STR Global, one of the
most influential data suppliers of market metrics to hoteliers, soon will begin
providing monthly reports on booking channel data. Geared largely for hotel revenue managers, the
reports eventually could change the way hoteliers look at pricing, STR chairman
and co-founder Randy Smith told BTN.
For about two years, STR
has been compiling data from 25,000 hotels for a massive study on booking
channels. Smith said the project has, in terms of participation, "been one
of the most successful launches we've ever had."
After presenting the
full data at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles later this
month, STR plans to begin tracking channel data on a monthly basis, much as it now
does for such basic metrics as occupancy, average rates and revenues. Smith
said STR has secured agreements from "just about every major brand."
With these reports,
hoteliers would be able to track how many travelers are booking directly
through hotel brand sites or what a hotel's market share is within a particular
booking channel. Ultimately, the reports will help revenue managers "price
their product better," Smith said.
"Tracking this over
time tends to be the real key to what they do with the data and what decisions
they make based on it," he said. "When we get launched, it should
have a huge impact."
Preliminary data
released from the study already has challenged some of the conventional wisdom
in hotel channel management. For example, it showed the "billboard effect"—the
idea that a hotel's presence on a site like Expedia or Orbitz will increase
visibility and generate as many as eight additional direct bookings for every online
travel agency booking—is not as pervasive as once thought.