An email arrives in November: "Would you like your property to appear on Expedia too?" A few days later, another one from Agoda. Someone you know says they work with Hotelbeds and fill May. You have 14 rooms, Booking.com brings most of your bookings and the season went well. Is it worth the effort?
The honest answer is "it depends", but it depends on specific things. Below we compare the three channels on the points that matter for a small hotel: which guests they bring, how you get paid, how much work they take and what the risk is.
Before the comparison: the cost of every new channel
Every channel has its own contract, its own commission, its own extranet with photos, descriptions, policies and reviews. That does not change. What a channel manager changes is the riskiest part: availability and prices. Without a connection, every channel is one more calendar you close by hand. With a connection, a booking on any channel closes the date everywhere.
Bookmatrix.com connects to all three through Channex. What is sent and what comes back is explained on the Bookmatrix.com and Channex page. If you do not have a channel manager yet, start with why every hotel needs a channel manager. Without one, our advice is simple: do not open a third channel.
Expedia
What it is: a booking platform for the end guest, like Booking.com. It belongs to Expedia Group, which also owns Vrbo.
Which guests it brings: travellers from markets where Expedia is popular, such as North America. If you see American or Canadian guests, or your destination attracts them, it makes sense.
How you get paid: Expedia has two main models. With Hotel Collect the guest pays you and Expedia charges its commission afterwards. With Expedia Collect the guest pays Expedia at booking and you collect from Expedia after the stay, usually by charging a virtual card. Ask which model they propose and how your accountant will handle it.
Work: similar to Booking.com. Extranet, photos, policies, review replies.
Agoda
What it is: a booking platform for the end guest, part of Booking Holdings, the same group as Booking.com.
Which guests it brings: mainly travellers from Asia. For a property in Athens, Santorini or another destination that sees Asian guests, it can add bookings. For a property that lives on families from the Balkans, probably not.
How you get paid: it depends on your agreement with Agoda. Ask in writing who collects from the guest and when you get paid.
Work: one more extranet. Pay attention to descriptions and cancellation policies, because the guest may speak another language and have different expectations.
Hotelbeds
What it is: not a platform for the end guest. It is a bed bank, a B2B room wholesaler. It contracts availability from hotels and sells it to travel agents, tour operators, airlines and loyalty programmes.
Which guests it brings: guests who book through an agency or a package, often from markets you would not reach otherwise. You do not know in advance who will sell your room.
How you get paid: usually at a net rate you agree with Hotelbeds. It adds its own margin on top.
Work and risk: less work with reviews and messages, more care with prices. If the net rate is too low, your room may show up somewhere online cheaper than on your own site or on Booking.com. It suits hotels with enough rooms that want to fill off-peak months.
The comparison at a glance
- Expedia: sells to the guest, strong in North America, two payment models, as much work as Booking.com.
- Agoda: sells to the guest, strong in Asia, same group as Booking.com, makes sense mainly in destinations with Asian guests.
- Hotelbeds: B2B, sells through agencies, net rate, needs price control, suits larger properties and the low season.
When it is worth it and when it is not
It is worth it when you have empty dates that Booking.com and direct bookings do not fill, when the channel's audience fits your destination, and when all channels are connected to one calendar.
It is not worth it when you are already full in the months that matter, when you have no time to set up the profile properly, or when you still update availability by hand. Every new channel brings commission too. Before opening another, see whether you can bring more guests to your own website, commission-free. We wrote about that in bookings without commission.
A practical approach: open one channel at a time, for one season. At the end, count how many bookings it brought, in which months, and what it cost you in commission and time. Then decide on the next one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Expedia worth it for a small hotel?
It is if you have gaps in availability and your destination sees guests from markets where Expedia is strong, such as North America. With a channel manager, the extra work is mostly setting up the profile.
How is Hotelbeds different from Booking.com?
Booking.com sells to the guest. Hotelbeds sells to travel agents and tour operators, usually at a net rate you agree with it.
Do I need the same prices on every channel?
Technically no. In Bookmatrix.com you can have one price list for all channels or a different rate plan and restrictions per channel. Check what each channel's contract says, though.
Do I need a Channex account?
No. Bookmatrix.com creates and manages your property in Channex. The contract with each OTA is yours.
Sources
- Expedia Group: Business models (Hotel Collect, Expedia Collect)
- Booking Holdings: group brands
- Hospitality Net: What are bed banks?
Thinking about opening a new channel for next season? Try Bookmatrix.com free for 14 days at bookmatrix.com/demo, or tell us which channels interest you at bookmatrix.com/form and we will call you on the next working day. Or call us at +30 2351 151525.