Online Travel Agencies Declining Advantage

Here's a business model undergoing a quiet change: The Online Travel Agency (OTA). Many of the giant online agencies are seeing a slowdown in their booking revenue and unique visitors. This is happening for many reasons. Airlines are no longer giving these websites any pricing breaks or advantages, so that is a significant factor that travelers are beginning to notice. Now hotels are also realizing that may be they do not need OTA's as much. Some major hotel chains have collaborated on a new website venture that is meant to compete and take back market share from OTA's. Hotels are also re-inventing the payment methods to cut on the burgeoning distribution costs. Going forward, the best OTA's will be niche players, catering to specific destinations or offering exclusive deals to specific target audiences. The days of one-size-fits-all, and all-things-to-all-people is coming to an end. www.premieretravel.com