A new report released by Hamburg-based secondary market research company yStats.com tells of the continuing shift of global hotel and accommodation booking towards online channels. The publication, titled “Global Online Accommodation Booking Market 2018” covers the growth of online sales across 6 global regions and predicts that online travel agencies and peer-to-peer platforms will see their shares of the online lodging market increase.
Online accommodation bookings are projected to see steady growth worldwide, increasing their share of the overall lodging market. By 2022, nearly one-half of hotel booking revenues are projected to be online, and an even higher share of short-term rentals. A major part of the online accommodation market is controlled by online intermediaries, such as online travel agencies (OTAs). The world’s top 2 OTAs, Booking Holdings and Expedia, together accounted for close to 1 trillion room nights booked in 2017, according to company data cited in the yStats.com report. Direct suppliers, such as hotels, are recognizing the need to ramp up their loyalty programs and highlight experiences in order to respond to the OTA threat.
Another group of market players which challenge both OTAs and hotels in the online space are peer-to-peer accommodation sharing platforms, as yStats.com’s report reveals. Platforms such as Airbnb appeal especially to younger travelers. In the USA, the number of Airbnb users is projected to expand by more than 10 million between 2017 and 2022, and in the UK close to one in three individuals made reservations from specialized peer-to-peer platforms and apps.
Another prominent market trend is the rise of the mobile channel. The trend is especially pronounced in Latin America, where a double-digit share of mobile Internet users in Mexico and Argentina booked travel lodging on a mobile device, according to surveys cited in the yStats.com report.
