observes . More also understand the value of a direct connection with guests .

Independents , which might not be affiliated with any reward program , can get creative about bypassing OTAs to reach guests . “ You can and should maintain your own

and president of Tim Peter & Associates . Hotels , on the other hand , “ have learned the lesson of the last two crises and will be smarter about how they court travelers and try to get more direct business .”

“ OTAs will play a role ,” Peter says , “ but

company ,” says Bruno Kim , vice president of revenue management at Langham Hospitality Group . “ We gain lots of new customers through our OTA partners .” After the first stay , he adds , many of them book directly .

Peter says digital

who understand how to leverage it can go a long way toward capturing more direct business . “ Google has changed the way we search for hotels and has hurt the OTAs , so having someone on staff who knows how to use that to drive people to your website is a

customer list , and I would be all over using that list ,” Green says . Local hotel associations and convention and visitors bureaus might offer another avenue for promotion .

OTAs have made some missteps handling cancellations and refunds during the COVID crisis , angering both consumers and property owners . But travelers , many of them working with scaled-down budgets , will head back to OTAs in search of bargains , says hospitality marketing consultant and HSMAI member Tim Peter , founder

I don ’ t think they will gain share in a meaningful way .”

Sloan Dean , CEO and president of Remington Hotels , argues otherwise . He agrees that price will be the main search criterion , but that can only boost OTAs , because price is much more a focal point on OTAs than it is on the brand sites .

“ The brands will try to drive their direct channels , but OTAs will get bigger ,” he says . Obviously , OTAs ’ role as a gateway can ’ t be ignored . “ OTAs reach a wider audience than any single hotel

marketing succeeds in one of two ways : by being either a one-stop-shop or by offering something unique . OTAs own the first space , both for value-conscious travelers and for hotels looking to fill rooms during soft periods . To win at the second strategy , he says , “ you have to be differentiated . You have to give people a reason to stay with you other than price .” Loyalty is a strong reason , but Benvenuti says it ’ s not a panacea . He says a modern e-commerce platform and team members

good strategy ,” he says .

He adds that nascent distribution channels may give independents an alternative with more favorable terms than booking . com or Expedia . Airbnb , for instance , has been upgrading its technology and is already selling some hotel rooms , especially in Europe .

“ Will hotels repeat the mistakes of the past , or will they try to drive business through their own channels and make the customer their customer ? This will be an interesting thing to see ,” Benvenuti says .