Hotel distribution must adapt and evolve

Now, more than ever, hoteliers need to adapt to the way we live and the way we buy, according to Amadeus IT Pacific.

The company recently held a roundtable to discuss the key trends influencing changes to hotel distribution both locally and globally and how Amadeus is helping travel agents and TMC’s in Australia grow their prospects.

Attending the roundtable were executives from across APAC, including Peter Waters, Director, Hotel Distribution, Amadeus IT Group, Christian Lukey, Head of Hotel Distribution, Amadeus Asia Pacific, Tony Carter, Managing Director, Amadeus IT Pacific, Benjamin Weinmann, Manager, Hotel Distribution, Amadeus IT Pacific and Justin Montgomery, Head of Commercial, Amadeus IT Pacific.

Christian Lukey spoke to Travel Weekly and said the need for the industry to adapt to the way we live and buy are two aspects are fundamental to business growth and success, distinguishing players in what is a highly fragmented market.

“Amadeus’s hotel offering is significant, it has invested in a platform that can provide both hotels and subscribers, travel agents and TMC’s with a highly efficient, new value proposition.”

The roundtable specifically addressed how hoteliers and suppliers are able to improve their competitive edge through alternative distribution solutions with a global reach, ultimately reducing booking costs and helping to secure loyalty.

Offering insight into hotel industry trends, Peter Waters explored an important and exciting transformation that the hotel booking industry is undergoing this year due to key trends such as mobility and personalisation.

“The landscape is changing at a high-velocity and the oligopoly OTAs are squeezing margins across the industry. As a result, the offline, leisure and boutique agencies need an alternative – they cannot compete with the big players by themselves. Travellers are overwhelmed by the options available at their fingertips, they now find it very difficult to understand a channel that is trusted, relevant and flexible to their needs,” Waters said.

Key discussions also brought out the the industry is fragmented, and it is an inefficient marketplace as a result. To counteract this, Amadeus has the ambition, scale, focus, dedication and resources.

Waters also reinforced, Amadeus’ position in the industry and explained the company’s two-pronged approach to hotels, acquisitions and organic development and sistribution, emphasising demand for an open marketplace from both providers and booking agents. Peter explained that Amadeus currently provides the biggest, open market for hotel players in the world.

“We’ve made investments in a number of start-ups to fuel personalisation for our customers. As a result, we’re able to develop hotel sentiment and a better understanding of the property itself so we can better communicate the benefits and match these with the needs of customers. In addition, we understand the who, why and where, allowing us to match this data and build automatic recommendations.”

Christian Lukey told Travel Weekly of the collaborative partnerships Amadeus is engaged in locally and across APAC, specifically addressing how this work brings customers the best content and quality data, down to each hotel room.

“The momentum is growing across the region with partners such as The Hotel Network and Lido, as well as our ongoing relationship with Accor. As a result, we now offer 1.4 million shopping options for customers through 421 thousand unique properties,” Lukey said.

Tony Carter concluded the significance of virtual payments in the market and the opportunity for the Hotel industry in particular.Hotel

“The opportunity presented by virtual payment technology in this market is vast as it increases efficiencies such as automated reconciliations. This is a big step forward for the industry and we look forward to announcing some exciting news in this space later in the year.”

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

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