U.S. OTAs pass $100B revenue mark for first time

Online travel agencies based in the United States maintained double-digit year-over-year gains in 2023, passing the $100 billion mark for the first time.

According to Phocuswright’s latest research on the segment U.S. Online Travel Agency Market Report 2023-2027, strong travel demand and high prices lifted all segments, especially hotel - OTAs' bread and butter.

It was also a year that the nation's largest OTA, Expedia, slightly decelerated as it established a new platform to consolidate all its brands. Still, demand was enough to enable Expedia, Booking and their other brands (Travelocity, Hotels.com, Priceline, etc.) to outperform the market and maintain their 21% share of U.S. travel gross bookings.

Here are 4 key takeaways from the research report:

• U.S. OTAs experienced another strong year of double-digit growth in 2023, albeit a slower pace than the previous two years as consumer demand begins to soften post-pandemic.  
• All segments showed strong gains, including air and hotel, which were lifted by high airfares and record ADRs, respectively. 
• Hotels, OTAs' "sweet spot," now represent 58% of OTA gross bookings. 
• OTAs now account for roughly one fifth of the total travel market and one half of the online market in the U.S.