Posted on

5 Online Travel Agents shaping the travel industry in the Middle East

Close to 12 million travelers will visit Dubai this year, making it the fifth most popular city in the world for international visit. In spite of the political volatility in the Middle East, the outlook for the hospitality industry in the United Arab Emirates remains strong. The growing importance of Dubai International Airport, which has become the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, has contributed immensely to the growth of the hotel industry in Dubai.



One of the youngest regions of the world with over 50% of the population aged between 18- 34, travel in United Arab Emirates is largely influenced by digital experience. Always connected and eager to research, millennials in the country have become trend setters in the online travel segment. Empowered with easily available information, they are forcing hospitality brands in the region to realign their marketing strategies according to their preferences.


A high spend market, OTA sales in the Middle East have reached USD$3 billion in 2014, representing about 17% of total sales. With 94% of the populating owing a mobile device, there is a clear shift in booking patterns toward mobile and tablet booking devices. Traditionally a last-minute market, the surge of mobile connectivity has also reduced the booking window considerably. Compared to the word average of 23 days, the average hotel reservation lead time for UAE is now a mere 13, one of the lowest. Online travel bookings, which represent 25% of all bookings in the Middle East, are forecast to grow in 2015 and 2016 to reach 36% by the end of 2017 when online revenue is expected to reach $35 billion.
In this article we list out five online travel agents who are playing vital role in shaping the online travel industry in the region.

Booking.com

With over 1000 listed properties, Booking.com is the most popular travel agency in UAE. The Priceline owned OTA major has expanded its listings in the region by about 25 percent over the past year, comprising 200 new properties. Dubai ranks sixth in terms of global inbound travel bookings for Booking.com, and the channel controls over 50% on OTA market in the region. With 166 million unique visitors per month to its website Booking.com still rules the online travel by a large margin over its competitors Expedia and TripAdvisor. The online travel major is not only holds number one position in terms of unique page visits but also in total room nights booking. Every day over 850,000 room nights are reserved onBooking.comthrough its website and mobile apps attracting travelers from both the leisure and business sectors across the globe. Though travelers in this region search their favorite destination, preferred hotel online, but when it comes to bookings, they prefer to traditional travel agents to make a purchase.

Expedia.com

In the last couple of years OTAs in the Middle East has grown rapidly at compound average growth rate of 18% with Expedia.com—the first OTA and one of the key players in the region. In 2012 online travel sales in the Middle East estimated 2.3 billion or 13% of total travel sales. To reach out growing customer base with high disposable income, familiar with advanced technology and excited about living a modern lifestyle online travel agent like Expedia is coming up with new offerings that suit their customer portfolio. With 59.3 Million monthly uniquevisitorsExpedia.com is the third largest online travel agents right behind Booking.com and TripAdvisor. The company has around 800 properties listed in its website and is the second most sought after online travel agents in Middle-East.

In the later part of my article I’ll discuss three more top performing online travel sales channels are shaping the travel industry in the Middle East.

Image Credit: Freepik PublicDomainPictures


Hisham Diab is Sales Manager, MEA/ Africa/ Turkey at eRevMax. He can be reached at hishamd@erevmax.com
Posted on

HMH Partners with eRevMax to Improve Online Sales for its Hotel Portfolio

Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH), a Dubai-based property management group, has announced that it plans to expand its portfolio with five new hotels opening this year alone, which has meant an urgent need for a rate and inventory management system to ensure all properties, both old and new, are digitally standardised. HMH CEO Laurent A. Voivenel was familiar with RateTiger Suite via word of mouth (WOM) marketing, and has recently completed integration with the software that allows for two-way real time ARI updates for all properties which meets the group’s growing demand for efficient and effective management systems. HMH anticipates that RateTiger Suite will boost revenue whilst being simple to execute.


Read full story here

Posted on

Qatar GM Debate 2013

Hotelier Middle East conducted the third annual Qatar GM Debate that took place in April at the Grand Hyatt Doha. The team managed to get an impressive lineup of top industry speakers to discuss current happenings in the market including the concern over influx of new rooms in a market already struggling with low demand.

The first session from TRI Consulting focused on exclusive market data from their latest research which brought forth the raw numbers that will be shaping Qatar’s hospitality industry through to 2014. The hard facts and figures set the tone for the rest of the event and it led to very focused and meaningful discussions between speakers and attendees. 

The interactive workshops offered significant insights on Delivering Ancillary Revenue and Best Practices of Revenue Management. The panel discussions covered a wide range of topics including how to deliver value through innovative product packages without discounting and leveraging potential of hotel F&B outlets.

Our workshop on Revenue Management & Online Distribution focused on how hoteliers can optimize online bookings. One in six travelers in Middle East today prefers to book online. They visit over 17 websites and check reviews before finalizing accommodation. With the range of choices they get across these channels, it makes it even more important for hoteliers to be visible at every touch point to capture customer’s interest. 

However, more channels mean more updates. The respite comes in the form of automated distribution system – a channel manager helps hotels to collect and access the multitude of data in their systems to analyze rates, market pricing trends, competitor selling activities, historical and trend information to achieve the best possible room rates from the most desired guests. 

We explained the case of Dedeman Istanbul in Turkey. One of the early users of internet sales channels, they wanted to use a system that would make online channel management easier and also allow access to regular rate  reports  to  see  how  other  hotels were pricing rooms and managing roomtypes and packages. Two years ago, they had installed our rate shopping and channel management tool in their property. The results were immediate and long lasting. Dedeman has since increased revenues by over 20%. 

The presentation was interspersed with suggestions and ideas on how to drive direct online bookings and through examples we tried explaining how hotels can optimize product value across online distribution channels.

Another important aspect is the direct competition that the region faces with Dubai – which attracts a major chunk of foreign tourists. Qatar needs to develop an effective tourism campaign to gain more traction and attract the eye of travelers. This is where the role of online distribution comes in – Qatar hoteliers need to leverage the opportunities presented through the internet to reach out far and wide to newer markets and grow its market share – slowly but surely.

With over 220 hotel GMs in attendance, the event was well received and the venue buzzed with lively discussions and animated chatter. The Qatar GM Debate was a not-to-be-missed event, and a great opportunity for everyone to come together to discuss issues that really matter to the industry.


Hisham Diab is Sales Manager – South Africa at eRevMax and has extensive experience in the hospitality industry – having worked with brands like Golden Tulip, Starwood Hotels and Emaar Hospitality Group. He can be reached at hishamd@erevmax.com