Do you believe in love at first sight?
I do.
I saw her standing there.
She was so majestic and graceful.
She was a true beauty.
She was just like one of those timeless movie stars.
Believe me… when I first set eyes on the flickering fireplace in the lobby, the open-air terrace overlooking the ocean… the luxury linens in the penthouse suites, I knew she was the one.
She filled my dreams with visions of what it would be like when we finally met… I thought about her every day…
BUT! As I was gathering the courage to call her up and really commit – asking her if she would be my double queen from December 18th though the 22nd… something terrible happened.
I typed her name into Google… and – in an instant – I was confronted with dozens of listings in her name.
She was all over the internet!
I couldn’t believe it at first, so I clicked on one of the links that said Expedia and it looked just like an Ashley Maddison account. Scandalous! She was offering that same double queen room at 15% less than she said it was on her own website.
I felt betrayed. And at booking.com, things got even worse!
It seems that there’s a genius discount which knocks another 10% off the already reduced price! I guess she prefers the intellectual type. I know that’s not me… but my intentions are true, and I’m sure she’ll see I’m ‘one of the good guys’ when I tell her that.
Unfortunately, good guys really do finish last. Because, as I kept scanning the internet, it became all too clear that she really would prefer I go through one of these 3rd party websites than have me book direct.
My heart sank deeper and deeper in my chest. Doesn’t anyone believe in true love anymore!?
I cringed as I clicked on her picture at Hotels Tonight. “No!” I screamed. She was listing herself at nearly 50% off her regular rates. Is she really that desperate?
What message is she sending to honest guys like me? Considering how much she pays in hefty “broker” commissions for every reservation, she must be barely making ends meet. It seems she’s not really looking for Mr. Right. Just Mr. Right-now.
I slumped down in my chair. But then I had a thought…
If she really is that desperate, then this is my chance to be her savior.
I can be the one she’s been looking for all this time. I can’t wait to see how overjoyed she’ll be when I confront her – and tell her that my love is true.
I’m sure she’ll change her ways when the real thing comes along!
I caught the next plane to San Diego that evening.
Well you won’t believe what the front desk clerk told me when I walked into the reception at just 10 minutes to midnight.
When I mentioned that I caught sight of her rates on Hotels Tonight and asked if they would match the rate for booking direct – so she could at least avoid the commissions – she didn’t even blush. Instead of being gracious about being called out, she informed me that I should make the reservation through the app! Adding, “But it takes about 15 minutes to get into my system so you can just wait over there until it does…”
How could I have been so naïve!
“You know what I’m going to do”, I said to myself. I’m going to make that 3rd party reservation. She’s going to get stuck with the commission at the end of the month, and when she finally realizes how wrong she was… and that I stole all the mini-bottles of shampoo on my way out… she’ll be sorry. And since she didn’t get my email address through the OTA, she’s never going to be able to write me to beg forgiveness and tell me how foolish she was for missing out on a guy like me… and I’ll disappear.
If she doesn’t care enough to offer the best deals when I visit her website and even call in person, then there’s no reason for me to ever think about booking direct either.
Anyway, last time, while I was browsing, there was this sweet little hotel right down the road that caught my eye… and she’s got some great reviews! Maybe these OTA sites are the way to go..?
Do you see what’s happening here?
Hotels are sending the wrong message. Most don’t have the most current rates on their own website or their booking engines, so they’re effectively showing everyone that booking direct is a bad decision. Because of this, they’re actively helping the OTAs by perpetuating the myth that consumers can always find the best prices elsewhere – actually pushing ‘would-be’ direct customers away.
But this isn’t something that happened overnight. As the old saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And many well-meaning hotels have found themselves with no choice but to rely on the OTAs since the great recession took hold. This was probably even for the best at the time…
But lumping yourself in with the crowd has a certain soul-draining effect. And many properties have lost their brand identity because of it, becoming nothing more than online commodities.
And what happens when a consumer has to choose between two seemingly similar commodities? They base their decision on price, right? That’s why so many hotels are dropping their prices and paying huge commissions these days – to attract the lowest bidder.
This is the textbook definition of the ‘damsel in distress’. And even though 2015 and 2016 have been two of THE BEST years in lodging history, for occupancy and RevPAR, there are more of these ‘damsels’ than ever before.
So why don’t they set out on their own with a ‘book direct’ campaign just like the high-society Hilton and Marriott movie stars of the industry have? Why don’t they stop driving up their marketing costs and pushing all the other hotels in the area down in a race to the bottom?
Maybe it’s because they just don’t know any better?
The ‘damsel in distress routine’ ends today.
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