The online pricing practices of up-market Barcelona hotels - an international comparision

Abstract

The number and variety of web based distribution channels over which the customer can purchase the hotel product continues to grow, which has resulted in increased price transparency. Customers can use the web to easily and conveniently compare prices across alternative channels, which from the perspective of the seller making having a coherent strategy important. Using Barcelona up-market hotels as an example, this study evaluates hotel property's pricing and distribution strategies by surveying room rates across a set of consumer focused distribution channels and analysing the findings in terms of consistency and logic. Findings indicate that Barcelona hotels do not have a coherent strategy and could benefit from re-evaluating the prices at which they sell their rooms on each channel. The findings are also compared to prior studies to benchmark their performance against international norms.