Assessment of the Integration between Travel Agencies and Hotels: A Case Study on Sharm El Sheikh

Document Type : Original Article

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Hotel Management, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Egypt

Abstract

Economic integration with various distribution channels has been a major element in marketing strategies, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industries. The current trends of disintermediation and/or the introduction of new intermediaries were investigated in five-star hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt through a retrospective analysis of room booking records referred by different distribution channels. In a total of 233 channels, the mean referred bookings were highest by other hotels (n=6) during the non-peak period in March (87.67 [62.02]) and by online referrals and tour operators during the peak season in August (168.56 [120.55] and 124.6 [98.11], respectively). Travel agencies reported the lowest mean of referred bookings across the whole study period, indicating their gradual disintermediation. No difference was noted in the referral patterns between horizontally- or vertically-integrated channels. Despite the current tendency towards increased bookings from tour operators and online channels, the integration with online booking services should be primarily emphasized in the hospitality settings.

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