Do the OTAs generate demand in hospitality? Absolutely. But are they the biggest driver in the decision-making process? That would be a different question altogether...

Expedia Media Solutions published a series of very insightful reports a couple of years ago, analyzing the path to purchase in different countries, throughout the dreaming, planning, purchasing and post-travel stages of this path for consumers.

In May 2023, during their annual Expedia Connect event in Seattle, Expedia shared recent insights from this latest "Path to purchase" report, due for publication this summer. At the inspiration stage, for example, we see that OTAs are NOT the main online source. The biggest source? Social media, according to 59% of respondents. DMO sites come in second at 42%, followed by meta travel sites, at 41%, and search engines, at 35%. Only 28% of respondents said they used OTAs at the inspiration stage, which is still a fair amount. (This proportion is obviously much higher at planning and booking stages, but that's not the point here today)

The other aspect to consider is the increasingly important role of loyalty programs, for both Booking (Genie) and Expedia (One Key). The more you book with your preferred OTA, the more points and rewards you garner, which leads to wanting to go places, redeeming these rewards. Thus, this is a form of demand generation.

There is such as thing as billboard effect, and OTAs invest billions of dollars on Google, Meta and other online platforms. As such, they do play a key role in generating demand for travel - even though we'll all agree their raison d'être is first and foremost in the booking phase where commissions get paid when revenue is generated.