hospitalitytoday.com | 19
OTAs use their vast financial firepower
to buy the top places on google
searches (and they force hotels and
B&Bs to let the OTA appear under
the property’s own name in google
searches, so all clicks on the name
yield commission to the OTA –
typically 15-18%)
OTAs invent false discounts, to give
the impression that the room being
sold has been discounted by the OTA
when it has not (see graphic, left)
OTAs force (using ‘rate parity’ clauses)
properties to build the commission
demanded by the OTA into their room
price, even where the hotel or B&B
sells directly to its own customer
from its own website - allowin