Hospitality’s $2.5 Billion Brawl

4 Min Read By Marty Hahnfeld

Ask any hotel industry executive to describe the biggest misstep in their industry over the past 20 years and it’s a safe bet you’ll get the same answer: Hotel brands didn’t understand the significance OTA’s would play quickly enough, and once they did see the big picture, they didn’t act forcefully enough to take control of the situation.

Will history repeat itself in the restaurant industry? Not if brands take control now.

Yes, we’re talking about hotels. Why? Because it’s hugely relevant and the table is set for the restaurant industry to end up in the same situation.

Let’s start with the basics. OTA is an acronym for “Online Travel Agent”. You’ve likely used one to book a room or airfare by using sites like Expedia, Orbitz, or Booking.com -- all popular OTA’s (there are dozens more).

The OTA’s got their start in the mid-1990’s by marketing, mostly, what was considered surplus hotel room inventory. They charged brands a hefty 10-20 percent commission for…