by Frederic Gonzalo, ehotelier
Online Travel Agencies, better known as OTA, have been around for almost 20 years, so we really shouldn’t treat them as a novelty by now. Expedia was launched back in 1996 while Priceline was founded in 1997.
In the earlier days, OTA were seen as a convenient distribution channel where hotels and airlines could sell extra inventory. This was particularly true after the events surrounding 9-11 when the industry was focusing on security issues and improving the customer experience across the board, investing in new properties with five to ten-year programs meant to upgrade facilities. Online distribution was not really a priority, then. ...
The OTA duopoly: Priceline vs Expedia
