Hotelbeds plans to expand its global hotel portfolio with the addition of 10,000 new properties by year-end, in response to the surge in demand for domestic hotels worldwide in the wake of Covid-19.
Harnessing big data analytical capabilities, Hotelbeds has been able to closely compare the main corridors, lead time, and length of stay for each source market to more accurately predict the characteristics of the surge in demand for domestic stays.
The initiative will be first rolled out in the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, with more countries to be included in the near future.
This strategy has received the support of many of Hotelbeds’ 60,000 B2B travel buyers worldwide – including tour operators, airlines, points redemption schemes and retail travel agencies – who have also signalled the increase in demand for domestic properties following the pandemic.
In addition, Hotelbeds is expanding its hotel portfolio in secondary destinations, adding more property types like resorts and rural hotels, increasing the availability of refundable rates, as well as reducing releases and minimum stay requirements to capture last-minute booking demand.
As well, the bedbank will launch local marketing campaigns targeted at B2B travel buyers in the selected source markets to promote domestic products at great rates this summer season.
León Herce, global sales director at Hotelbeds, said: “Following client feedback, and thanks to our own data analytics capabilities, we have detected not only the overall surge in domestic demand, but the requirement for more products in secondary destinations, across all different property types.
“As you would expect, hoteliers in these destinations – many of them previously dependent on international markets that are unlikely to be travelling anytime soon – are very keen to capture the new domestic demand and we are working hard to sign them up fast.”
