Partnering with travel companies can benefit hoteliers, potentially boosting revenue, increasing booking rates, and extending a hotel’s reach into new and hard-to-access markets. In this article, you’ll discover some of the advantages of a travel company partnership and be introduced to some of the biggest names in travel and tourism operating in the world today.
Table of Contents:
- What Are Travel Companies?
- What Is an Online Travel Agent (OTA)?
- Benefits of Working with Travel Companies for Hoteliers
- 14 of the Biggest Travel Companies Hotels Can Partner With for More Revenue
- Create Hotel Packages to Offer Travel Companies
- Travel Agents
What Are Travel Companies?
Travel companies, also known as travel agencies or travel advisors, provide services related to travel and tourism. A travel company can be a private retailer or a public service. A travel company may provide services to the general public or deal exclusively with other businesses.
Travel companies contract with suppliers of accommodation and other travel services, such as hotels and tour operators, and sell these products to their clients. They may also fill the sales agent role for an airline company that doesn’t have offices in a particular region. Travel agents receive commissions on their sales and other benefits and incentives.
They offer products such as package holidays to consumers and can provide advice and information to travelers. They may arrange to deliver travelers’ items, organize excursions and recreation, and provide services such as exchanging money.
What Is an Online Travel Agent (OTA)?
OTAs are travel companies that deliver services via online platforms. Consumers and businesses can log onto these websites to book accommodation and purchase other travel-related products, such as flights, car rentals, and admission to attractions.
Some OTAs also allow providers to create package offers, such as a hotel room, flight, and airport transfer combination. OTAs have become increasingly popular in recent years and have largely eclipsed traditional high-street travel agencies in terms of their customer base.
Examples of OTAs include Booking.com, Expedia.com, and Airbnb. To learn more about different OTS and the OTA landscape, read “Online Travel Agents (OTAs) to Increase Your Hotel Bookings“.
Benefits of Working with Travel Companies for Hoteliers
Partnering with travel companies can be helpful for hotel businesses. A travel company can help generate additional bookings for a hotel and provide valuable upselling opportunities.
A travel company provides publicity for the hotels it partners with through sophisticated hotel marketing strategies, increasing the hotel’s reach and providing access to markets that might otherwise be difficult for the hotel to reach.
Travel companies often have a wealth of information at their disposal regarding hotel trends, and can provide networking opportunities and connections with local businesses. To learn more, read “Tour Companies: 8 Benefits of Partnering for Hoteliers“ today.
14 of the Biggest Travel Companies Hotels Can Partner With for More Revenue
Choosing the right partner is important if you decide to work with a travel company. In this section, you’ll discover some of the most important travel companies and how they can benefit your hotel business.
Booking.com is widely known for its OTA platform but there’s much more to it than simple hotel listings. Visitors to the website can use their booking login to peruse over 28 million accommodation listings, ranging from standard hotels and motels to luxury villas, city apartments, and holiday cottages.
Booking.com also lets customers book flights, car rentals, airport transfers, other transport, and entry to attractions. Hoteliers and other travel providers can sell package deals via Booking.com. It’s a flexible platform that can be very useful for hotel owners and hotel management looking to expand their reach.
Expedia Group is best known for its namesake website, Expedia.com. However, the Expedia Group has extensive holdings throughout the travel metasearch and fare aggregator space. The organization consists of three main sections. Expedia Brands comprises all the Expedia consumer brands, such as Travelocity, Hotels.com, ebookers.com, etc.
Expedia for Business comprises the group’s business-to-business relationships and solutions. Expedia Product & Technology includes all of Expedia’s many travel and hotel technology holdings. Partnering with the Expedia Group provides access to a very large customer base and important connections in the world of travel and tourism.
TUI Group, standing for Touristick Union International (Tourism Union International in English), is a German company with headquarters in Hanover. It owns or partially owns several travel chains and companies, including airlines, travel agencies, hotel chains, and retail outlets.
TUI integrates various travel companies and products so businesses and consumers can access them via a single source. Partnering with TUI would give a hotel business access to a significant international customer base and connections with other travel product providers such as airlines and tour organizers.
For hotel businesses looking to expand into markets in China and Asia, partnering with the China Tourism Group Duty-Free Corp (generally referred to as the China Tourism Group) could be advantageous. This company is engaged in all forms of travel and tourism activity throughout China and other markets. It provides a full spectrum of travel services, including inbound and outbound flights and domestic travel.
It operates tours for groups and individuals, sightseeing tours, adventure experiences, leisure, business, and sports travel. Aside from travel and hotel operations, the China Tourism Group also engages in hotel investment, other property investment, and merchandising services.
Initially operating as a budget airline, Jet2 expanded into the package holiday and tourism market with Jet2Holidays. Jet2Holidays is now the UK’s largest tourism company, with various products to suit different budgets. The company offers beach holidays in 65 different destinations around Europe and flies from 10 UK airports.
Their holidays range from budget offerings at 2-star hotels to more upscale packages, including 5-star retreats. Their service is superior to other operators in the same sector, garnering them awards. Their large market share and diverse customer base make Jet2Holidays an attractive partner for hotels in the UK and Europe.
This Australia-based company operates across 24 different countries. They have corporate travel and leisure businesses across Europe, the UK, the UAE, Asia, the Americas, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It also has a corporate travel network covering 90 additional countries, partnering with local operators via its strategic licensing agreements.
Within the US, the FCTG operates under two retail brands, Travel Associates and Liberty Travel, and one wholesale brand, GOGO Worldwide Vacations. The FCTG operates several other brands, including StudentUniverse and Corporate Traveller. This global reach and large customer base make the FCTG an advantageous partner for hotel businesses.
Video: About Flight Centre Travel Group
Rather than being a conventional travel company, Sabre Corp is a technology and software provider for the travel industry. As well as creating hotel technology and other software solutions for the industry, Sabre Corp operates one of the world’s largest global distribution systems (GDS).
This GDS provides travel agencies and other travel and accommodation providers access to a full spectrum of travel services and products. These include hotel rooms, airline tickets, cruise packages, car hire, and other travel products. Partnering with Sabre gives hotel businesses access to a variety of services, as well as extending its reach globally.
American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is a global travel management company. In contrast to the leisure travel-focused American Express Travel, Amex GBT is a B2B platform focused on the corporate travel industry.
The company’s travel booking platform allows clients to book flights, and hotels, and hire cars. It aims to streamline travel arrangements for corporate clients, saving them time and money. As well as travel, Amex GBT offers its clients expense management and travel risk management tools. Amex GBT is the ideal partner for hotels that serve business travelers.
Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) is a luxury travel company founded in 1962 by Geoffrey Kent. A&K offers many travel experiences, including small group journeys, luxury expedition cruises, tailor-made travel, and private jet journeys. The company travels to over 100 countries on all seven continents.
They are touted as the world’s premier luxury travel company, serving upscale clients worldwide. For luxury hotel businesses, a partnership with Abercrombie & Kent could provide access to a prestigious customer base and open up opportunities to connect with other luxury travel providers.
CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a global travel management company that provides a wide range of travel services to corporate clients, including travel booking, travel expense management, and travel risk management. CWT is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has offices in over 145 countries.
It is one of the world’s largest travel management companies, with over 18,000 employees and $23 billion in total transaction volume in 2018 alone. CWT’s clients include organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large multinational corporations. CWT’s services are used by companies in various industries, including technology, finance, and healthcare.
BCD Group is a privately owned Dutch company comprising BCD Travel and its subsidiaries: BCD Meetings & Events, Advito, and Park ‘N Fly. The company was founded in 1975 by John Fentener van Vlissingen and is headquartered in the Netherlands. BCD Group employs more than 13,000 people and operates in over 170 countries.
BCD Group provides various travel services, including booking, event management, travel consultancy, and off-airport parking. The company is known for its innovative technology solutions and its global reach. Companies of all sizes and industries use BCD Group’s services.
Intrepid Travel specializes in adventure travel products for small groups. Every year, it organizes over 1,100 escorted tours worldwide, typically for groups of around 10. Tours emphasize authenticity and connections with the local culture and environment, using public transport where possible and booking accommodation with locally owned hotels.
Intrepid is proud of its environmental performance and commitment to sustainability, social consciousness, and accountability. Intrepid Travel could be a great partner for a hotel in an out-of-the-way spot that attracts adventurous travelers. The small group size would make it ideal for smaller properties.
When it first launched, Airbnb was a simple online marketplace for private homeowners who wanted to rent out a spare room. From these humble beginnings, it has ballooned into a major player on the OTA scene. It now boasts millions of property listings and countless customers worldwide.
Customers can log onto Airbnb’s web platform or use its app to find short and long stays in various properties, from a basic spare room in the city to a country villa or a waterfront apartment. As well as homeowners, Airbnb is now widely used by hotels and other accommodation providers.
AAA Travel is the American Automobile Association’s travel agency. Members receive exclusive discounts, other perks, and a full spectrum of travel services. It offers many advantages to its partners in the hotel industry, including greater visibility, additional bookings, valuable networking opportunities, and a range of rewards packages.
The process of becoming an AAA Travel partner is fairly complex, and hotels must pass through a rigorous evaluation of all their hotel departments before being accepted. To learn more about AAA Travel, the benefits of partnership, and how you can apply, read “AAA Travel Agency Overview, Services & Benefits for Hoteliers“ for an in-depth look.
Video: Plan a trip to Pittsburgh with AAA Travel – AAA Travel
Create Hotel Packages to Offer Travel Companies
Offering package deals to guests can be a great way to entice new customers and encourage existing guests to return. By bundling a hotel room with additional products or services, you can enhance your guest experience, leverage upselling opportunities, and give your guests access to new experiences they might not otherwise learn about.
From the customer’s point of view, packages save money and are simpler to purchase than booking every element of a trip separately. To learn more about hotel packages, how they can benefit you and your guest, and how to craft the perfect package for your market, read “Hotel Packages: Tips to Optimize the Use of Hotel Package Deals“ today.
Travel Agents
For hotel owners, partnering with travel agents can be a great way to gain additional guests. Whether your business specializes in serving leisure travelers or corporate clients, travel agents are a major distribution channel that you can leverage to increase bookings, raise your profile, and build your brand.
In “10 Travel Agents for Hotels to Gain More Corporate & Leisure Guests“, you’ll discover how partnering with a travel agent can help your hotel business grow. You’ll also gain valuable information about 10 of the biggest travel agents in the world today.
Travel Companies FAQs
Travel companies come in many shapes and forms, from business travel specialists to travel technology companies. All of them have potential benefits as partners in the hotel business. It’s important to choose the partner that’s right for your hotel.
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Revfine.com is a knowledge platform for the hospitality & travel industry. Professionals use our insights, strategies and actionable tips to get inspired, optimise revenue, innovate processes and improve customer experience. You can find all hotel & hospitality tips in the categories Revenue Management, Marketing & Distribution, Hotel Operations, Staffing & Career, Technology and Software.This article is written by:
Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.
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