Revenue management implications of branded vs. independent hotels price-parity and online distribution effectiveness

Abstract

The rapid evolution of social media, user generated content, search engine optimisation and mobile technologies have all contributed to increased openness and transparency of hotel pricing approaches. Internet driven transparency in price positioning and product offerings has intensified hotelier competition for consumer loyalty and brand awareness. Utilising content analysis and the RCO 2 P competency index, this study investigated the online distribution effectiveness of (10) full-service upper-upscale, branded and independent hotels. Key findings of this study indicated an ineffective range of competency driven by inconsistency in price-parity, content and reach across multiple distribution channels. Specifically, preferential display sequencing and price-parity emerged as significant performance issues of the RCO 2 P index among both branded and independent properties. The price-parity index reflected the most situation critical performance among sampled properties with 60% of hotels sampled falling in the situation risk and critical range of online distribution competency.