Agents seen as important partners
Hotels are still firmly committed to paying commission to travel agents, a new survey has found.
Of the 2,459 hotels questioned, 95% said they paid full commission to agents.
96% of the respondent said they regarded the agents as "important partners."
The poll was carried out by Net Trans, a company which collects hotel commissions on behalf of clients, usually agencies.
It also found that 98% of chain hotels paid commissions compared with 93% of independent properties.
The survey also revealed that 85% of hotels expected commissions either to grow or at least stay the same.
But the survey also found that 41% said they "sometimes" overlooked paying the commission fee to the agents.
Hotels which took the booking through a GDS were more likely to overlook the payment.
Martin Jorgensen, Net Trans' ceo, said: "The results to our survey show the relationship between hotels and travel agents remains rock solid.
"Hoteliers regard agents as an essential sales channel for filling their rooms every night and are committed to the commission model.
"The relationship is reciprocated. Separate polling we did earlier this year showed that agents regard hotel commission as their most important source of supplier income."
www.ntrans.com