Bed banks have been active players in hotel distribution for over 20 years now. They are not a new business model, but a simple online technology version of the traditional wholesalers of hotel accommodations that have existed for decades before that. Bed banks are specialized B2B platforms that contract supply from hotels and accommodations providers (typically in long-haul international vacation destinations) and make it available to travel sellers that aggregate travel demand from a variety of sources (traditional travel agents, small and midsize tour operators, some low cost airlines.) Example will be a beach resort in Thailand being offered by a bed bank to retail travel agencies in London.

There are two major bed banks:

HotelBeds

#1 bedbank

  • headquartered in Palma - the capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca
  • 180K hotels (25K Oyo) in 185 destinations
  • The average number of properties across the Americas is 50,000, nearly 80,000 properties are located in Europe and the Middle East, and around 40,000 accommodations are in Asia Pacific countries.
  • Acquired GTA and Tourico Holidays 2017
  • 5,000 employees
  • 60K travel distributors (15K in the Americas) in 140 destinations: travel agents, tour operators, airline websites, points redemption & loyalty partners
  • 18K activities; 24K transfers, 500 car rental companies

WebBeds

#2 bed bank

  • 250K hotels
  • 2K employees in 50 offices
  • 20K travel distributors in 170 destinations

Other competitors: HotelsPro (600K hotels); Travco (12K); Bonotel 2.5K hotels)

Related