Leading technology company STAAH, which assists hoteliers in realizing their maximum income potential, has released a list of the distribution channels that generated the most booking revenue for Indian hotels in the last 12 months.
Indian travellers continue to favour GoMMT as their go-to online booking platform, with Agoda and Booking.com coming in second and third, respectively, from the previous year. These massive OTAs continue to have an impact on every step of travel planning and booking thanks to their unparalleled reach and budgets. Based on reservations made through STAAH’s extensive 500+ integrations, Expedia and Airbnb are still listed among the top 10 distribution channels.
The percentage of lower-cost direct bookings made through hotel websites is steadily growing, even though OTAs will continue to be a major channel for the foreseeable future.In the list of the top channels for 2024, STAAH SwiftBook, the booking engine linked to hotel websites, has risen the greatest, moving up two spots to number four.
According to Rajesh Ghanshani, Director of Partnerships at STAAH, “the increase in direct bookings is a reflection of the increased investments we’ve seen among hotels in their websites, including their booking engines and payment options, as well as the specialized conversion tools they connect with.”
Three newcomers—ResLive.com, Hotelbeds, and Cleartrip—made the top 10 list in India. This new generation of channels demonstrates how willing hotel companies are to use a more comprehensive, multichannel strategy to serve more specialized or challenging-to-reach clientele.
Consistent performance was also demonstrated by global distribution systems, with STAAH GDS ranking seventh on the list.
“We are in a new era of hotel guests—travelers who are more sophisticated in their booking preferences and behaviors,” adds Rajesh. “As they pursue a more comprehensive hotel commerce strategy to sell, market, manage, and grow their business, our data demonstrates the willingness of hoteliers to adopt both new and established methods to attract these customers.”
Following COVID, the Indian hospitality and tourism sector has been expanding healthily thanks to both a steadily expanding middle class with significant discretionary means and foreign visitors drawn by spiritual and medicinal experiences.
“Accommodation providers can anticipate benefiting from India’s anticipated growth in hospitality and tourism if they continue to implement a more comprehensive online commerce strategy that incorporates both new and established methods,”adds Rajesh.
