Booking generates as much value as Belgium's entire economy
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If OTAsOTAAn online travel agency is a channel that sells accommodation and travel online in exchange for a commission. Booking.com and Expedia are the biggest. They bring volume and visibility, but charge commissions that eat... were countries, Booking would sit at the big table. According to a report covered by Preferente, the entire economic ecosystem driven by the platform equals the GDP of Belgium, the eighth-largest economy in Europe.
That number is no joke: we are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars in value generated from direct company revenues, hotel and agency commissionsCommissionCommission is the percentage a channel keeps for each booking it brings the hotel. It is the cost of selling through an OTA and usually runs from 15 to 25 percent, more in niche channels. Cutting dependence on high co..., traveler spend induced by the platform, and indirect employment. Booking is not just an intermediary anymore, it has become an economy of its own.
What does this mean for the industry? When Booking breathes, the entire distribution chain and hotel revenue management shift. Call it dependency or strategic partnership. But this data should make anyone who still sees OTAs as just another channel think twice.
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