RB Academy Live: How to face online distribution?

Last Friday we celebrated a new session of RB Academy Live that took place this time in the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca and that brought together a group of hoteliers from of holiday resorts and properties on the island.

During the event, among other issues, there was a talk about the moment of inflection that the sector is experiencing due to the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook and the solutions that are in the market for those hoteliers who have been affected.

The presentations were given by Mireia Faugier, responsible for DirectBeds; and by Roiback , Adrián González , Sales Manager Islas Baleares, and Jesús Bazán, Sales Manager Coordinator Spain.

Mireia said that "there is a before and an after following September 23 in hotel distribution," and encouraged those present to diversify their distribution channels. "The model we had until now doesn’t work anymore, and the smartest thing to do is to diversify the channels and get professional advice to face the next 2020 season."

She also stressed that Mallorca, due to insularity, depends 100% on air and sea transport, and that the areas farthest from Palma airport continue to depend heavily on tour operators, unlike other properties close to the Balearic capital, which can focus more efforts on online sales.

On the other hand, both Adrián and Jesús, emphasized the importance of committing on the most profitable distribution channel of them all, the direct channel. Both disclosed different tools and mechanisms to make their establishments more profitable and highlighted the need to define a more balanced distribution strategy.

"There are hotels in Cala Ratjada that had to close the same day that Thomas Cook announced bankruptcy," Jesus said. "Clearly the hotel distribution is changing, and it is a good time to be brave (although not kamikazes) and rely on other channels to increase sales, reduce intermediary dependencies and improve hotel profitability."

Adrián stressed the importance of technology to compete head to head with OTAs, with different tools as an appropriate mobile solution or a good loyalty program to be able to capture and retain customers who visit the official website of the hotels. He also urged attendees who have been affected by the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook to get free advice from Roiback, as we announced a few weeks ago here.