Ebay, a new canal for the hotel industry?

A US firm of digital analysis recently made the “European Online Travel Overwiew” study by analysing the trends of e-tourism for the next years. In France for example, the penetration rate of 42 % in 2012 is planned to increase by 46% in 2016. This study include all the digital travelling industries including Priceline/Booking.com, airlines companies even low cost, TO and every distribution channel. However, the Fevad barometer (Distance selling and e-commerce Federation) detect a decline in travel online website, but the barometer only analyse a panel of 10 historical matures web sites such as Voyage-sncf. Does it mean that the competition through the different channels of distribution will become harder in Europe ? And what about Ebay, the giant on the e-commerce sector but beginner in the travel industry?

The German company Cultuzz a global leader in online hotel bookings made the bet and has expanded its business into the UK. The company created a service called CultBay which use Ebay as a platform for the direct sale of holiday vouchers and package deals. This service will have an exclusive interface on Ebay which is the 25th most visited website in the world. Thanks to this partnership the product will reach a new audience with an innovative and easy-to-use service. 

And the bet seems to be good. According to the Director of Sales and Marketing Ted Montreal in 2013 the sales of hotel vouchers on Ebay led to a 40 percent increase in sales compared to the previous year. The offers on the website are quite considerable and provide good hotel room opportunities. Several big cities in Europe such as Berlin, Rostock, Prague or Vienna were promoted.

What’s the interest to compare with other competitors? In one side hotels are able to advertise on a globally renowned website, helping to increase trade or sustain revenues through the quieter times of the year, and on the other side, the customer is then able to get a great deal on a variety of trips and accommodations. Moreover, a big added value compared to other e-travel websites is the possibility to sell a voucher that can be redeemed in various different destinations.

Since the current year will once create more benefit from the introduction of new features and functions as well as the growing public awareness of CultBay, this product have been creating a supply and demand chain that previously did not exist. This year, the presentation of the product and the company at the ITB 2015 through conference and stand should also probably  stimulate their growth. Let’s keep an eye on it!

Source:

Lainé, L. (201, 01 15). E-tourism, trend for 2016. Retrieved from L'Echo Touristique :  http://www.lechotouristique.com/article/e-tourisme-les-tendances-a-l-horizon-2016,71399

Company website : http://www.cultuzz.com/our-products/cultbay.html

Conference itb 2015

Eve Dellinger & Elsa Yenigotchian