Hotel websites hold firm in booking rankings, Airbnb makes progress

Hotels websites and online travel agencies continue to jostle for position when it comes to the total booking revenue for properties.

SiteMinder’s annual look at where bookings come from reveals that direct bookings via a hotel website are holding on to their position in the top five in rankings, or have climbed year-over-year.

The report, which delves into 20 top tourism markets including the U.K. and the U.S., reveals for the most part that Booking.com is driving the most revenue to hotels, with Expedia second and hotel direct coming in third.

Further findings in the report show the emergence of Airbnb in six markets for the first time despite the company only launching its hotel distribution partnership less than two years ago.

James Bishop, senior director of global demand partnerships for SiteMinder, cites the rise of Airbnb as evidence of the industry’s willingness to adopting it as a partner as well as the platform’s evolution in the minds of users.

It also reveals Trip.com's entrance into the top 12 in Italy, a second European market for the Chinese giant, alongside France.

A further winner in terms of driving booking revenue in the past year is Agoda, which “made leaps across the EMEA region,” according to SiteMinder.

Bishop adds: “Encouragingly, direct online reservations continue to contribute strongly to hotel revenue globally, with hotel websites remaining among the top four channels in the majority of markets and, in many instances, jumping up the ranks.

"It is clear that hoteliers are actively seeking to drive direct bookings, through greater knowledge and innovation, as well as investments in metasearch.”

The company says its platform processed 105 million online bookings in 2019 bringing its hotel customers $35 billion in revenue.

The top 12 hotel booking channels, based on total gross revenue:

Top channels for the U.K.: