Entering ChinaThis article is transferred from: Jinan Times
When you open the official websites of hotels and the major OTA (online travel agency) platforms, consumers will inevitably be dazzled by the variety of prices, sometimes high and sometimes low: for a while, the official channel has the lowest price, and then after adding discounts, it becomes cheaper on the OTA platform, and the room price will change when you refresh the page…… Who has the final say on the price of a hotel room?
Why do hotel prices change all the time?
Taking the Intercontinental Hotel as an example, the reporter saw on the official website of the Intercontinental Hotel on March 13 that the price of the deluxe room twin bed of the InterContinental Hotel Sanlitun Tongying Center in Beijing from March 13th to 14th was 1520.76 yuan, and the total price after adding other fees and taxes was 1773.21 yuan, and the website showed that there were 5 rooms at the moment.
On the Ctrip platform, the original price of this room type is 2,506 yuan, and the price after the discount is 1,754 yuan; On the Tongcheng platform, the room type is 1,772 yuan, and the platform subsidy is 35 yuan; On the Tuniu platform, this room type is 1,813 yuan, and no discount is displayed.
Ten minutes later, the reporter found that the hotel room type was booked a, the official website showed that there were 4 rooms left, and the price of the room type changed at the same time, from the previous 1520.76 yuan to 1606.32 yuan, and the total price rose to 1872.97 yuan.
The reporter randomly browsed other OTA platforms and found that the prices have also changed. Among them, the original price of Ctrip rose to 2,647 yuan, and after the discount, it was 1,851 yuan; The Tongcheng page pops up with a prompt “During the period of your hesitation, the information has changed, we will present you with the latest information”, and the room price rose to 1872 yuan after the refresh, and the platform subsidy rebate was 37 yuan; Tuniu rose to $1,914 with no offer.
The reporter called InterContinental Hotels Group, and the customer service explained: “The price of hotel rooms is not only a direct sales channel, but the price of the third-party platform will also fluctuate, which is adjusted by the hotel according to the supply relationship of the market.” Once the occupancy rate is high, for example, there were 10 rooms, but after booking 2 rooms, the hotel may increase in price. ”
According to an insider at an OTA platform, this pricing model is called “dynamic pricing”, and the pricing party is hotels, etc. “Hotel pricing is dynamically changing based on supply and demand at the time. For example, during holidays, when the demand for travel accommodation is large, in order to ensure the quality of service, the hotel will also increase the service staff and other holiday operating costs, which will be reflected in the adjustment of room rates. When the market demand is low, the hotel will also use promotional means such as price reduction to ensure the occupancy rate. The above-mentioned insiders said that at present, dynamic pricing is widely used in hotels, air tickets, travel and other fields.
Why are prices different on different platforms?
No matter how the price changes, the price of the same type of room in the same hotel at the same time will not be the same on different OTA platforms. What is the reason for this?
The reporter randomly selected the room prices of some high-end hotels for comparison. According to the reservation information on the official website of Marriott Group, from March 17th to 18th, the lowest room rate for the King City View Room at The Ritz-Carlton, Pudong, Shanghai is 2,262 yuan/night, including tax and all fees; The price of this room type on Ctrip, Tongcheng and Tuniu is 2309 yuan, 2297 yuan and 2309 yuan respectively. According to the official website of Hilton Hotels Group, the price of the Deluxe Twin Room at Waldorf Astoria Xiamen starts at 1645 yuan, including 16.6% service charge; The lowest prices for this room type are RMB1,749, RMB1,749 and RMB1,732 respectively on Ctrip, Tongcheng and Tuniu.
“Overall, hotel room prices are determined by market supply and demand. When demand exceeds supply, hotels do not worry about business, and the right to speak on pricing is in the hands of hotels, and when there is an oversupply, OTA platforms will be stronger for hotels, especially for hotels in lower-tier cities. Zhou Mingqi, founder of Jingjian Think Tank, told reporters.
“The room rate is determined by the hotel itself, but the platform will also give recommendations, and it is ultimately up to the hotel to decide.” Zhao Huanyan, a senior economist in the tourism and hotel industry, said.
Insiders of the above-mentioned platforms also said that OTA platforms do not participate in the dynamic pricing of hotel rooms.
As for why the price of the same type of room in the same hotel is not the same on different OTA platforms, Zhou Mingqi gave an example: “Generally speaking, the pricing of various platforms and channels will try to be as flat as possible to avoid price trampling. However, the channel sources of each platform are relatively messy, and their bargaining power will also be different, resulting in different prices. In addition, sometimes for some hotels with relatively high commission rates, such as five-star hotels, OTA platforms are willing to sacrifice part of the revenue to make discounts. ”
The above-mentioned platform insiders explained that the hotel resources displayed on the online travel platform come from the platform’s direct procurement or multiple agents, and due to the different cost prices, the resource side will also set different room prices.
“The travel platform does not have the pricing power, and the price of the products displayed on the platform is set by the resource party.” The insider said that the platform will charge a certain percentage of the service fee according to the order turnover of the access merchant, “even if the platform adjusts a very high price by itself, the platform will not get the service fee if no one lives.”
