Decomposing hospitality distribution channel market share

This article investigates the evolution and current state of hospitality distribution by analyzing market share from various distribution channels using real data from hospitality management systems. The study aims to provide hoteliers and researchers with valuable insights for optimizing price and volume strategies in response to the rise of online travel agencies (OTAs). The research employs compositional data (CoDa) analysis to examine market share evolution from 2013 to 2020, focusing on channel contributions to revenue, reservation counts, room-nights, length of stay, and pricing. Results show that while online channels have increased in reservation counts, direct sales outperform them in price and revenue. The originality of this study lies in its comprehensive analysis of hospitality distribution, a topic lacking sufficient research due to limited access to public data. By analyzing real sales data from over 800 hotels, this study fills a gap in the literature. It is the first compositional analysis of market share in the tourism and hospitality industry and the first to decompose market share into price and quantity effects across any sector.