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Rate parity issues
I have just added a non-refundable rate with 10% discount which then excludes breakfast (included in the normal rate).
Now I'm probably going to get issues with rate parity with other OTA's.
How do you deal with this?
Rate Parity is now illegal in the UK - not sure which Country you are in.
Our direct booking rate are one price, we add up to 15% on to booking.com rates and we add just 12% on to Expedia rates (as we value that partnership more).
If one OTA gets too "controlling" we just up their rates.
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your response.
That is a completely different game than here in South Africa. I have to be careful with my rates on all channels... or I will get penalized (in ranking).
Also interesting you say you value your partnership with Expedia more. For me Expedia is tiny compared to booking.com.
Glad to hear you can control your OTA's and not the other way around (like here)...
Greetings from the summer :)
Hi
I said I value Expedia far more - I didn't say they get the same number of bookings lol
I just tend to reward those I find easier to work with by offering slightly lower rates - in 2017, bookings via Expedia increased as a result (not massively but enough to give them an extra £1k in commission this year), which has obviously meant a loss of commission to those OTAs who always make things as hard as they can.
For us, it is now all about driving direct bookings. The OTAs aren't going to change but we can.
Everything we do says "book direct" - whether it be links on emails, business cards next to free bottles of water, correct website design (and monitoring) and even signature lines on all forums we use (no matter what they cover).
And, for less than £200, we have 7 large canvas prints around the hotel which show local landscapes, attractions etc with our website address on them and the book direct message.
Our direct bookings are building really well as a result.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the input and food for thought.
Wish you all the best in the new year!