Having worked for an OTA for years and doing their marketing I know exactly what you’re talking about and the tactics are almost predatory in nature! OTA’s have taken the concept of open market comparision and turned it into a thrift shop for travelers and the end user eats it up! They get a distorted view of prices and think that’s the bargain price and that these businesses are greedy when in fact margins and operational costs are eaten into and they rely solely on volume and repeat purchasing
OTA’s have successfully monopolized internet traffic for this service and sell it back to businesses at a premium! You get nailed by their commissions but if you’re not listed with then you lose out on business
Travel businesses in general like agents, tour operators, transfers, car hire are always going to be marginalized by these big guys and it’s going to be that way for some time!
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Yes, and it's killing small businesses! I guess, if people are willing to pay a bit more to book through a human being - they will get more!
This is the reality. It's a dog-eat-dog world.