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    ASSIGNMENT

    Uploaded by

    Iqra Maroof
    Online travel agencies arose in the 1990s, allowing customers to book trips online without relying on in-person travel agents. However, OTAs now face negative publicity. OTAs charge high commissions of 10-20% per booking from hotels and hosts. They also impose strict policies on refunds and room changes that customers dislike. Additionally, finding availability across multiple OTAs can be time-consuming. To overcome this negative publicity, OTAs need to focus more on building their brand through marketing rather than relying solely on online ads. Developing strong brand recognition will help OTAs gain customer loyalty and trust in the long run.

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    ASSIGNMENT

    Uploaded by

    Iqra Maroof
    21 views4 pages
    Online travel agencies arose in the 1990s, allowing customers to book trips online without relying on in-person travel agents. However, OTAs now face negative publicity. OTAs charge high commissions of 10-20% per booking from hotels and hosts. They also impose strict policies on refunds and room changes that customers dislike. Additionally, finding availability across multiple OTAs can be time-consuming. To overcome this negative publicity, OTAs need to focus more on building their brand through marketing rather than relying solely on online ads. Developing strong brand recognition will help OTAs gain customer loyalty and trust in the long run.

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    Online travel agencies arose in the 1990s, allowing customers to book trips online without relying on in-person travel agents. However, OTAs now face negative publicity. OTAs charge high commissions of 10-20% per booking from hotels and hosts. They also impose strict policies on refunds and room changes that customers dislike. Additionally, finding availability across multiple OTAs can be time-consuming. To overcome this negative publicity, OTAs need to focus more on building their brand through marketing rather than relying solely on online ads. Developing strong brand recognition will help OTAs gain customer loyalty and trust in the long run.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    21 views4 pages

    ASSIGNMENT

    Uploaded by

    Iqra Maroof
    Online travel agencies arose in the 1990s, allowing customers to book trips online without relying on in-person travel agents. However, OTAs now face negative publicity. OTAs charge high commissions of 10-20% per booking from hotels and hosts. They also impose strict policies on refunds and room changes that customers dislike. Additionally, finding availability across multiple OTAs can be time-consuming. To overcome this negative publicity, OTAs need to focus more on building their brand through marketing rather than relying solely on online ads. Developing strong brand recognition will help OTAs gain customer loyalty and trust in the long run.

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    of 4

    TOURISM TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION

    AMITY UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT


    Dubai Campus
    NAME:
    ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCIES

    Online travel agencies arose in 1990’s using internet as a source for customers to book their trip
    online to travel worldwide. The booking and reservations for the users were now improvised and
    they could easily plan a trip without relying on a travel agent in person. The first stop for users
    using OTA usually are Booking.co,, AirBnb and TripAdvisor as it helps customer in not only
    booking, but also offers value such as recognizing problems, searching information, looking for
    alternatives, etc. OTA’s provide benefits like global access, price transparency, competitiveness,
    trust and versatility, access to new markets, micro-targeting, variable demand. It also helps
    customers who like to compare accommodation prices. OTAs also have contracts with different
    hotels and hosts and help them get guests. As much as OTA reduces the manual workload they
    still ask for abusive commissions as high as 30% per booking. Keeping these things in mind,
    there has been a negative impact on Online Travel Agencies.

    NEGATIVE PUBLICITY OF OTA

     Commission charge by OTA on every sale is between 10%-20% of gross cost.


     Different OTA websites have forced terms and conditions such as “No Refund Policy”
    and “Last moment Room Changing”
     It is very time consuming and exhausting to find a way of running through room
    availability across different OTAs, front desk and telephone sales.
     Customer still has to invest in multi-channel marketing strategy.
     No matter how much Online Travel Agencies makes your life easy and helps you fill
    rooms, still there is no direct contact. Direct contact with customers is really beneficial to
    build trust but OTA doesn’t provide this facility.
     The lower prices can be costly because such OTAs charges high fees for flight changes or
    cancellations.
     It’s better to book directly using an airline as some OTAs charge high penalty in case a
    customer changes plane ticket within 24 hours.
     The lower price may also indicate fewer customer support staff leading to slow response
    to your calls or e-mails. So if a customer needs urgent help, he may not get it.
     Not every OTA will meet all the requirements of a customer.
     Software will definitely have bugs or technical errors. A customer may pay twice for the
    ticket if there is a bug in the OTA software and the “Refund Policy” is really rare and
    slow in such cases.
     Constant access to internet is required for such OTAs. It may create problems for
    customers in remote areas or those who doesn’t.

    HOW TO OVERCOME THE NEGATIVE PUBLICITY

    Going by the negative publicity points, it’s really astonishing to see that vast majority of
    consumers have little to no knowledge of OTAs. That’s because OTAs invest more on Google
    Ads instead of focusing on brands and markets. The ads are great, no doubt, but it’s actually
    nothing compared to what is needed to be done. Instead of focusing on Google Ads, they should
    implement these changes and focus more on brand and marketing and for this most of OTAs
    have had 2 years of pandemic, but their efforts have been stagnant. Building a brand and
    marketing is crucially important in the long-term success of a business as without brand, it is
    nearly impossible to gain the sort of power that is possible as without a brand OTAs exist just for
    the sake of existing and not because you are the need of customers. Owning amazing techs, tons
    of money, and even customer data is not important, but owning customers’ heart is more
    important. So if a brand is build, then gaining followers is easy. And when that brand becomes
    synonymous with the product, then it has won. The rest are just playing catch-up.
    REFERENCES

    bgraham (2014). Advantages and disadvantages of online travel agents. [online]


    nibusinessinfo.co.uk. Available at:
    https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/advantages-and-disadvantages-online-
    travel-agents.

    Orioly. (2021). Every Tour Operator Should Know This About Online Booking. [online]
    Available at: https://www.orioly.com/online-booking-advantages-disadvantages/.
    Inspire 4 Travel - Travel, Eat, Repeat. (2018). 3 Advantages and Disadvantages of
    Using Online Travel Agents. [online] Available at:
    https://inspire4travel.com/2018/12/05/3-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-
    online-travel-agents/.

    www.phocuswire.com. (n.d.). Do online travel agencies suffer from brand


    blindness? [online] Available at: https://www.phocuswire.com/do-otas-suffer-from-
    brand-blindness [Accessed 13 Dec. 2021].

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