The website “Booking.com” is a particular case distribution channel in the hotel industry, being referred to as simultaneously a blessing and a curse. The advantages of the platform are numerous, to say the least, with it being the biggest and the most recognizable middleman in the industry. Namely, the platform facilitates the organization of the booking, significantly reducing the pressure put on the operations management of the hotel.
That being said, many of the platform’s best-designed features are designed to promote the website and not its corporate clients. Booking.com provides potential tourists with the endless opportunity to browse and consider multiple options, which secures the large user base for the platform but does not necessarily benefit individual hotels. And even the aforementioned booking facilitation, although valuable in the area of operations management, reduces the interaction between the clients and the hotels, leading to difficulties in relationship building.
Recommendations on the topic of the hotel distribution channels involve considering emerging alternative options that more and more hotels are taking advantage of today. For example, partnerships with specialized tourism guides would facilitate the hotel’s access to a highly specified customer base that is interested in traveling on a regular basis. Such strategic partnerships might be beneficial for the development of long-term relationships with customers, which is an important source of competitive advantage in an oversaturated tourism market.