About accommodationbutton.com
After 25 years in the travel industry I decided enough was enough…
What was happening
Settling down in Far North Queensland, I decided to go out a really see the effects that the OTA’s (Overseas Travel Agents) were having on the tourist industry up here.
The results were simply mind numbing.
This is a brief story of what I found out and this is what I am doing about it.
Up-to 30% of the money from every booking that was being made was not even coming into Australia. There was no tax being paid on it and it was not deemed as income earned for Australia, Yep! it was being siphoned of overseas by a “FAT CAT”.
How was this happening?
Back in the late 90’s before the internet had gained the popularity it has today, online booking sites started to show up. Initially they got very little use as people were reluctant to book online and faxes and telexs worked so well. No one had websites or booking software as it was all too expensive.
It was during this time that the OTA’s gained huge popularity by offering accommodation outlets a new way of attracting customers. It was easy enough to do as a hotelier you would simply load your information up throw some photos on and you were ready to go. If you got a sale the OTA got 2 or 3% initially.
As time moved on and these sites became popular with “bookers” the commissions paid increased accordingly until you have today where upto 30% of your money goes to the OTA.