Which agency ranked as one of Australia’s top booking sites?

Not sure. Young adult businessman have a doubt.

Where do you book your flights, accomodation or holiday packages? Maybe you go straight to the source, but we bet you usually head to an online booking platform instead.

But which ones are most popular for hotels – both here and in other countries?

AND – most importantly – which Aussie travel agency landed a spot on this coveted list?

Well we’re here to answer those burning questions today with new data from SiteMinder. The data shows the top 15 revenue-generating booking channels (sounds fancy, we know) of 2017 for Australia’s hotels.

The lists are based on the 72 million hotel reservations that passed through SiteMinder’s channel management solution during the year which produced $29.13 billion in gross revenue for the company’s 28,000 hotel customers around the world. Wowee.

The top booking channel that generated the greatest revenue for hotels in Australia and other key tourism destinations in 2017 is an obvious winner – Booking.com.

It also topped the lists in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, the Middle East and the USA & Canada.

The top 15 are a range of booking channels – from hotel websites to wholesalers to global distribution systems.

And the only traditional travel agency to land a spot on the list was – you guessed it – Flight Centre, scraping into the list at lucky last #15.

SiteMinder’s Managing Director, Mike Ford, said that being able to book through a number of channels has a massive impact on a hotel’s success.

“These lists are testament to the incredible, material impact that a broad distribution strategy, which caters to a diverse business mix from various feeder markets, can have on a hotel’s bottom line,” he said.

“They also prove the enormous – and growing – value of direct and corporate bookings, with hotel websites and global distribution systems featuring in almost every list this year.

“Additionally, we see that hotels continue to look to the wholesaler sector as an important provider of guests, with a number of the world’s leading bed banks featuring in every list globally,” Ford added.

Australia’s top 15 booking channels together contributed 87 per cent of all revenue that passed through SiteMinder’s channel manager for Aussie hotels in 2017, proving their effectiveness in attracting, reaching and converting consumers.

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Speaking on the top performers in Australia, Brad Haines, Regional Manager – Pacific at SiteMinder, said the top performing booking platforms in Australia attract both international and domestic travellers.

“This marks Ctrip’s first appearance on the list, proving the growing value of Chinese travellers to the Australian hotel market,” he said.

“Indeed, China is now the country’s second-largest source of inbound tourist arrivals and we predict Ctrip will continue climbing up from here.

“However, it’s clear Australian hotels need not only attract international travellers, but also domestic travellers, with several locally-based channels once again making the list.”

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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