It can be difficult for operators of independent hotels to find cost-effective ways to work through the exclusionary OTA universe.

　　As an independent hotelier looking to represent your property far beyond your own website you might be having difficulty hacking through the underbrush of the increasingly exclusionary online-travel-agency universe. Alternatives are available to help you cut your distribution costs while increasing reservations activity.

　　Actually, you’re having difficulty even pinpointing the clearing. That’s because OTAs have become a closed shop.

　　Because there has been so much consolidation online, most websites are down to two vendors—Expedia and Priceline—and because many independent hoteliers must rely on them, they demand fees of 15% to 30% (and up to 60% for opaque).

　　Such costs cut online reservation competition and reduce the ability of independent hoteliers to increase profitability, let alone be found online

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　　Not only is today’s OTA universe a closed shop, but also it’s an old boys’ club.

　　Priceline also rules through subsidiary dotcoms: Activehotels, Agoda, Booking, Kayak, Rentalcars. Expedia has these dotcom subsidiaries: Hotwire, TripAdvisor, Trivago and Venere. It also owns Hotels.com and recently entered into a marketing agreement with Travelocity.

　　The Expedia-Travelocity deal, announced last August, gives Expedia control of more than half the estimated $40 billion in U.S. travel bookings through OTAs. And last year a similar deal in Europe made Odigeo, which oversees Opodo and the French and Spanish OTA brands GoVoyages and eDreams, affiliates of Booking.com.

　　Sure does feel like an old boys’ club, especially when you consider how some of these companies got going: Kayak, for example, was started by co-founders of Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.

　　Absorptions, buyouts, mergers, affiliations—no matter how you frame it—like those of Expedia-Travelocity and Booking.com shrink the OTA universe. The people behind the deals claim they will create efficiencies and streamline technology both for the companies and for the end user, but at the same time, they reduce choice and firm up fees.

　　What is the alternative? After all, to be found on the Web when guests are searching for hotels requires so much investment it’s usually cost-prohibitive for smaller hotel companies. Hotel owners might choose to brand their hotels with either a traditional flag or with a soft brand. It’s also possible, although extremely difficult, to go completely alone.

　　In a perfect world, instead of paying up to 60% in fees—or at least the 15% to 30% conventional OTAs routinely charge—hoteliers who join a collection of hotels would pay only 10% of the incremental revenue based on the reservations sent to the hotel. In exchange, the hotel receives added reservations and automatic membership in a unique loyalty program that gives the customer a free night after 12—with no blackout dates and no hassles and at no cost to the hotelier.

　　OTAs aren’t evil by definition and, when properly managed, they can be valuable distribution platforms for independent hotels. Owners and operators need clear strategies on how and when to use them and should seek expert advice—whether from distribution experts or hotel collections—to formulate their tactics.

　　IBC Hotels President and Founder Pamela J. W. Barnhill also serves as president and COO of InnSuites Hospitality Trust. Ms. Barnhill's career with IBC Hotels and InnSuites progressed through roles in revenue management and general manager of two InnSuites Hotels. Before founding IBC Hotels, Barnhill worked for companies including Motorola Semiconductor, Franchise Finance Corporation of America and Pittiglio, Rabin, Todd & McGrath Management Consulting. She holds an MBA in Industrial Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University and a BA in Economics and Mathematics cum laude with honors from the University of Arizona.

　　The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or its parent company, STR and its affiliated companies. Columnists published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.