Marketing

✈ MakeMyTrip, India's largest online travel agency, reported $2.7 billion in gross bookings for Q2, up 21% year-over-year. Adjusted operating profit reached $46.2 million. Non-air businesses contributed 63.2% to bookings, up from 61.5%. Domestic air departures fell 7%, international 4%, while fares increased 25%-30%. MakeMyTrip holds over 30% of domestic air-ticketing. Hotels and packages constitute 40% of the business, with stand-alone hotel room nights up 18.6% and domestic room nights up over 20%.

💸 In 2025, OTAs accounted for 29.9% of European hotel bookings, while direct bookings slightly increased to 51.3%. Expedia's share rose to 16.6% in Europe. Booking Holdings now collects payments on 73% of its bookings, a rise from 69% in 2024, enabling them to set prices lower than hotels do. Radisson has automated price matching to OTAs, affecting over 1,600 hotels. Expedia's B2B side saw 21% growth, while consumer brands grew 8%.

🗺 Booking.com aims to attract more Indian travelers by enhancing its relevance to local bookers, particularly in a market dominated by MakeMyTrip. The company is expanding beyond hotel bookings, building its own payment system, and offering small businesses a free tool for booking business trips. Santosh Kumar, the regional head for South Asia, noted that Middle East tensions are not significantly affecting Indian travelers' aspirations. This strategic move targets both business and leisure travel sectors.

🏨 Expedia Group’s Autonomous Onboarding™, launched with HotelRunner, allows hotels to join Expedia’s network in under 24 hours. The platform, active since an announcement at the Explore 2026 conference, reaches 75,000+ partners and 200,000+ travel agents. It processes 1 billion+ monthly searches and 415 million+ room nights yearly. Travelers spend 21% more and stay 11% longer than average. HotelRunner, an Elite Connectivity Partner for 2026, integrates existing hotel data seamlessly, boosting growth without added work.

📱 On 9 February 2026, OpenAI began testing ads in the US, expanding to 31 European markets by 31 August 2026. Hotels can advertise via ChatGPT Ads, which appear under responses and are visually labeled as sponsored. Radisson’s July 2026 campaign saw a booking conversion rate 1.5 times higher than organic search. Hotel campaigns can choose objectives for views, clicks, or conversions, with daily budgets starting at €15. Sponsored Agents and visual formats are developments to watch.

📈 Martin Soler highlights a crisis in hotel marketing attribution influenced by AI, zero-click searches, and eroded third-party cookie tracking, obstructing tracking from discovery to booking. Wayne West III reports optimism at the 2026 Lodging Conference but notes shifting development preferences and AI distribution concerns. Duetto implements a 930-property RMS rollout with B&B Hotels, marking major revenue management expansion. Revinate introduces a comprehensive data platform for 1.25 billion guest profiles, while property developments span locations like Saudi Arabia and Silicon Valley.

📊 In a rapidly changing marketing landscape, hotel booking attribution is becoming challenging. Zero-click searches and AI responses are complicating how bookings are tracked. As traditional methods fade, hotels struggle to trace the booking journey. Despite this, demand remains. The focus shifts towards skills like pattern recognition and intuition, rather than pure data reliance. The future of marketing may rely less on sophisticated dashboards and more on decision-making skills. Soler & Associates highlights this shift in hospitality marketing.

📅 Accor, a global hospitality leader, offers over 5,600 hotels and resorts across 110+ countries. The new "Stay for more" campaign, spearheaded by Chief Loyalty & E-Commerce Officer Mehdi Hemici, emphasizes meaningful travel experiences. Accor, founded in 1967 and headquartered in France, is listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange and OTC Market. The group promotes responsible hospitality and diversity. ALL Accor, its loyalty program, enhances member experiences beyond stays. Accor's purpose: connecting cultures with care.

🏡 Airbnb, founded in 2007, connects 5.5 million hosts in 220+ countries, allowing unique stays and local experiences. Hosts can earn up to $25,000/month and benefit from AirCover insurance. Airbnb charges guests a 14.1%-16.5% service fee; hosts pay ~3%. Competitors include Vrbo with 2 million listings, Booking.com in 227 countries, and TripAdvisor with 7.3 million listings. Airbnb’s 2026 updates added Airbnb Experiences, AI features, and boutique hotels, enhancing guest services and options.

📖 Oct 14, 2026 – Booking a luxury hotel through a Virtuoso advisor offers breakfast, room upgrades, and late check-out, valued over $550, compared to Booking.com’s 10% Genius discount. For a €200/night room over three nights, a Genius guest pays €540, with the hotel losing €141 due to a 15% commission. Studies show 59% prefer upgrades, and 85% are likelier to book direct with perks. European laws permit undercutting Booking.com rates on hotel websites.