clients they have are asking for it.
Why did it happen? TripTease say that they believe in
providing transparency and improv- ing the guest relationship between the guest and the hotel. As such, they aren’t concerned about the implica- tions for OTAs and believe that OTAs shouldn’t have anything to hide. Accommodation providers love the widget, because it strength- ens their most profitable channel:
their website. Consumers who click through from other websites to the hotel’s own website will be tempted to book direct as opposed to doing so with an OTA. In fact, TripTease claim that their widget can increase direct bookings by up to 35%. It’s evident that if these numbers
are true across the board, Booking. com could miss out on a lot of would- be commissions paid by hotels.
What does it mean for small hotels and B&B’s?
Accommodation providers of all
sizes are starting to recognize the value of having technology in place that – combined with your proper- ty’s website – helps you to increase
direct bookings. The challenge is to do it in a way
that doesn’t jeopardize your existing OTA partnerships. After all, you still need a healthy split between direct and third party bookings so you’re not putting all of your eggs in one basket. As for what comes next, we’ll
have to sit tight and see how it plays out.
Contact:
Little Hotelier Tel: +44 (0)20 3151 0101 Email:
sales@littlehotelier.com Website:
www.littlehotelier.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60