Online travel operators Booking and Expedia, leaders in online accommodation bookings in the EU

Booking and Expedia are the online leaders for hotel bookings in the European Union and there are no signs of significant changes in this market share or the entry of new online travel agencies. This is the conclusion of a study published by the EU Commission on Friday, August 26.

The study was carried out last year and covered the period 2017-2021 in the EU member states of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Poland, Spain and Sweden. It found that 44% of rooms booked at independent hotels were booked through online travel agencies (OTAs) Booking and Expedia.

"The level of room price and room availability differentiation applied by hotels both between different OTAs and between hotels' own websites and OTAs appears to have decreased,” the market study concluded, in addition to finding that commissions paid by hotels to OTAs appear to have remained stable or, at most, slightly decreased.

This study was carried out in an attempt by the European Union to obtain up-to-date data on the distribution practices of hotels and to determine whether these practices differ from one member state to another.

As a result of this study, it was also reported that 19% of independent hotels prefer their own online sales channels with better room availability. In 2016, the percentage was 30%.

The study also points out that in some countries, such as Cyprus, almost all independent hotels use OTAs, while in Poland only about two-thirds of hotels use online travel agencies.

In conclusion, Booking and Expedia are the preferred online travel agencies for most tourists who choose to travel on their own. And it's easy to see why this happens. Hoteliers get a lot of exposure simply by being enrolled in one or both booking platforms. Tourists have a powerful tool to search and book their preferred accommodation, browsing through thousands of offers. It would be too complicated for a tourist to go through dozens of hotel websites to look for a deal. At the same time, hoteliers don't want to bother with dozens and hundreds of contracts with reseller agencies. In the end it's all about logistics and optimizing time. CAREFUL! Here we are talking about independent hotels, which are in great demand for city breaks, occasional trips, business trips, etc. We are not talking about the big hotel chains or the resorts for summer / winter stays.