According the latest research report 'US Online Travel Agency Market Essentials 2025,' last year the US OTA sales reached close to $109 billion, marking only modest year-over-year growth.

The report concluded that the U.S. OTA market is hitting a plateau and a shift toward supplier-direct bookings could reshape the travel distribution landscape through 2028.

I believe the Phocuswright’s report is missing an important consideration for the modest year-over-year growth in OTA sales: the branditization of the U.S. hospitality industry.

Last year, already 73% of U.S. hotel rooms belonged to branded hotels, while only 27% of rooms were at independent hotels. Marriott alone added 91,000 new rooms to its portfolio in the U.S. and Canada, which at the end of 2024 consisted of over 1 million open rooms across 6,307 properties.

Branded are 45% of hotel rooms in in Europe and 50% in APAC.

Why the trend toward branditization of the hospitality industry? Why are hotel developers and owners flocking to the major hotel chains in increasing numbers?

Let’s start with 2x smaller OTA commissions and 3x less dependency on the OTAs compared to independents. Add exclusive managed corporate travel contracts and corporate groups. The major hotel chains offer well-rounded (though not perfect) tech stack in place, time-tested best management practices, financial security, higher occupancy, much higher repeat business, exposure to new customer segments and feeder markets. Not to mention the great brand recognition and most importantly: huge loyalty programs that ensure repeat business and guest data for above-and-beyond customer service.

Marriott Bonvoy members grew 16% in 2024, reaching 228 million, generating 73% of US room nights and 66% of roomnights globally. Hilton also reported that last year their guest loyalty program Hilton Honors had reached 211 million members, a 17% increase from the previous year.

The myth that only corporate travelers need and join loyalty programs have been debunked a long time ago. In 2024, Marriott’s customer segment composition measured in room nights was 44% leisure, 33% corporate and 23% group.

Just imagine if you were the GM of an average Marriott property in the U.S. Before you even get out of bed, you will know that 73% of tonight’s guests will be Bonvoy members. You will already know everything that you need to know about these arriving guests in order to provide above-and-beyond customer service: loyalty membership level (Basic, Silver Elite, Gold Elite, Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite), guest stay history, preferences, likes and dislikes, F&B consumption, history of requests and complaints, customer reviews on brand.com, Google, TripAdvisor, social media ambassadorship, etc.

Compare this to the GM of an independent hotel without loyalty program and CRM in place (90% of independents) who KNOWS NOTHING about 90% of guests arriving today.

Max Starkov
Hospitality & Online Travel Tech Consultant & Strategist

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