In 2024 hoteliers relied on a number of booking channels to obtain the best online visibility and raise awareness about their hotel. Finishing off another successful year, Hoteliers Guru Channel Manager and Direct Booking Engine helped generate in excess of 11.5 billion baht in hotel reservations across key destinations in Thailand.
Unsurprisingly, in the number 1 position is an online travel giant and the overall champion with a resounding lead. Booking dot Com which took in 51 % of all bookings for 2024 coming in at 5.9 billion. Agoda followed in second place at 22 % and Expedia was third with 14 % of total bookings.
Our data shows that hoteliers continue to rely on software tools like Channel Manager and Direct Booking Engine to help extend their marketing and sales efficiency to increase room occupancy, rate dynamics and profitability across the on-line ecosystem.
In 2024, we saw many new hotel customers sign up with new online distribution agencies in the B2B sector from source markets in China, the Middle East and Europe. Much of the activity mirrored efforts to promote key destinations in source markets by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Although OTA’s dominate the distribution landscape, we cannot ignore the importance of the hotels own direct booking channel as well as B2B agents. Both contributed favourably to hotel bookings coming in 5th and 6th respectively. Direct Hotel bookings represent 7 % of total bookings 2024 and what’s great about this, is the possibility to use your on-line travel partners to create a “billboard effect” about your hotel to boost direct channel awareness when travelers use an OTA to ‘window shop’ for booking deals and opportunities.
Over 2025, we see the local hospitality industry continuing to ride the trend set in place last year as well as exploring advanced distribution technologies like SWITCH operators and alternative booking platforms like AirBnB to grow the number of bookings and room nights..
The good news is that there's an abundance of booking platforms and B2B agents to sign up with that specialise in their respective market segments allowing hoteliers to pinpoint demand drivers that deliver better occupancy and ADR.
To that extent, Hoteliers Guru offers a good mix of travel partners (OTA”s / B2B agents and Wholesalers) including Travel Exchanges (IOL / Juniper) and SWITCH providers (Travel Gate) to help grow on-line distribution and market penetration.
