Originally Posted by
MePlatPremier
Actually, I suspect the majority of guests Marriott forwards to its hotels aren’t coming from the Bonvoy program at all but rather from its other global distribution channels, like wholesales to tour operators (like their recent Expedia deal) and corporate sales.
The last time I checked, roughly 50% of a major chain's guests do indeed book via an OTA.
But Bonvoy is supposed to a cheaper way of bringing in guests than the ridiculously high OTA commissions. And I doubt that the Trivago / Kayak crowd will pay much of a premium, if any, just because it says Marriott on the building.
So even though clearly the short term moneymaker can indeed be developer fees, Marriott do need to take care not to drive away their better Bonvoy customers.