eCommons

 

The Billboard Effect: Online Travel Agent Impact on Non-OTA Reservation Volume

Other Titles

Abstract

Hotels that are listed on third-party distributors’ websites, commonly known as online travel agents (OTA), gain a reservation benefit in addition to direct sales. That benefit, often called the billboard effect, involves a boost in reservations through the hotel’s own distribution channels (including its website), due to the hotel’s being listed on the OTA website. This report provides a quantitative assessment of the incremental reservations through non-OTA distribution channels received as a result of being listed on an OTA site. To quantify the billboard effect, this pseudo experiment examined the effects for certain properties operated by JHM Hotels that are listed on Expedia.com. The study found that when the hotels were listed on Expedia, they saw an increase in reservations from their own distribution channels (that is, not through Expedia). The theory behind this phenomenon is that the would-be guest gains information about the hotel from its OTA listing, but then books the room through a channel controlled by the hotel or its chain family. The study estimates the incremental reservations from listing on Expedia (not including the reservations actually made at Expedia) at 7.5 to 26 percent for the four properties in this study.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2009-10-02

Publisher

Keywords

hotels; online travel agents (OTA); reservations

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Degree Discipline

Degree Name

Degree Level

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Required Publisher Statement: © Cornell University. This report may not be reproduced or distributed without the express permission of the publisher

Rights URI

Types

article

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record