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Best Online Travel Agencies

Booking.com is our top choice for making your trip arrangements

Ligaya Malones is an editor, blogger, and freelance writer specializing in food and travel. Ligaya's work has appeared in publications including Lonely Planet and BRIDES.

Planning a trip can be easier through an online travel agency than if you handle each aspect of the planning separately. You can book hotels, air travel, rental cars, and more through a single site, and booking everything together sometimes results in discounts. By inputting a destination, a range of dates, and other preferences, you will see a list of options for each aspect of travel.

The best online travel agencies offer options from the largest number of airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, and more. Look for sites that offer discounts for combining reservations for different aspects of your trip. For example, the best sites will have lower rates if you book both plane tickets and a hotel through their services. The best sites also provide reviews from customers who actually have booked through the service. These are our top picks.

• Best Overall: Booking.com
• Best Budget: Skyscanner
• Best Price Predictor: Hopper
• Most Innovative: Kiwi.com
• Best for Eco-Conscious: Kind Traveler
• Best for Social Impact: I Like Local
• Best for Design-Forward Homestays: Plum Guide
• Our Top Picks
• Booking.com

Kind Traveler

I Like Local

• See More (4)

Final Verdict

Frequently asked questions, methodology, best overall : booking.com.

 Booking.com

This industry leader offers one of the most comprehensive trip planning platforms on the Internet.

Lots of options to choose from

Interface is easy to use

Numerous filters to customize your search

Tricky to tell whether changes/cancellations can be made with Booking.com or the vendor directly

Booking.com was founded in 1996 and has grown into an industry leader that stands out for being one of the most comprehensive trip planning platforms out there. From one website, you can compare and book accommodations, flights (including one-way and multi-city flights), sightseeing activities, and even airport taxis. The website lists more than 28 million accommodation options, from hotels, hostels, and B&Bs to vacation homes and luxury resorts—you can browse more choices per destination on Booking.com than other online travel agencies. The website also performs well on cost and typically returns lower-than-average prices for flights and hotels. 

Booking.com's interface is also easy to use. On the home page, search for a hotel by entering your chosen destination and dates. Then, use the extensive list of filters—such as price range and distance from the city center—to narrow the results down and find the best fit. You can also search for a specific hotel, or seek inspiration by clicking through options grouped by destination or property type or by topic such as the country’s best Michelin-starred hotel restaurants or the top cities for vegan travelers. The flights, car rental, and other tabs are just as intuitive. 

Best Budget : Skyscanner

 Skyscanner

You can compare prices across airlines, hotels, and car rentals.

Simple interface

Option to toggle searches between specific dates or by monthly calendars

Search Everywhere button is great for spontaneous planners

Extra clicks are required to make a final purchase

Must read fine print for changes/cancellations—may need to deal directly with the vendor

Ads on the sidebar can be distracting

Find deals on airfare, hotels, and car rentals with an aggregator site like Skyscanner , which uses a metasearch engine to compare prices from all online travel agencies and the airline, hotel, or car rental company in question. Run searches with fixed dates, opt to compare airfare prices month to month, or click “Cheapest Month.” Searches also include options for nearby airports or non-stop flights only. With hotel searches, you can choose to select only from properties with free cancellation, a cleanliness rating of 4.5/5 or higher, or 3- or 4-starred hotels only. Car rental searches include an option to select “return car to different location.”

Once you’ve found the best rate, click on the link to be redirected to the third-party site to make your booking. Feeling spontaneous? The Search Everywhere button on the homepage offers a list of the cheapest flight deals for destinations both locally and across the world—just plug in your departure airport first.

Best Price Predictor : Hopper

The company claims a 95 percent accuracy rate at predicting when flights and hotel rates will be cheapest.

Color-coded system makes it easy to determine cheapest days to buy

App is easy to use

Option to track flights and receive alerts when the best time to buy arises

Some have mentioned the app functions better as a research tool than a booking tool

Unclear whether Hopper will price match if you find a cheaper flight elsewhere

Hopper is a travel app available on iOS and Android that aims to help travelers save on airfare by usng historical data and their own algorithm to predict when flights will be cheapest. Just type in where and when you’d like to fly and Hopper will present you with a color-coded pricing calendar indicating how much tickets are likely to cost. (Green is the least expensive, then yellow, orange, and red for most expensive.) Hopper will also recommend you either buy now or wait, or you can choose to watch a trip and receive notifications on the best time to buy. In addition, the app has expanded to offer hotel and car rental price predictions, too.

Some newer features since the app’s inception in 2009 include an option to freeze a price for a limited time—for an extra fee—as well as exclusive app-only discounts. Hopper is free to download, and you can choose to book directly through the app, though some users mentioned they use Hopper as more of a research tool before booking directly with the airline or hotel. The company claims a 95 percent accuracy rate at predicting flight rates up to a year ahead.

Most Innovative : Kiwi.com

This metasearch engine scours the web to piece together the ideal itinerary using planes, trains, buses, and more.

Creative itineraries get you where you need to go, especially if you’ve got a multi-stop trip

Kiwi Guarantee offers rebooking or cancellation protections

Nomad option appeals to travelers with a lot of flexibility

Creative itineraries mean you may not fly out of the same airport you flew into

Kiwi Guarantee has an additional fee

Charges all-in-one fee for booking flights, trains, buses (though you can always purchase a la carte)

Travelers planning multi-city destinations and seeking a bargain, as well as those looking to take planes, trains, and automobiles to get there, might consider Kiwi . Kiwi is a metasearch engine that scours and pieces together itineraries from various airlines (even if they don’t have a codeshare agreement), considers multiple airports (even if your arrival airport is different from departure), and offers booking options, whether you’re looking at very specific dates or more general ones (up to 60 nights).

Some will find the ability to make multiple bookings for a particular trip more convenient than going at it manually several different times, though note that you must opt into the Kiwi Guarantee program to access rebooking and refund protections should your reservation change or be canceled. Kiwi’s Nomad option allows you to plug in a bunch of destinations you’d like to visit and the length of your intended stay, and the website will churn out the most affordable itineraries for review.

Best for Eco-Conscious : Kind Traveler

A give-and-get business model means booking accommodations with exclusive perks, a donation to environmental organizations, and more.

All participating hotels include a local give-back component

Exclusive savings and perks

Participating hotels are located in some of the most beautiful places in the world

Inventory is much smaller compared to other booking platforms

Some of the amenities mentioned are based on availability only

In 2022, Kind Traveler (an online trave agency focused on hotel bookings) announced an increase in environmentally and socially conscious hotels, charity donations, voluntourism opportunities, and additional perks like waived resort fees or a welcome amenity.

Unlock exclusive hotel rates and perks from participating Kind Traveler hotels with a minimum $10/night minimum donation to a local charity. For example, stay at the Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives and receive up to $33 off the nightly rate and perks such as a food and beverage credit and an Earth Lab or Alchemy Bar workshop when you make a donation to Manta Trust. The organization funds coastal research to protect the island nation’s large yet fragile population of reef mantas.

Select from more than 140 participating hotels from the Hawaiian Islands to Bozeman, Montana, and the Maldives. Charities include wildlife, human rights, arts, education, and environmental preservation organizations.

Best for Social Impact : I Like Local

Choose from a host of travel experiences with the peace of mind that 100 percent of the cost goes directly to local partners.

Social impact mission woven into organization’s business model

Immersive experiences led by local guides

Range of experiences offered

May not be best fit for those seeking upscale, luxury experiences and stays

Can’t sort experiences by a list of countries (though an interactive map is available)

No experiences outside of Africa and Asia

For an online travel agency with a booking platform designed to route dollars spent directly to the communities travelers intend to visit, consider I Like Local . Visit the website to browse a host of travel experiences in countries including Indonesia, Kenya, and Cambodia. Experiences include homestays and farmstays as well as wellness and culturally oriented experiences—from cooking and cycling tours to weaving classes.

To search for an experience, select from drop-down items like travel dates and experience categories, or view a global map and click on a country to view experiences that way.

The platform got its start in 2014 and has grown to 4,000 local hosts across nearly 20 countries. As a social impact organization, 100 percent of each booking fee goes to local hosts. To date, 16,000 travelers have booked with I Like Local.

Best for Design-Forward Homestays : Plum Guide

Browse and book seriously vetted, design-forward vacation homes.

Highly curated inventory of vacation rentals across the world

Design-forward

Thorough vetting process

Does not publish guest reviews

Other platforms have homes available across more destinations

When it comes to booking a vacation home, serviced apartment, or condo, travelers are spoiled for choice. Plum Guide is an online travel agency that specializes in accommodations—though not just any home makes its directory. The company claims that each potential home listed on its site must jump through 150 hoops to be included, from internet speed and mattress and pillow quality to the showers’ water pressure and the home’s proximity to dining, shopping, and attractions.

Search by a featured collection on the website such as “ pet-friendly homes ” or “one-of-a-kind homes in Palm Springs.” Scroll to the bottom of its homepage to view its top destinations, as well as a list of all destinations where Plum Guide homes are available, including Barbados, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, the U.S., and Turkey. Note: From the top right-hand corner of the site, use the dropdown menu to select currency of choice.

As long as you know what you value most out of your travel experience—such as affordability, social impact, or luxe accommodations—there’s an online travel agency to help plan your next trip. Be sure to read the fine print, as some agencies are third-party websites and not direct vendors. If you're not sure where to start, Booking.com is your best bet for a smooth user experience and hard-to-beat offers on flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements.

What Is the Biggest Travel Agency?

Our choice for best overall, Booking.com, is known as an industry leader with listings for all major hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and more. It boasts more choices for accommodations per destination than any other site, and we found its interface to be user-friendly.

Are Online Travel Agencies Worth It?

This depends on your needs and priorities. The best online travel agencies certainly can save time by booking everything all at once. However, if you're someone who is good at haggling and enjoys the details of planning a trip, you might be able to find better deals by reaching out to hotels or other destinations and speaking to someone personally.

Is It Cheaper to Book Online Than With a Travel Agent?

Not always. A travel agent you know and trust should have the experience and connections to find deals that can match or surpass what you'll find online. Additionally, if something goes wrong, travel agents provide you with an actual person you can use as an advocate to correct the problem . But if you don't have access to a good travel agent, online sites still provide plenty of ways to streamline planning and save money .

We considered dozens of online travel agencies and narrowed down the options based on user experience, volume and quality of inventory, unique offerings and specials, and customer reviews. We also assessed travel companies’ environmentally and socially conscious policies.

Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images

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Are Online Travel Agencies Safe To Use? 👨🏻‍💻 17 Best Online Travel Agencies For Seamless Journeys: Travel Like A Pro ✈️

Are Online Travel Agencies Safe To Use? Online travel agencies are generally safe to use, but it’s essential to choose reputable and well-established platforms with positive customer reviews.

The rise of online travel agencies (OTAs) has made travel planning and booking extremely easy in today’s world.

By providing passengers from all over the world with a variety of services, offers, and packages, these platforms have changed the travel business.

Online travel agents can help you with your search for flights, hotels, holiday packages, or tours.

🤔 What are online travel agencies?

4. travelocity, 5. skyscanner, 6. lastminute.com, 8. trip.com, 10. booking.com, 11. expedia, 12. tripadvisor, 14. priceline, 15. cheapoair.

• 🧐 Things To Consider While Making Reservation Through OTA's

⭐ Advantages & Disadvantages of Online Travel Agencies

Q. is it cheaper to book online or through a travel agent, q. do online travel agencies offer better deals than airlines and hotels directly, q. can i trust user-generated reviews on online travel agency platforms, q. do online travel agencies provide customer support, q. are there any hidden fees when booking through online travel agencies.

• Q. Are the Online Travel Agencies Reliable?

Q. Do Online Travel Agencies offer personalized itineraries?

Q. are online travel agencies more expensive than booking directly, q. can i book international trips through online travel agencies, 😇 conclusion, 🗨️ tell us in the comments as per you which one is the best online travel agencies.

Online Travel Agency (OTA) is the name for a website that sells travel services. It lets customers book flights, hotels, and other trips all from one place. They are like a travel agent in the digital world.

📃 List of 17 Best Online Travel Agencies at Your Fingertips

After a lot of research and considering travelers’ reviews we have shortlisted some of the best online travel companies that are operational nowadays.

• Travelocity
• Lastminute.com
• Booking.com
• TripAdvisor

A US-based internet travel company called VRBO focuses on vacation rentals. Landlords and managers can directly register their houses on VRBO, similar to Airbnb.

When booking through Vrbo, visitors may also get travel insurance. In addition to being a part of one of the largest travel companies in the world, VRBO has a reputation for being a trustworthy lodging option.

A website called Parkos.com makes airport parking stress-free. Thanks to the company’s new online platform, potential consumers can now compare various airport parking and facilities, make a reservation, and pay for it in advance of their trip day.

Both locals and visitors have provided overwhelmingly good feedback since Parkos entered the parking sector in 2014.

All technologically aided services revolve around giving automobile owners confidence that their vehicles are safe when they are away from them.

The majority of people may gain more from this comparison, but those who drive pricey high-end cars may find it interesting.

Also Read: 10 Best Places For New Year Celebration

Hotel reservations are the focus of Agoda , a multinational online travel firm located in Singapore.

Along with many other comparable OTAs on this list, it is owned by Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com.

The Agoda network, which offers more than a million hotels and vacation rentals, is primarily focused on the Asian economy but has now grown into Europe and the United States.

The company’s marketing strategy is centered on giving customers affordable or reduced housing.

In 1996, Travelocity was established as an online travel agency with several services for customers. It is owned and operated by the international travel service provider The Expedia Group.

You can check for airfare and hotel bundles, choices for a rental vehicle, cruises, and more using Travelocity’s website.

Additionally, you can read travel-related articles, order tickets for well-liked attractions, and communicate your journey arrangements with loved ones.

A well-known company with a big customer base is Travelocity. They provide a huge selection of vacation packages, many of which are aimed at families.

Skyscanner is a metasearch aggregator that gathers prices for flights, hotels, and rental cars from all online travel agents (OTAs) in one location. Booking flights and hotels with Skyscanner typically results in the most affordable options.

After making your choice, you will be sent to a third-party booking form on the Skyscanner website where you can complete the transaction and reserve your flight.

Skyscanner is used by millions of people to compare rates and options for their travel arrangements. Simply said, it compiles and presents to customers all of the offers from all online travel agencies (OTAs).

Also Read: 15 Best Countries For Solo Travel 

City hopping is a popular pastime in Europe because of how close together the cities are. Among the top three booking sites is lastminute.com .

In this OTA, flight bookings are made through an aggregator website, and hotel reservations are made through an OTA, both of which we have seen before.

Finding last-minute discounts on hotels, flights, and all-inclusive holiday packages is the specialty of the website lastminute.com.

If you’re brave enough to play the chicken, Last Minute has the best travel deals. For tourists looking for a dealer who isn’t scared to wait until the last minute, there are a couple of better OTAs. We’re certain to have the flight or hotel bargain you’re looking for.

Members of Airbnb are allowed to advertise their available lodging and accept overnight reservations. However, the business has added hotels and homestays to its list of offerings.

However, Air b nb is extremely particular about the standards it must uphold when it comes to hotels that can be offered on its platform.

The majority of hotels must demonstrate their distinctive design, how the neighborhood affects their rooms, and how guests can access communal areas.

The most economical choice may be an Airbnb vacation rental. Additionally, compared to hotels, you are more likely to locate more beds in the same property on Airbnb.

Many Airbnbs provide sofas or futons to accommodate larger groups. For longer visits, many of these hotels provide kitchens and washing machines, enabling visitors to save money by preparing their meals.

The largest OTA in China, Trip.com , a Chinese firm, created Trip.com, an international OTA. Trip.com’s marketing initiatives are primarily aimed at domestic and international travelers to China.

Contrarily, Trip.com has a partnership with Booking.com that enables it to broaden its global reach.

Today, Trip.com has hundreds of millions of users worldwide. The organization wants to give both domestic and foreign travelers the best travel experiences possible.

Wotif also owns LastMinute, a website that offers last-minute discounts on lodging, transportation, and other travel essentials to Australians and New Zealanders.

This local internet travel business mostly caters to travelers from the UK and Europe. On this website, tourists can search for and buy flights, lodging, auto rentals, excursions, and package deals.

Also Read: 11 Best Ways To Become A Travel Enthusiast

The biggest hotel booking website in the world, Booking.com , also lets you book travel and a rental car. It can be used by travelers to learn about different types of lodging, locations, and offers.

However, making reservations for different types of lodging is where its true power lies. For the typical person, it serves as an all-inclusive travel agency.

Hotels and other accommodation facilities are only billed by Booking.com after a reservation is made.

There isn’t a monthly cost that must be paid. An all-inclusive internet travel firm called Bookin.com provides lodging and travel options all around the world.

Online travel agencies (OTAs) are a business model used by many E x pedia Group businesses, notably Expedia, the largest OTA.

The company was founded in 2001 and was based in Bellevue, Washington, in the US.

It is one of the most prosperous travel companies in the world, having localized websites in more than 40 nations.

Expedia has provided access to flights, hotels, and rental cars for more than ten years. They are the largest travel company in the world.

Its marketing plan places a strong emphasis on the value of providing affordable lodging options.

Expedia is an excellent option if you want to pay for your airfare, hotel, and car hire all at once.

One of the most well-known travel platforms, TripAdvisor provides a variety of user-generated information in addition to booking services.

Travelers get access to reviews, images, and ratings posted by other travelers, allowing them to plan their trips with greater knowledge.

The website also offers the ability to compare flights and book excursions and other activities, making it a complete online travel agency (OTA).

A meta-search engine called Kayak searches the internet for the finest travel offers on several platforms.

It provides full results on a single page by comparing costs for airfare, accommodation, rental cars, and other services.

Users of its “Explore” feature can find new places to go and the most cost-effective times to travel.

Budget-conscious travelers choose Kayak because of its simple UI and time-saving features.

The “Name Your Own Price” option on Priceline is known for allowing customers to place bids on hotel rooms and rental vehicles at the prices they like.

Priceline provides regular booking choices like flights, hotels, and rental cars in addition to the bidding system, which may not appeal to everyone.

Travelers who are flexible with their travel plans can take advantage of their Express Deals feature, which offers big reductions on unpublished rates.

Travelers seeking low-cost airline options without sacrificing quality are catered to by CheapOair .

The network appeals to people who are concerned about their spending because it offers exclusive deals and discounts on hotels, flights, and car rentals.

CheapOair makes arranging travel reservations simple with its user-friendly interface and round-the-clock customer service.

Flights, hotels, holiday packages, and activities are just a few of the travel options that Orbitz provides.

Orbitz Rewards, the platform’s loyalty program, enables customers to earn rewards and take advantage of special member advantages.

If customers discover lower rates elsewhere, Orbitz guarantees they will be refunded the difference with its price guarantee promise.

Hotwire is known for providing significantly lower rates for accommodation, travel, and transportation.

Partner hotels can offer lower rates without publicly undercutting their usual pricing because the platform hides the identity of specific hotels until after booking.

For tourists eager to take advantage of this method of surprise booking, Hotwire’s “Hot Rates” provide huge savings.

🧐 Things To Consider While Making Reservation Through OTA’s

When making reservations through an Online Travel Agency (OTA), consider the following:

• Price and Deals: Compare prices and look for exclusive deals and discounts offered by the OTA.
• Cancellation Policies: Understand the OTA’s cancellation and refund policies to avoid any inconvenience in case of changes in your plans.
• User Reviews: Check user reviews and ratings to gauge the reliability and quality of the service.
• Customer Support: Ensure the OTA provides accessible and responsive customer support for assistance during and after booking.
• Hidden Fees: Be wary of hidden fees or additional charges that may not be clearly stated upfront.
• Booking Security: Verify the OTA’s security measures to protect your personal and financial information.
• Travel Insurance: Consider purchasing travel insurance for added protection against unexpected events.
• Flexibility: Choose an OTA that offers flexible booking options to accommodate any last-minute changes.
• Available Services: Confirm that the OTA offers the services you need, such as flights, hotels, car rentals, and activities.
• User-Friendly Interface: Opt for an OTA with an intuitive and easy-to-navigate website or app for a seamless booking experience.

Advantages of Online Travel Agencies

• Convenience: Users can book flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements from the comfort of their homes, saving time and effort.
• Wide Selection: Online travel agencies offer a vast inventory of travel options, providing a variety of choices for different budgets and preferences.
• Price Comparison: Users can compare prices across multiple airlines, hotels, and car rental companies to find the best deals.
• User Reviews: Travelers can read reviews and ratings from other users to make informed decisions about their bookings.
• Exclusive Deals: Many online travel agencies offer exclusive discounts and promotions for their customers.
• 24/7 Access: Online travel agencies are available round the clock, allowing users to make bookings at any time.

Disadvantages of Online Travel Agencies

• Hidden Fees : Some online travel agencies may have hidden fees or additional charges that are not disclosed upfront.
• Lack of Personalized Service: Unlike traditional travel agents, online platforms may lack personalized recommendations and support.
• Technical Issues: Technical glitches or website outages can cause inconvenience and delay in making bookings.
• Limited Flexibility: Some online travel agencies have strict cancellation and refund policies, limiting flexibility for travelers.
• Scams and Fraud: There is a risk of encountering fraudulent websites or services when booking through unknown or unverified platforms.
• Overwhelming Options: The abundance of choices on online travel agency websites can sometimes lead to decision paralysis for users.

🙋🏻‍♀️ FAQs For Online Travel Agencies

There are a lot of questions that come to our mind while making reservations through online travel agencies some of the commonly asked questions are answered below.

A. Booking online often offers better deals and discounts compared to traditional travel agents.

A. Yes, online travel agencies often negotiate special deals and discounts with airlines and hotels, which can result in more cost-effective options for travelers.

A. While most user-generated reviews are genuine and helpful, it’s essential to consider multiple sources and exercise discernment when making decisions based on reviews.

A. Yes, reputable online travel agencies offer customer support via phone, email, or live chat to assist with booking inquiries and travel-related issues.

A. While some online travel agencies may charge service fees or have specific booking terms, reputable platforms are transparent about any additional costs during the booking process.

Q. Are the Online Travel Agencies Reliable ?

A. Absolutely! Online Travel Agencies are reputable and reliable. They work with established partners and have a track record of excellent customer service.

A. Yes, they do! Online Travel Agencies take your preferences and interests into account to craft personalized itineraries tailored to your needs.

A. Not necessarily. Online Travel Agencies often secure exclusive deals and discounts, making them competitive with direct bookings.

A. Yes, you can! Best Online Travel Agencies offer a wide range of international travel options and guide visa requirements.

In conclusion, online travel companies have completely changed how we organize and book our journeys.

These OTAs have evolved into crucial tools for modern travelers thanks to their user-friendly interfaces, vast inventory, and affordable prices.

The top online travel agencies included in this article can assist you in organizing an enjoyable trip, regardless of whether you are an experienced traveler or preparing for your first excursion.

Also, don’t forget to book your personalized holiday package with  Fiery Trippers . Let us make your vacation a romantic as well as a dreamy getaway.

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Rahul Siddharth

He is a dedicated travel writer with a wealth of 10 Years + experience that enriches his narratives. He holds a degree in Hospitality and Hotel Administration from IHM Dehradun, which he couples with hands-on expertise in the field. Drawing from his diverse experiences, Rahul's writings offer readers a captivating glimpse into the world of travel. Embark on a journey of exploration and inspiration with Rahul as your guide. Read More

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The Complete Guide to Booking Travel Online

What is an online travel agency, and what are the best sites and apps to use to search for hotels and flights we break it all down for you..

• Copy Link copied

There’s a lot to navigate when researching and booking travel online.

Photo by Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

My first travel adventure was to Venezuela. I booked the ticket with a travel agent over a pay phone. The agent searched a dozen flight itineraries over a few days, all so I could save $15.

Times have changed. Today, flight searches start online , often on your mobile device. Passengers book either directly with the airline or hotel or with online travel agencies. Rarely do we get on the phone. In fact, American Airlines and United Airlines charge $25 to make a domestic flight booking by phone. And pay phones hardly exist anymore.

So, what is the best way to book online? Here is our complete guide to online travel agencies, search tools, and the variety of booking options available on both mobile devices and desktops.

What is an OTA?

An online travel agency, or OTA, is a website or mobile app that allows users to search for and book travel services such as flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and activities. The booking is made directly with the online travel agency but confirmed by the service provider, such as an airline or a hotel. As a customer, your relationship is with the OTA.

What are the main OTAs?

Many online travel agencies nowadays are owned by two main companies: Expedia and Priceline. The Expedia Group is the largest online travel agency in the United States with 70 percent market share, according to travel data firm Phocuswright. Expedia Group operates Expedia.com , Orbitz, Hotels.com , Trivago, CheapTickets , Hotwire , Vrbo , and Travelocity .

Priceline is a major competitor to Expedia, with global revenues larger than the Expedia Group. The company owns Priceline.com, Booking.com, Cheapflights, Momondo, and Kayak—the latter two being metasearch engines (more on that below).

There are also independent newcomers such as Hopper (a mobile-only booking tool) and Kiwi.com (which allows you to book flights on air carriers that don’t normally have a commercial relationship).

Are OTA fares lower than booking directly?

Generally, no. The fares that are displayed by an OTA will be similar if not slightly more expensive when compared to an airline’s website. They’re usually only a few dollars higher or lower. The OTAs charge a booking fee to the airlines, and often that fee is passed directly to consumers. For example, Lufthansa tacks on an additional $18 to any booking made through an OTA for Lufthansa flights. The same flights are exactly $18 cheaper on the airline’s website.

Where you can score a good travel deal through an OTA is when booking a last-minute hotel and flight package. Many OTAs have cut agreements with airlines allowing last-minute travelers to access lower rates than are typically available when passengers book a flight alone.

Are all airlines available to be booked through OTAs?

No. Many OTAs do not display flights from some of the low-fare leaders. For example, Southwest and Allegiant flights are not available through OTAs; the same goes for Ryanair in Europe. And, earlier this year United Airlines threatened to pull out of Expedia altogether, only recently signing a multi-year agreement to stay in. The airlines would rather not lose any margin to online travel agencies in an already low-margin industry and would rather maintain a direct relationship with the customer.

Are smaller OTAs safe to use?

Expedia and Priceline are the two largest players in the online booking space, but there are dozens of independent OTAs, such as CheapOAir, OneTravel, JustFly, and SmartFares. Confusingly, you might actually stumble on ads for these OTAs while using Expedia or Priceline sites. That’s because the larger OTAs earn revenue through advertising, sending passengers to smaller OTAs and charging those OTAs for the favor.

Buyer beware: some of these lesser-known OTAs are masters at hidden fees. For example, a flight search on JetBlue allows for free seat selection in many instances. If you perform the same search on FlightNetwork, an independent OTA, and select a seat, you will be charged an additional $25—despite the fact that JetBlue doesn’t charge a seat selection fee if you book directly.

What if you need to change your itinerary?

Itinerary changes are often a pain. If your plans change, it won’t matter whether you’ve booked directly with an airline or with an OTA—you’re going to pay fees for the privilege, if you can even change your ticket at all.

For example, CheapTickets.com, which is part of the Expedia Group, charges $25 to change or cancel a ticket if that change is requested after 24 hours of making the booking—it is free if you do so within 24 hours of booking. However, the fees go up from there. JustFly, an independent OTA, charges a $75 fee for changes to domestic flights in addition to airline change fees, plus the difference in fare, for tickets that can be changed. For an international trip, the fee rises to $200. That means to change an international flight with Delta (which charges a $100 change fee) booked through JustFly, you’ll be assessed $300 in fees, plus the difference in fare. At that rate, you may as well book a new flight. FlightNetwork indicates in its terms of service that changes may incur a change fee but doesn’t specify what those fees are. That hardly makes the few dollars you saved by booking with the OTA in the first place worth it.

What is an OTA price match policy?

To assure travelers that they are getting the lowest fare possible, many OTAs have a price match policy. The rules vary and so do the benefits.

For example, if you book with Orbitz and find a less expensive flight, car rental, or activity on any U.S.-based website within 24 hours of your booking, Orbitz will refund you the difference you paid. And it works: I have personally found a flight in the same class, on the same airline, for the same origin and destination cities, and requested Orbitz to refund the difference of around $35. Within a few weeks, I received a check in the mail. A similar program applies for CheapOAir, but there’s a catch—the price difference must be found on a major OTA such as Expedia or Travelocity.

Expedia has a particularly good price match policy, but you have to pay extra for it at the time of booking. Expedia offers the price match option as an add-on that costs between $5 and $30 when you book. With the price match applied, if the airfare on Expedia drops between 120 days of the flight and up to six hours before the flight, Expedia will automatically refund you the difference in fare. Unfortunately, fares generally do not drop substantially as the travel date approaches, so while this might give you peace of mind, it’s probably not worth the expense.

How do Google Flights and other travel metasearch engines work?

Frequent fliers are likely familiar with websites such as Google Flights, Kayak, Momondo, or Skyscanner. On these websites, passengers search on the site but are redirected to the service provider to complete the booking, such as an airline, rental car company, or hotel.

Metasearch started with a product called ITA Matrix, which is a tool for searching airfares online but not for actually booking online. ITA Matrix allows for multi-city searching, such as setting two different departure or arrival airports, and for offering a calendar view of fares for easier comparison. That company was acquired by Google in 2011, and savvy travelers swear by it to help find the least expensive fares online. Most consumers are more familiar with Google Flights, which has gained traction more recently not least because it has the benefit of being displayed first in search results on Google.

Metasearch engines receive distribution fees from the airlines for sending traffic to the supplier websites. There are no additional hidden fees for using a metasearch engine because you’re booking directly with the airline or hotel.

A major benefit of the metasearch engines is their price tracking tool, which lets users know whether the displayed fares are low, average, or high for the flight, allowing travelers to make a more informed decision on whether to book a flight or not . Google Flights and Kayak, for instance, both have price tracking tools.

Why not just book directly?

The airlines would definitely much rather you book directly with them. Over the past five years, they have gotten much better at marketing and selling their product directly to consumers online and through mobile sites and apps. But in the past, they weren’t so good at it. In fact, Delta, Northwest, United, American, and Continental got together to invest $145 million to launch Orbitz in 1999 to counter the threat from Expedia. Now Orbitz is owned by Expedia.

The airlines also try to encourage customers to book directly so that they can maintain a closer relationship with them. It allows carriers to connect bookings with loyalty programs and create special offers and discounts catered to individual passengers.

There is another benefit to booking directly. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty, so long as the booking is made at least seven days before travel. The law applies, however, only to U.S. and foreign air carriers that have websites marketed to U.S. consumers. This means that, in theory, an online travel agency does not have to offer such a policy, although most OTAs do.

What are the options for booking on your mobile device?

Airlines and the major OTAs all have apps to help you book and manage your trip on your mobile device, but their functionality is lacking compared to these websites’ desktop editions. For example, Expedia’s app doesn’t allow you to view flights on a month-view calendar. Kayak has an app with more bells and whistles and a better user interface, including a month-view calendar with color-coded pricing. It also has a handy “augmented reality” function to help you see if your carry-on bag will fit in the overhead bin (a feature originally developed by KLM). Point your phone’s camera at the luggage, and it’ll give you the dimensions.

While apps are improving and gaining in popularity, you still might find it easier to locate the best deals on flights and hotels by using your desktop, where you can have multiple tabs open and have all the available search tools at your disposal. Apps are fine for booking directly with an airline once you know which flights you want to book.

If you’re determined to use your mobile device, you may want to look into Hopper. Hopper is a mobile-first flight booking tool that has a solid price prediction tool. You can research travel options and book directly on the app. Another benefit of Hopper: Of its team of 300 employees, nearly half are dedicated to customer support and are based in Canada versus some OTAs and airlines that outsource much of their customer service further afield.

The bottom line?

Like many travelers, I enjoy a flight deal as much as the next person, but I also don’t like any added hassle. I typically start my travel searches using the ITA Matrix or Google Flights to get a general sense of the fares. It helps to know what is a good deal and what is expensive for a particular route. I do my research, typically on a desktop computer. When I’m ready to book, I’ll book directly with the airline. I’ve found that customer service is better when booking directly with the service provider. But I’ve also saved money by using OTAs and have booked with them, too. Whichever way you choose to book, you can be safe in the knowledge that finding and purchasing travel online is a lot easier today than searching for a deal with a travel agent on a pay phone.

>> Next: How to Get the Best Last-Minute Travel Deals

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The Pros and Cons of Booking Through Online Travel Agencies

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You’re likely already familiar with online travel agencies, even if you don’t travel often. These companies — such as Priceline , Expedia and Orbitz — act as intermediaries between you and a travel provider.

Booking your travel through an OTA can be a good idea in some circumstances, but you’ll want to be wary of its pitfalls. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of online travel agencies, so you’ll know what to use to book your next vacation.

Pros of booking through online travel agencies

There are certainly advantages booking through online travel agencies, though you’ll find different experiences whether you’re using public OTAs — such as Kayak — or private ones like those offered by your card issuer, such as the Chase's travel portal .

✅ It may be cheaper

When searching for flights online, you may see different prices for the same routes that vary across websites. Although it may be a result of fare type — for example, some search results may not clarify that a fare is basic economy rather than main cabin or economy — other times, the difference comes down to competition for your business.

Online travel services will often offer slightly lower prices on flights in an effort to entice you as a customer. This is true for both hotels and airlines.

» Learn more: Best credit cards for online travel-booking websites

✅ It can earn you more rewards

Have you ever heard of shopping portals ? By logging into a shopping portal, you can earn rewards for purchases made with many online merchants. Some hotel chains, such as Hilton , Marriott and IHG , can be accessed through shopping portals while still booking directly on the hotel website. In this way, you can earn rewards with the hotel directly as well as with the shopping portal.

The same isn’t true for shopping portals and most airline sites. However, many public online travel agencies are accessible through shopping portals, which can then earn you rewards for airfare bookings. By opting to book in this way, you’ll be able to earn points or cash-back rewards through the shopping portal that you’d otherwise miss.

Some card issuers will also reward you heavily when using their online travel services. Clear examples of this can be seen with Capital One and Chase. With the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card , for example, you’ll get 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel .

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is similar. With this card, you can get 10 Ultimate Rewards® points per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Chase's portal.

While these numbers are high, it’s important to remember that there are trade-offs when booking through an OTA rather than directly with a hotel or airline. We’ll get into that a little later.

Online travel agencies offered by your card issuer may not feature the same prices as booking directly; you’ll want to compare these before committing to a purchase.

Some card issuers will go so far as to give your points more value when redeeming through their online travel agencies.

This is true with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card . When redeeming points on Chase's travel portal, you’ll get 1.25 cents in value per point rather than 1 cent elsewhere.

» Learn more: How much are your airline miles and hotel points worth this year?

Cons of booking through online travel agencies

There are several downsides when it comes to using online travel services for booking travel. It mainly comes down to the fact that travel providers prefer that you book directly with them — and offer more perks to woo your business.

❌ It can be harder to change a booking

Ever needed to change a flight after it's booked? No matter the reason, attempting to alter or otherwise cancel a flight can be a hassle — especially if you’ve booked through a third party.

Generally speaking, rather than offering you direct assistance, both hotels and airlines will recommend you contact the online travel agency you’ve booked with in order to make any changes.

While you may be able to make changes or get refunds with the travel agency, airlines and hotels can — and will — offer much more flexibility when you’ve booked with them directly. You may also be subject to additional fees charged by the online travel agency, which can erase any savings you’ve received.

❌ You may not receive elite benefits

This is the real kicker for anyone wanting elite status. Although airlines will almost always recognize your elite status and allow you to earn miles even for bookings made through an online travel agency, hotels and rental car companies will not.

This is especially important for hotel chains. Earning elite status with hotels generally relies on elite night credits. Although these can be earned in a variety of ways — including having complimentary status by holding certain credit cards — the main method of acquiring elite night credits is by spending nights in hotels. Rooms booked through an online travel agency do not count toward elite status as elite night credits.

Additionally, you will not receive any of the benefits of your existing elite status if your booking is through a third party. This can mean the loss of perks such as room upgrades, complimentary breakfast and even free Wi-Fi.

» Learn more: The best airline and hotel rewards loyalty programs this year

❌ It may be more expensive

Did you know that many hotel chains have best price guarantees? Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG all have a guarantee that’ll give you either points or a discount if you find a better rate elsewhere.

These guarantees are generous; Hilton, for example, will match the rate and then discount it by a further 25%.

Although you’ll need to file claims for these guarantees and they face limitations — such as a 24-hour window from when you made the booking — you can save a lot of money on your stay if your request is approved.

Online travel agencies can be hit or miss

There are two sides to every coin and this is no different, as there are several benefits and limitations of online travel services. Depending on your needs and loyalty program status, you’ll want to choose whether to book directly with a travel provider or rely on OTAs to do the job for you.

Booking travel through credit card portals from issuers like Chase and Capital One can earn you big rewards. But if you anticipate altering your travel plans or aim to earn elite status instead, booking directly is the way to go.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024 :

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-5% Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Up to $300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options

75,000 Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.

The 10 Best Online Travel Agencies: The Top OTAs to Connect to in 2024

Lexi DeMers

Updated: 12 Jun 2024

Online travel agencies don’t just make life easier for travelers. The best online travel agencies also offer a variety of benefits to business owners. From accessing niche markets to the billboard effect, listing your hospitality business on popular travel sites has many perks. 

These sites can help you cover low-season lulls or ensure you maximize your bookings year round. In this article, we’ll cover the best online travel agencies for hoteliers and other accommodation providers, as well as the benefits they offer. Discover how online travel agencies can help you capture your share of the $521 billion online travel market . 

The 10 Online Travel Agencies with the Highest Revenue 

Before you take the time and effort to list your business on a new channel, you’ll want to make sure that it will actually help you gain new guests. Below are the 10 best online travel agencies worldwide by annual revenue , as reported by Statista. 

Booking.com

Edreams odigeo, tripadvisor, manage all your channels with one centralized booking system, a closer look at the best online travel agencies.

All online travel agencies are not created equal. In fact, many channels cater best to specific businesses. Though listing your property on the highest earning online travel agencies is a great strategy, it is even better to understand the markets that each OTA serves.

Booking.com is a global powerhouse in the online travel agency sector. Its expansive platform includes a diverse array of property types, ranging from hostels to resorts to apartments. So it is a great OTA option for a variety of business models. Renowned for its user-friendly interface and extensive property listings, Booking.com attracts travelers from around the world. 

Hotels can seamlessly integrate with this booking engine, streamlining their reservations and room management. On average, Booking.com charges businesses a 15% commission on every booking, though this rate can vary from region to region. 

Expedia is a leading online travel agency known for its global reach and comprehensive travel offerings. This one-stop shop caters to travelers searching for accommodations, flights, car rentals, and vacation packages across the globe. 

Business owners benefit from Expedia's tools like the Partner Central platform, which aids in managing bookings, optimizing rates, and enhancing visibility. Expedia's loyalty program, Expedia Rewards, encourages repeat bookings which is why it is one of the best online travel agencies for hoteliers. However, depending on the region your business is in, Expedia charges 10% to 30% commission. 

Airbnb is a unique online travel agency that connects travelers with a wide range of accommodations, from cozy private rooms to entire homes. While it first gained fame for its home-sharing platform, it has expanded to include boutique hotels and traditional accommodations. As such, it ranks toward the top of our list of the best online travel agencies. 

Accommodation providers can tap into Airbnb's extensive network, reaching guests from around the world. While there are a few different options, most hosts on Airbnb are charged a 3% commission. Meanwhile, Airbnb charges a 14% service fee to guests on top of the nightly rate you set. 

Trivago is one of the best online travel agencies, but getting your property on the site isn’t as straightforward as the other options on this list. Trivago is a metasearch engine that scours the Internet to find the best hotel deals for travelers. It collects hotel listings and prices from various online travel agencies, hotel chains, and booking sites. 

Owners can leverage Trivago by ensuring their listings are well-optimized on other OTAs. Since it doesn't handle bookings directly, Trivago doesn’t charge business owners any commission and instead gets its revenue from other sites that advertise there. 

Despegar is one of the best online travel agencies for the Latin American market. It offers a wide range of travel-related services, including hotel bookings, flights, and car rentals. With a strong presence in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, Despegar gives travelers a convenient platform to plan and book their trips.

Business owners looking to tap into the Latin American market can benefit from listing their properties on Despegar. It allows them to access a diverse and growing customer base while also providing travelers with options tailored to their preferences and language. Hoteliers can expect to pay 10% to 15% in commission on bookings from this site. 

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As one of the largest online travel agencies globally, Trip.com offers a variety of services to travelers. Formerly known as Ctrip, it has a strong presence in the Asian market but has expanded its reach to cater to a diverse international audience. Travelers can use Trip.com to book hotels, flights, trains, car rentals, and other travel-related services. 

Accommodation providers aiming to attract travelers from Asia and beyond can benefit from partnering with Trip.com. As one of the best online travel agencies, it provides access to a vast customer base seeking a variety of accommodation options. By listing on Trip.com, you can expect to pay anywhere between 10% to 25% in commission. 

eDreams Odigeo is a leading European online travel agency that serves as an umbrella for several well-known brands, including eDreams, Opodo, GO Voyages, and Travellink. It caters to travelers seeking a wide range of travel products and services. By partnering with eDreams Odigeo, accommodation providers can tap into the European market and beyond. 

Whether you run a boutique hotel or manage a large resort, listing your property on one of the  eDreams Odigeo sites allows you to reach travelers from various European countries. Depending on the exact site you list your business on, you may pay commission or your guests may pay service fees. 

As a prominent online travel agency in India, MakeMyTrip has a strong foothold in the South Asian market. It offers a range of travel services, including flights, hotels, and holiday packages. By listing your property on MakeMyTrip, you can tap into the growing Indian travel market and attract travelers looking for both domestic and international accommodation options. 

MakeMyTrip's user-friendly interface and extensive marketing efforts make it a valuable platform for reaching travelers across India and the Indian diaspora. After some controversy over excessive rates in 2019, MakeMyTrip pledged to cap its commission at 22% . However, your guests will also be charged a booking fee when making reservations on this site. 

If you're targeting spontaneous travelers or those seeking last-minute deals, Lastminute.com is the best online travel agency to consider. As the name suggests, it specializes in providing travelers with a wide array of last-minute options, from flights and hotels to car rentals and activities. 

On Lastminute.com, you can attract travelers looking for instant bookings, making it an excellent choice for filling short-notice vacancies. This is great for offering discounts during off-peak periods or showcasing special promotions. To learn more about the commission rates Lastminute charges, it's best to reach out to the company directly. 

Tripadvisor is renowned for its comprehensive database of traveler reviews. But it's also a powerful online travel agency, offering an extensive platform for accommodations, restaurants, and attractions. 

By delivering exceptional experiences to your guests, you can earn positive reviews that attract more travelers to your property. Tripadvisor offers various tools for property owners to manage their listings, showcase their amenities, and respond to reviews, ensuring your property's reputation remains stellar. Plus, Tripadvisor only charges owners a 3% commission fee. 

What Are the Benefits of Using an Online Travel Agency?

Online travel agencies have revolutionized the way the hospitality industry operates. They offer a wide array of benefits that cater to both travelers and accommodation providers. In this section, we'll explore the key advantages of collaborating with some of the best online travel agencies.

Your business. Your Bookings. Your way.

Higher Booking Volume.   Of course, the main goal of listing your property on an online travel agency is getting more bookings. These sites have large audiences, which can lead to a substantial increase in bookings. 

Market insights. The best online travel agencies provide valuable data and market insights that can help you understand traveler preferences, booking patterns, and trends. In turn, this can inform your pricing, marketing, and property management strategies.

Build an Online Reputation. Many OTAs offer a review system that allows previous guests to share their experiences. Positive reviews and ratings can build trust and credibility, encouraging potential guests to choose your property.

Easier international reach. If you have international guests in mind, the top online travel agencies can help you reach travelers worldwide. They also often support various languages and currencies, making it easier for international guests to book.

Billboard effect. The Billboard Effect describes the phenomenon in which accommodation providers gain more direct bookings on their own websites after listing their property on OTAs. It illustrates that these platforms serve as powerful marketing and distribution channels.

How to Find the Best Online Travel Agencies for Your Business 

While listing your business on all of the best online travel agencies is a smart move, you can go a step further with OTAs. If you want to find the absolute best online travel agencies for your business, you’ll need to identify sites that fit your niche. 

Many OTAs cater to specific audiences, such as Thermal for surf trips and Bookatrekking.com for trekking adventures. There are also great online travel agencies for other niches, including luxury accommodations, yoga retreats, family hotels, and more. Take some time to explore various platforms’ user base and commission rates to determine which OTAs would be best for your business. 

How Can I Manage Multiple OTAs?

While having a presence on multiple OTAs can offer big rewards, having to log into and manage several different platforms is extremely time consuming. Not to mention, you risk double-books and other errors. Thankfully, you can use a channel manager to help streamline your bookings across multiple online travel agencies. 

At Bookinglayer, we offer Channex ; a fully integrated, user-friendly channel manager that allows our clients to maximize their revenue without spending extra time on administration. Channex allows business owners to integrate with up to 35 different platforms while conveniently managing everything from one simple dashboard. 

Want to Learn More About How Bookinglayer Helps Business Owners?

Bookinglayer is an all-in-one software suite designed specifically for adventure travel businesses that have complex booking scenarios. If you want to offer accommodation and activities, Bookinglayer is the most comprehensive platform on the market.

Whether is optimizing your booking flow, automating your payment processing, or streamlining your daily reports, we can help you save time, reduce errors, and increase conversions. You can sign up for a free demo to discover if you are the right fit for our software suite. 

Best Online Travel Agencies FAQ

What is an online travel agency.

An online travel agency is a web-based platform that allows users to research and book a range of travel-related services. Also known as OTAs, these marketplaces display services from various providers. They often include accommodation, flights, rental cars, tours and activities, and more. 

How do online travel agencies work?

Online travel agencies are third-party services that offer users a convenient and easy way to plan and book travel experiences. They aggregate travel services, facilitate bookings, collect payments, and publish reviews. In return, they oftentimes earn a commission from the bookings they sell.  

How do OTAs make money?

OTAs typically make money by charging business owners a commission on the bookings they sell. These commission rates can range from 10% to 30%, depending on the platform you choose and the region you operate in. In addition, some OTAs may also charge customers a service fee to help cover the costs of running the platform. 

What is the downside of using OTAs?

The downside of using an OTA is that you will likely need to pay a commission to the platform. As such, many business owners prefer to collect direct bookings. Nonetheless, the best online travel agencies serve as a great way to advertise your property and can help you increase your revenue despite the commission charges. 

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• Arc Hotel Washington DC, Georgetown $150+
• The Churchill Hotel Near Embassy Row $152+
• Henley Park Hotel $154+
• Flight Boston - Baltimore (BOS - BWI) $32+
• Flight Atlanta - Baltimore (ATL - BWI) $51+
• Flight Tampa - Baltimore (TPA - BWI) $55+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Baltimore (FLL - BWI) $75+
• Flight Orlando - Baltimore (MCO - BWI) $78+
• Flight Dallas - Baltimore (DFW - BWI) $81+
• Flight Atlanta - Washington, D.C. (ATL - IAD) $84+
• Flight Boston - Washington, D.C. (BOS - IAD) $95+
• Flight Houston - Baltimore (HOU - BWI) $96+
• Flight Houston - Baltimore (IAH - BWI) $96+
• Flight Miami - Washington, D.C. (MIA - DCA) $97+
• Flight Miami - Washington, D.C. (MIA - IAD) $97+
• Hotel Casa Mallorca $57+
• Real Inn Cancún $70+
• Wyndham Garden Cancun Downtown $70+
• Flight Philadelphia - Cancún (PHL - CUN) $179+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Cancún (FLL - CUN) $181+
• Flight Atlanta - Cancún (ATL - CUN) $204+

United States

• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Newark (FLL - EWR) $45+
• Tip Top Motel $179+
• Kauai Palms Hotel $195+
• Castle Kaha Lani Resort $244+
• Flight Los Angeles - Hawaii (LAX - USHI) $162+
• Flight San Francisco - Hawaii (SFO - USHI) $177+
• Flight San Jose - Hawaii (SJC - USHI) $207+
• Stay Classy $56+
• California Suites Hotel $76+
• Super 8 by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle $81+
• Flight Phoenix - San Diego (PHX - SAN) $48+
• Flight San Jose - San Diego (SJC - SAN) $51+
• Flight San Francisco - San Diego (SFO - SAN) $53+
• Shared Living Not A Hotel $34+
• Extend-a-Suites Phoenix $50+
• Super 8 by Wyndham Phoenix West $53+
• Flight Dallas - Phoenix (DFW - PHX) $54+
• Flight Los Angeles - Phoenix (LAX - PHX) $58+
• Flight Chicago - Phoenix (MDW - PHX) $71+

Los Angeles

• Freehand Los Angeles $48+
• City Center Hotel $101+
• Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles International Airport $110+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites LAX $122+
• H by H Hospitality $134+
• The Dixie Hollywood $136+
• USC Hotel $142+
• Flight San Jose - Los Angeles (SJC - LAX) $31+
• Flight Las Vegas - Los Angeles (LAS - LAX) $38+
• Flight Dallas - Los Angeles (DFW - LAX) $49+
• Flight San Francisco - Los Angeles (SFO - LAX) $51+
• Flight Seattle - Los Angeles (SEA - LAX) $51+
• Flight Oakland - Los Angeles (OAK - LAX) $56+
• Flight Portland - Los Angeles (PDX - LAX) $58+
• Miami Gardens Inn & Suites $66+
• La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Miami Airport North $70+
• Motel 6 Miami. Fl $81+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miami Airport East $81+
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Miami-Kendall $94+
• Holiday Inn Miami-Doral Area, An IHG Hotel $94+
• The Palms Inn & Suites $99+
• Courtyard by Marriott Miami West/FL Turnpike $100+
• enVision Hotel Miami International Airport $102+
• Best Western Plus Miami Intl Airport Hotel & Suites Coral Gables $103+
• Holiday Inn Miami West - Airport Area $103+
• Flight New York - Miami (LGA - MIA) $51+
• Flight Houston - Miami (HOU - MIA) $54+
• Flight Chicago - Miami (ORD - MIA) $56+
• Flight Baltimore - Miami (BWI - MIA) $69+
• Flight Charlotte - Miami (CLT - MIA) $70+
• Flight Atlanta - Miami (ATL - MIA) $72+
• Flight Dallas - Miami (DFW - MIA) $73+
• Flight Newark - Miami (EWR - MIA) $73+
• Flight Raleigh - Miami (RDU - MIA) $74+
• Flight Boston - Miami (BOS - MIA) $80+
• Flight Los Angeles - Miami (LAX - MIA) $83+
• Super 8 by Wyndham Denver Stapleton $65+
• Hometowne Studios by Red Roof Denver - Glendale/Cherry Creek $66+
• Motel 6 Denver Co Downtown $73+
• Baymont by Wyndham Denver International Airport $81+
• Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Denver Airport $90+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites By Wyndham Denver Airport Dia $95+
• Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Denver International Airport $96+
• Flight Los Angeles - Denver (LAX - DEN) $57+
• Flight Atlanta - Denver (ATL - DEN) $58+
• Flight Minneapolis - Denver (MSP - DEN) $59+
• Flight Chicago - Denver (ORD - DEN) $66+
• Flight Ontario - Denver (ONT - DEN) $68+
• Flight Seattle - Denver (SEA - DEN) $73+
• Flight Charlotte - Denver (CLT - DEN) $78+
• Hi Boston Hostel $69+
• Ramada by Wyndham Boston $141+
• Temple Place Suites $171+
• Flight Atlanta - Boston (ATL - BOS) $37+
• Flight Baltimore - Boston (BWI - BOS) $47+
• Flight Chicago - Boston (ORD - BOS) $47+
• Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Atlanta Airport $61+
• Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Atlanta/Buckhead Area $71+
• Crowne Plaza Atlanta - Midtown, an IHG Hotel $82+
• Flight Dallas - Atlanta (DFW - ATL) $36+
• Flight Philadelphia - Atlanta (PHL - ATL) $36+
• Flight Boston - Atlanta (BOS - ATL) $37+
• Generator Madrid $23+
• C&H Aravaca Garden $28+
• Toc Hostel Madrid $32+
• Flight Los Angeles - Paris (LAX - CDG) $319+
• Rodeway Inn Fairgrounds-Casino $67+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Tampa Fairgrounds - Casino $68+
• Tampa Inn Near Busch Gardens $69+
• Flight Newark - Florida (EWR - USFL) $47+
• Flight New York - Florida (LGA - USFL) $48+
• Flight Philadelphia - Florida (PHL - USFL) $52+
• Flight Baltimore - Tampa (BWI - TPA) $55+
• Flight Atlanta - Tampa (ATL - TPA) $56+
• Flight Chicago - Tampa (ORD - TPA) $66+

New Orleans

• Super 8 by Wyndham New Orleans $50+
• Ramada by Wyndham New Orleans $56+
• Maison Saint Charles by Hotel RL $82+
• Flight Dallas - New Orleans (DFW - MSY) $49+
• Flight Newark - New Orleans (EWR - MSY) $56+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - New Orleans (FLL - MSY) $75+

Frequently asked questions about KAYAK

How do i find travel deals on kayak.

Simply use one of our travel search engines to scan for prices gathered from hundreds of travel sites. KAYAK’s search results pages have loads of filter options to help you find deals, discover exactly what you’re looking for and make booking seamless. Plus, there’s no extra fee from KAYAK.

What makes KAYAK a great travel app?

On the KAYAK app for iOS and Android you’ll find all the great travel offers found on the website and much more. There are special mobile rates and app only deals that allow you to save even more money. Plus, you can get notifications straight to your phone letting you know when prices for your next trip have dropped. But the KAYAK app is much more than just a travel app. Use the Trips function to manage your travel itinerary and get up to date status alerts on flights, check-in changes and to store your boarding pass. Even if you’re in the middle of nowhere on your travels, you can still access your travel notes via Trips, as no internet connection is required.

How can I use KAYAK to manage my travel bookings?

KAYAK Trips creates a travel itinerary for you that will give you flight status alerts, can be shared with friends and more. Simply forward your booking confirmations to [email protected] or use the KAYAK app and sync your email account to keep all your travel plans organized in one app, even if you didn’t book with KAYAK. You can share your holiday plans with friends and family and also check out your travel stats for past vacations, like how far you’ve traveled, your most popular cities and how many times you’ve traveled around the world. Even if you don’t have signal, don’t worry, as you can access Trips to check out your itineraries whilst on the road. Your data is safe and secure with us and you won’t have to re-enter credit card info when booking future trips. If you want to make changes or cancel bookings, then you should contact the travel provider, which is provided on the booking confirmation.

What are KAYAK Price Alerts?

Instead of manually checking back in on the price of your next flight or stay, let KAYAK do the hard work for you with KAYAK Price Alerts. Once you’ve saved your search, our data will determine how the price will rise or fluctuate over the coming days. You’ll then get a push notification letting you know when’s the perfect time to book.

Search flights , hotels , rental cars , travel guides and more with KAYAK. KAYAK searches hundreds of other travel sites at once to get you the information you need to make the right decisions.

Vacation envy starts here

Featured in, next-level travel powered by tech and the human touch.

Our travel advisors have the tools, insights & connections to build your dream vacation. Get VIP recommendations & perks, a seamless booking experience — and maybe a cool new friend along the way.

Destinations near and far, we do it all

Buzzing cities, tropical islands, remote escapes and everything in between. Our first-hand intel and insider expertise covers the globe.

Designed for every type of traveler

... whether you're planning a bucket list adventure, family reunion, solo trip or weekend away. If it's on your list, we book it.

Travel like a VIP with our partners

Unlock perks and upgrades at thousands of hotels around the world — including Four Seasons, Andaz, Kimpton and more — at no extra cost.

Hotels with Perks

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Featured hotels

Hacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Resorts Collection

This serene casita resort features bird-song-filled acres of untamed tropical forest, a coffee farm, equine stables, organic chef’s gardens and a wellbeing center.

$100 hotel credit.

Breakfast daily.

Extended check-in/out whenever possible.

Chablé Yucatán

This luxury Mexico resort was founded on the basis of Mayan well-being, and offers thoughtful immersion into the country’s vibrant culture.

$100 hotel / resort credit.

Upgrade & extended check-in/out whenever possible.

Domaine de Fontenille

This restored 18th-century home sits amid an organic garden and 17th-century vineyard in Luberon, an idyllic hilltop region in Provence.

Complimentary experience.

Welcome note & amenities.

One-way airport transfer.

Why We're Different

Customized travel planning for your style, expert advice from people who've actually been there, free upgrades, spa credits and more — we got you, relax, you're in good hands.

Fora Advisor Christina P.

Christina was extremely thorough throughout the process. She handled everything every step of the way. Honestly, it felt like she was right by my side throughout the entire trip. I could not have experienced this trip without her.

Booked travel to Illinois with Christina P.

Fora Advisor Katrina F.

Katrina was incredible every step of the way. She helped us tighten up our itinerary and made great recommendations for hotels and restaurants that worked really well for our family. I would highly recommend anyone thinking about how to make their trip perfect go straight to Katrina.

Booked travel to California with Katrina F.

Fora Advisor Melissa F.

I was impressed by the high level of professionalism in planning and organizing my trip to NYC. Attention to detail and genuine care for my particular interests - great restaurants and seeing the best of the city - were evident in every step of the planning. I highly recommend Melissa!

Booked travel to New York City with Melissa F.

Fora Advisor Thomas S.

Thomas was amazing. He got us a free room upgrade, free breakfasts for 5 days (an ~$270 value), a $50 room credit, early checkin, late checkout and more. I am referring him to all of my friends who like to travel in style.

Booked travel to Washington DC with Thomas S.

Fora Advisor Sequoia A.

Managed expectations and helped deliver the experience I was looking for. Kind and professional. Facilitated everything so I could fully enjoy myself without worry or any kind of stress arranging my stay.

Booked travel to Mexico with Sequoia A.

Fora Advisor Jill M.

Jill is amazing - so professional and goes above and beyond to accommodate her clients and their particular requests and booking preferences. She always find exactly what we need and want! Highly recommend.

Booked travel to Portugal with Jill M.

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What travelers say about our advisors

Still have questions, what is a travel agency.

A travel agency supports a team of travel advisors who sell, curate and book travel. Travel advisors consult with clients on where to go, what to do and where to stay. In addition to planning and booking trips, advisors communicate with hotels and other partners (tour companies, cruises, etc.) to ensure each trip goes smoothly.

What is the difference between a travel advisor and a travel agent?

The terms travel agent and travel advisor are used interchangeably. The original term was ‘travel agent,’ but the industry has gone through a bit of a rebrand to showcase the breadth of work that a travel advisor does. We use both, but typically refer to our network of travel advisors simply as Fora Advisors.  

Fora Advisors (a.k.a. travel advisors / agents) work with clients to understand their travel needs and handle all the travel arrangements, from booking a hotel for a long weekend to planning a honeymoon to securing a room block for a corporate conference.

What are the benefits of working with a travel agent?

Working with a travel agent helps you level up your travel experience. A travel agent handles all the logistics — on-the-ground transfers, hotel and tour bookings, itinerary planning — so you can get the most out of your trip, without any of the stress. 

Plus, our Fora travel agents have insider access to over 5,000 preferred partnerships, meaning you get complimentary perks, priority upgrades and so much more at thousands of locations around the globe. We put serious time and airline mileage into visiting these properties in person so we can give you the up-to-date intel on your destination. We also maintain close relationships with hotel management so you’re treated like the VIP you are from the moment you arrive.

In other words, working with a travel agent unlocks a secret travel world you need to be a part of. But don’t just take our word for it… we have tons of 5-star reviews from happy clients.

Will I get perks & benefits when I work with a Fora Advisor?

Yes — big time. Our travel advisors have access to upgrades & perks at over 5,000 partners around the world. Plus, our partnerships with brands like Virtuoso , Four Seasons , Rosewood and beyond — as well as with smaller, independent boutique hotels — ensure you get treated like a VIP wherever you travel to next.

What types of travel can I book with Fora?

You name it, we book it: resort vacations, safaris , city breaks, vacation home rentals, once-in-a-lifetime adventures, weekend escapes…We do it all.

Do Fora Advisors count as Disney travel agents? What about cruise travel agents?

Absolutely. We provide comprehensive training on just about everything in the travel industry, so our advisors are well equipped to curate any client’s dream trip. (Read more about the benefits of booking with a cruise travel agent .)

I’m planning a group trip. Can Fora Advisors help?

Of course! The more the merrier. Whether you’re organizing a family reunion, honeymoon , bachelorette party or company-wide retreat, we’re happy to help. Just get in touch with your Fora Advisor to begin the process.

How do I make the most of my experience when planning a trip with Fora?

Tell us everything. Let us know if you love golf, must have access to a kids’ club or have a soft spot for off-the-beaten-path travel . Serious allergies or dietary restrictions are also very helpful information to share. That way, we’ll only show you options that fit your wants and needs. We also love to hear about your favorite hotels and trips you’ve enjoyed in the past, because that clues us in to your travel style.

If you’ve never worked with a travel advisor before, get our guide on what to expect when booking with a travel agent .

Wait, I kind of want to be a Fora Advisor myself. How can I join?

We love to hear it! We have a guide on how to become a travel agent . Then, when you’re interested in transforming your passion for travel into a meaningful career, apply to become a Fora Advisor today . 

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What are online travel agencies? The ultimate guide to OTAs

Love them or not, online travel agencies (OTAs) play a critical role in every property’s distribution strategy. According to Expedia Group’s 2023 Path to Purchase report, OTAs captured 51% of online hotel & lodging bookings and possess the visibility and marketing power that most individual properties cannot achieve on their own. 

Working with OTAs isn’t just a matter of signing up and hoping for the best. To take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls, you need to actively manage your listings, pricing, and inventory and take a strategic approach to online distribution. 

If done correctly, adopting the right OTAs as part of your distribution strategy can actually help drive direct bookings through the “billboard effect.” Building a comprehensive channel mix incorporating different types of OTAs will ensure you reach your target audience and secure a steady stream of reservations. 

See which OTAs dominate globally, regionally, and across property types based on Cloudbeds customer data and how properties like yours use OTAs as part of their distribution strategy. 

At Cloudbeds, we know the world of OTAs and distribution channels can be complex. We’ve created the Big Book of OTAs to help demystify this process and explain how to create a recipe for success when working with third-party distribution channels.  

What is an online travel agency (OTA)?

An online travel agency (OTA) is a website that acts as a search engine for travel. They connect providers across the travel industry to help travelers easily plan their trips. On OTA sites, travelers can often access package deals with accommodations, airfare, cruises, rental cars, and more.

On average, travelers view 141 pages of travel content in the 45 days before booking a trip, with OTAs making up 67 of those pages. Therefore, properties must be active on as many channels as possible to increase brand awareness and drive bookings — both OTA bookings and direct bookings (more on this later). With the increased popularity of OTAs around the world, hoteliers now have access to markets once unattainable.

How do OTAs work?

Online travel agencies emerged in the 1990s, using the internet’s extensive reach to aggregate global travel supply into a single place so consumers could book their own travel online. These self-service tools reshaped the hotel industry and booking experience with functionality that allowed the general public to easily plan their trips and reserve their airfare, accommodations, vacation packages, car rentals, and tours on their own rather than rely on a physical travel agent.

Sites such as Expedia.com, Booking.com, Airbnb, Orbitz, Hotels.com, and TripAdvisor are often consumers’ first stop when researching and booking their next trip. These apps offer a seamless user experience at all stages of the buying process: problem/need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior.

Properties of all types and sizes can connect to multiple OTAs through an integrated channel manager . A distribution system, like a channel manager, shares room inventory and rates from your property management system (PMS) to your booking engine and OTAs. Properties that use a channel manager can streamline hotel operations, increase hotel revenue via revenue management best practices , and increase occupancy across channels (all without the fear of overbookings). 

OTA business models

Hotels form partnerships with OTAs by basically outsourcing marketing to OTAs, who then make money through two business models: the merchant model (guest pays the OTA  in advance) and the commission model (guest pays the hotel at check-in or check-out). Most OTAs offer a blended model so that hotels can let guests choose which option they’d prefer. 

The merchant model

In this model, the online travel agency acts as the merchant of record and collects payments from guests at the time of booking. Once the guest has checked out, the OTA pays the hotel. Contracts exist between hotels and OTAs to provide a set number of rooms to the OTA at a favorable rate. The OTA then makes a profit off each room sold but must meet its contractual thresholds.

The agency (commission) model

In this model, the consumer books via the OTA but pays the hotel directly at the time of checkout. The hotel then pays the OTA a commission on the total value of the booking after checkout. There are no contracts, and rates are set by hotel management. 

The advertising model

This model has increased in popularity and exists on metasearch sites such as Google Hotel Ads, Tripadvisor, Trivago, and KAYAK. Metasearch engines work primarily on a cost-per-click basis where hotels can promote their rooms with links to their direct booking engine, and pay a fee based on the number of clicks they receive. Some of these sites, such as Google, also offer a cost-per-acquisition model (also known as “pay per stay”) where the property pays a percentage of the total reservation cost upon completion of the stay.

For hotels, it can be frustrating to watch distribution costs rise without getting more in return, but there are costs associated with direct bookings too. Demand doesn’t appear without at least some sort of distribution or marketing strategy in place, and those marketing campaigns, loyalty offers, special deals, and direct booking tools have a cost to the hotel. That’s why it’s important to use OTAs wisely and in conjunction with your own direct marketing strategy. 

Online travel agencies vs. online travel agents

Before the rise of OTAs, it was the role of a travel agent to book leisure and business travel. This is because travelers back then did not have access to hotel availability and rates the way we do today. While the internet has made it easier for travelers to book their own trips online, some segments like luxury, corporate, and group travelers still prefer to utilize a person, or online travel agent, to help plan and book a trip.

Travel agents are beneficial when planning complex trips such as a destination wedding, honeymoon, or corporate trip. They have the expertise and connections to find unique accommodations at better rates than most people can find themselves.

Travel agents such as Kuoni have a team of destination experts who work behind the scenes to curate tailor-made accommodations, experiences, and itineraries. Their in-person stores allow travelers to enjoy a glass of champagne while meeting with a travel expert to plan their dream vacation.

Travel agents usually have a portfolio of properties they recommend to travelers and take a commission fee, similar to OTAs. Strong relationships with travel agents can help properties drive more bookings in alternative segments than the OTA market.

Difference between OTAs and metasearch

With so many online booking channels available today, it can be challenging to understand the difference between certain channels.

Metasearch websites like Skyscanner act as aggregators and display hotel information and room rates from a variety of online channels, including OTAs like Agoda, Trip.com, Travelocity, or Priceline.com and a hotel’s website. It enables travelers to compare all of their hotel booking options in real time across the web so that they can book the best deal.

OTAs provide room rates and booking capabilities for only one channel — their own. Meanwhile, metasearch sites can display up to twenty or more results.

Properties can invest in hotel marketing efforts through metasearch engines. Metasearch sites rank listings and it pays off to be near the top. Paying to have your listing higher in the ranks to drive more direct bookings can drive serious results. 

Is Google an OTA?

Google is often a traveler’s first stop when looking for a hotel room. In recent years, Google has changed the hospitality industry with its products. Google offers Google Hotel Search, which acts as a hotel metasearch platform. When a traveler enters a property’s name into Google, it will show all of the rates and listing information from across the web.

Google also has free booking links , a game-changer for independent hotels as they can list their direct rates and links to their own website within the Google Hotel Search box. This option encourages potential guests to book direct.

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The Top Online Travel Agencies for Selling Tours and Activities

Table of Content

Why should you partner with otas, the ota industry landscape, the top otas for selling tours and activities, how to manage multiple channels in one place.

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) connect consumers with travel services such as hotels, flights, car rentals, tours and activities. Their power lies in aggregating offers from hundreds or thousands of suppliers, giving users the ability to compare many options on the same platform.

OTAs have become influential in markets such as hotel bookings, flights and more recently – the car rental and “things to do” markets. With consumers flocking to OTAs to manage their trips, suppliers can use these platforms to distribute their offers in addition to their own marketing efforts.

But choosing the right partners for your leisure business can be a difficult task. Different OTAs can provide you with a various set of advantages. You need to understand each platform’s strengths in order to derive the most value.

Should you go with the big names like Ctrip and Expedia or choose specialist sites for tours and activities like Viator? Or maybe use a combination of OTAs to sell your products?

In this post, we’ll highlight some of the top online travel agencies, which ones you should partner with and how to do it right.

Ready? Let’s go.

This is a long post. Get a PDF version by clicking on the image below so you can save it for review later.

As people increasingly book tours, activities, and attractions online, it’s important to establish a strong internet presence. The same goes for mobile which is starting to account for a significant portion of total bookings, even though the industry is still primarily offline.

But establishing your brand online and on mobile takes significant investments of both time and money. This is where online travel agencies can help.

With bigger players attracting millions of people each month, the main advantage OTAs provide to activity suppliers is access to more potential customers. Right here, right now – on both web and mobile.

In addition, OTAs bring in a number of other benefits, including handling payments and customer service on your behalf. In essence, you can outsource much of your online marketing and sales efforts to OTAs.

With huge advertising budgets and great search engine authority, bigger OTAs are well positioned in the online world and provide access to consumers that are otherwise hard to reach.

But more than that, as we can see from the hotel industry, using OTAs is becoming a necessity for many providers. Often these are big companies that can create a great user experience for both consumers and suppliers. This is why travelers use them to manage their trips while suppliers manage sales and bookings.

Of course, using OTAs isn’t free. You will often pay commission fees that usually range between 20% and 30% depending on multiple factors such as the platform you partner with, your offer, and sales volumes.

This means that you should always prioritize sales and bookings going through direct channels – such as your website, phone or on-site – in order to avoid extra costs.

OTAs are extremely useful for last-minute bookings and filling up capacity that would otherwise be wasted. If adding more customers to your tour or activity does not increase costs, filling up available slots using OTAs is a great idea.

In addition, if you’re just starting out , your online strategy and positioning will take time to develop. In the meantime, OTAs can secure valuable bookings for you while you develop things like your search engine authority, social media presence, and advertising budget.

Did you know Regiondo can help you to manage multiple sales channels in one place so you don’t have to track your bookings manually? Start your free Regiondo trial today .

Before we look at the top online travel agencies individually, let’s examine the industry landscape. This way you’ll get a glimpse of each platform’s focus and compare them side-by-side. We’ll look at some of the main criteria you should consider when choosing an OTA to partner with such as web traffic, geographical focus, and commission fees.

Web traffic

The number of monthly visits is one of the prime metrics OTAs track to measure their performance. While simple visits don’t guarantee sales, there’s a positive correlation between the amount of traffic and the number of bookings received.

While it shouldn’t be the only thing you look at when choosing a platform to partner with, web traffic is a good indicator of the exposure you’ll get. Generally, the higher the traffic, the more people you will reach.

However, we need to note that some OTAs provide a number of additional services like flights and hotel bookings which may account for most of the traffic. In order to avoid making wrong assumptions, we can compare traffic between OTAs that have a similar profile.

For example, we can look at big OTAs that provide a range of travel services separately from specialist OTAs that focus solely on tours and activities. Moreover, niche players that don’t get as much traffic but provide other benefits should also be looked at separately in order to best understand their strengths and weaknesses.

It should be noted that the numbers below are estimates based on data from SimilarWeb.

Expedia and Ctrip are two of the most prominent OTAs that have been around for a long time and aggregate the full spectrum of travel services from hotel bookings to car rentals.

If we look at the website visits between May 2018 and July 2018, we can see that both platforms attract a similar amount of traffic. Expedia sees a steady month-on-month increase as the summer months arrive while Ctrip saw a slight decrease in June before getting ahead in July.

It’s hard to estimate what part of website visitors actually book a tour or activity but we can make an educated guess. Expedia reported that 2017 revenue from their Local Expert brand (“Things to do” section) was just over $500 million. With a total revenue in 2017 of around $10 billion , this represents roughly 5% of total sales.

Assuming a similar distribution in terms of traffic, this could amount to roughly 10 – 12 million visits related to tours and activities for these big OTAs (across the full 3 months). Therefore, monthly numbers are likely in the range of 3 million to 4 million visits.

When it comes to website traffic, Viator clearly leads the way with nearly 30 million visits in the last 3 months – just around 10 million per month. Not surprisingly, it’s parent company TripAdvisor is the top referring site and accounts for roughly 16% of Viator’s referrals (SimilarWeb data).

GetYourGuide and Klook received about the same number of visits as Viator – but combined together. Founded in 2009 and 2014 respectively, these relatively new OTAs have quickly become key players in the industry.

Apart from well-established OTAs with millions of monthly views, there are also niche platforms that specialize in a particular geography or vertical like VELTRA and Musement.

VELTRA generates nearly 80% of its traffic in Japan and specializes in providing tours and activities to the local market.

On the other hand, Musement is focused on Europe but includes experiences in a wide range of verticals – from free activities to events, concerts and even tennis games.

Despite being relatively small, these OTAs differentiate themselves with other qualities and boast some impressive partnerships, meaning they can still generate lots of awareness for your brand.

Partners and affiliates

Apart from their main websites, OTAs often partner with hundreds or even thousands of agents and resellers. These can range from small local travel sites to large airlines, banks, and retailers. Affiliate partners distribute OTA products to their website visitors in exchange for a set commission fee for each referral.

This is why you will often see tour and activity offers when checking out of certain airlines. Basically, most platforms allow their partners to embed a code on their website which pulls relevant offers from the OTA’s inventory and shows them to travelers and other consumers.

In addition, big OTAs like Expedia own multiple brands and websites and share their inventory. If you use Orbitz , for example, you will see the same offers and booking engine as the ones on Expedia Local Expert.

Partnerships and affiliates allow OTAs to bring your offers to an even larger network of travelers and consumers. If you’re a new supplier, this can be of huge significance while you grow your online presence and brand awareness.

Geographical focus

When choosing an OTA to partner with, it’s important to know where their target audience is. This way you’ll know if they’re a good fit for your tour or activity.

For example, there’s not much point in marketing an escape room to travelers from China unless you’ve translated your instructions in Mandarin or at least English. If your services require advanced skills in a language, you should take an OTA’s geographical focus into account.

That said, we’ve looked at key markets for different OTAs and found the following:

Figures relate .com domains only.

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest markets for OTAs is North America. So if you’re partnering with a platform like Expedia or Viator, there’s a good chance your offers are reaching mostly US travelers.

On the other hand, GetYourGuide also receives most of its website visitors from North America, but the number is lower at just 25% which is balanced compared to Expedia’s 81%, for example. Taking their .de domain into account, Germany is likely the biggest market while Spain and the UK are also important for GetYourGuide.

Klook, VELTRA, and Ctrip largely depend on East Asian markets like Japan and China while Musement is the only OTA from our sample that receives most of its website visitors from Europe.

Destinations covered

In order to attract more customers, OTAs develop tour and activity portfolios from hundreds or thousands of destinations. The more breadth they provide, the bigger is the pool of travelers they can address. Each new country or city adds a number of new potential customers that can book tours and activities. In addition, a higher number of destinations increases the reach when it comes to local residents.

For these reasons, even niche OTAs like Musement develop a strong arsenal of destinations. Below you can see a graph with the number of destinations covered by some of the more popular platforms.

For this sample of OTAs, GetYourGuide leads the way in terms of coverage with more than 2,500 destinations. Viator isn’t far behind with 2000 while Musement and Expedia Local Expert cover about 1000 each.

For tour and activity suppliers, the number of destinations where an OTA has a presence is a good indicator of the marketplace landscape. If a large amount of tours and activities from your city are on the website, this means there is good demand for local experiences on that platform.

Inventory distribution

Skift conducted research on some of the bigger OTAs and found that most of their inventory is usually in Europe (which is still the biggest tourist destination by traveler count).

The chart above can give you a good indication of which platform is best for your location. If you’re based in Europe, most OTAs will give you sufficient exposure. However, providers like Klook hold a relatively small part of their inventory in Europe and most of their customers look for experiences in Asia. That doesn’t mean you should completely ignore Klook – commissions are based on sales only so you don’t lose anything by having a presence on this platform.

Number of activities

Having a large inventory of activities is important for similar reasons as destinations. The more activities on offer, the more potential customers fall within the OTA’s reach.

While the number of activities seems likely to correlate with the number of destinations covered, Viator is a clear leader in this domain with 60,000+ activities – despite covering fewer destinations than GetYourGuide. This means Viator is well-placed in certain popular geographies and stocks a disproportionate amount of tours and activities compared to its main rivals.

Klook and Ctrip come in 2nd place with around 40,000 activities each. Despite its size, Expedia LX trails behind with 25,000 activities – the same as niche player Musement.

In general, we can see the number of activities is high across all platforms as it’s a key factor for attracting customers.

Commission rates

In order to handle online marketing, payments, and other services on your behalf, OTAs normally charge a commission for each booking you receive through their website.

The commission often depends on the type of service you provide with discounts for large sales volumes. Below you can see indicative commission rates for some of the top OTAs.

Specialized OTAs like Viator and GetYourGuide tend to charge around 25% while big platforms like Expedia can go as high as 40% given their extra services and exposure.

It seems smaller platforms like Musement can give you better prices which is logical in light of their online reach. The same goes for providers based in Asia where market dynamics allow for cheaper prices overall.

Now that we have a high-level view of the OTA industry landscape, it’s time to explore each platform on an individual basis. Below you will find our pick of the top online travel agencies for selling tours and activities ranked by estimated monthly traffic.

Expedia Local Expert

Expedia Local Expert is the “Things to do” section on the main Expedia site. Started in 2014, it’s a relatively new service for the travel giant but it’s gaining traction quickly.

• Monthly visits: 66 million+
• Key market: United States
• Number of destinations: 1000+
• Supported languages: 24+
• Supported currencies: 41
• Number of activities: 25,000+
• Inventory focus: Europe
• Commission rates: 20% – 40%

Main advantages 1. It’s relatively uncrowded Despite the size of Expedia, its Local Expert brand is a relatively new product and therefore the marketplace is not so crowded. This makes it a good time to join and build up your ratings and reviews before competitors do.

2. Strong brand Expedia is one of the most admired brands both internationally and in the US. This makes it an ideal partner that can bring your offers to a loyal customer base.

3. Email marketing With over 23 million email subscribers, Expedia is able to implement targeted email campaigns that get you in front of the right people at the right time and place.

This is how your offer could look like on Expedia Local Expert.

In one sentence Use Expedia LX if you want to reach US travelers via email, web, and mobile.

Learn more about Expedia Local Expert and how to sign up in our dedicated post on the topic .

Viator is one of the pioneering OTAs that has been around since 1995. In 2014, the site was purchased by TripAdvisor in a deal worth $200 million and has become the main tour and activity partner for the reviews giant.

• Monthly visits: 9 million+
• Number of destinations: 2,000+
• Supported languages: 11
• Supported currencies: 8
• Number of activities: 60,000+
• Commission rates: 20% – 30%

Main advantages 1. TripAdvisor integration As TripAdvisor’s main tour and activity supplier, Viator is the surest way to get exposure on the reviews giant’s website.

2. Search engine ranking Viator is a good partner if you want to stand any chance of ranking for competitive keywords like “things to do in [your city]”. The user-generated content from TripAdvisor and Viator reviews coupled with their long history online boost both brands in search results.

3. Advertising dollars Viator’s ad campaigns on Google, Bing, and Facebook can supplement your online traffic and bookings. Where search isn’t enough, they’ve got you covered on that front as well.

This is how your offer could look like on Viator.

In one sentence Use Viator to get exposure on the TripAdvisor platform and reach a wide range of travelers online.

Learn more about Viator and how to become a supplier in our dedicated post on the topic.

GetYourGuide

Founded in 2009, GetYourGuide is one of the fastest-growing OTAs specialized in tours and activities. As Viator’s main competitor, the company attracts millions of users across a wide range of geographies.

• Monthly visits: 6 million+
• Key market: Germany
• Number of destinations: 2,500+
• Supported languages: 22
• Supported currencies: 16
• Number of activities: 33,000+

Main advantages 1. Provide a great experience to your customers One of GetYourGuide’s key advantages is the great user experience available to customers. As a GetYourGuide supplier, travelers and locals can book your offers in a seamless way helping you fill capacity and reduce no-shows.

2. A world-class mobile presence Apart from a robust web experience, GetYourGuide boasts beautiful and highly functional smartphone apps. This is a great way to reach people on mobile, especially if you don’t have the capacity to invest in that domain.

3. Free offer optimization service As a commission-only platform, GetYourGuide makes money only when you get bookings. This is why they work extra hard to make your offers stand out with their free optimization service.

Sample offer

This is how your offer could look like on GetYourGuide.

In one sentence Use GetYourGuide to delight your customers with an outstanding user experience on web and mobile.

Learn more about GetYourGuide and how to become a supplier in our dedicated post on the topic .

Klook is a specialized tour and activity OTA that’s focused on the East Asian market. The company is growing quickly since its foundation in 2014 and boasts high profile investors like Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital, among others.

• Monthly visits: 5 million+
• Key market: Taiwan
• Number of activities: 40,000+
• Inventory focus: East Asia
• Commission rates: 15% – 25%

Main advantages 1. Local team that understands the Asian market Similar to Ctrip in China, Klook’s team can help you market in other Asian countries, giving you access to travelers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

2. Great mobile app for partners In addition to its consumer apps, Klook offers a robust app for partners where you can stay productive and track bookings on-the-go.

3. Strong reputation Klook has a knack for attracting both big-name suppliers and investors. With Disneyland and Universal Studios using the platform, you’ll be in good company.

This is how your offer could look like on Klook.

In one sentence Use Klook to reach travelers from East Asia at an affordable cost.

Learn more about Klook and how to become a partner in our dedicated post on the topic .

VELTRA is a tour and activity OTA based in Tokyo. Although smaller than the likes of Viator and GetYourGuide, the company is well positioned in the local market with it’s long-standing history since 1991.

• Monthly visits: 2 million+
• Key market: Japan
• Supported languages: 5
• Supported currencies: 3
• Number of activities: 13,000+
• Inventory focus: Asia
• Commission rates: 15% – 30%

Main advantages 1. Great affiliate network VELTRA has established partnerships with some of Japan’s largest companies, including Rakuten and Japan Airlines. Partnering with this OTA can get you in front of Japanse travelers like no other.

2. A stable company Corporate Japan is known for its loyal workforce and stability. VELTRA has been serving the travel market since 1991 so you know you’re in good hands when listing tours and activities with this platform.

3. Translate your offers in East Asian languages Your VELTRA offers can be translated for free in Japanse, Korean and Taiwanese, among other. This allows you to reach local customers in their own language and re-use the translations across other platforms too.

This is how your offer could look like on VELTRA.

In one sentence Use VELTRA to reach travelers from Japan and translate your offers in East Asian languages.

Learn more about VELTRA and how to become a partner in our dedicated post on the topic .

Musement is a niche provider and dominates the in-destination experiences market in Italy. The Musement team is highly ambitious and the company has major plans to expand across different verticals in Europe and beyond.

• Monthly visits: 600,000+
• Key market: Italy
• Supported languages: 8
• Supported currencies: 52+

Main advantages 1. Great supplier support As a relatively small OTA, Musement has the capacity to provide a personal experience to its suppliers, pairing you with an account manager to assist you when using the platform.

2. Ease burden on customer service For bookings made through Musement, the OTA can handle both online and offline communication with customers, making it easier for you to keep up with customer service demands.

3. Strategic partnerships To tackle high customer acquisition costs, Musement is partnering with select companies like Vodafone Italy to derive synergies and increase bookings in a cost-efficient way. This gives Musement additional reach across Italy and Europe which makes it an even more reliable partner.

This is how your offer could look like on Musement.

In one sentence Use Musement to reach a wide range of (mostly) European travelers and ease the burden on customer service.

Learn more about Musement and how to become a supplier in our dedicated post on the topic .

By now you probably have a good idea of which OTAs are right for your business. But what if you want to partner with multiple platforms?

Managing several channels in addition to your website and offline sales is hard work. You need to keep track of multiple systems, input numbers and update your bookings calendar manually. That’s a lot of time and effort devoted to things that can be automated.

To make things easier, we’ve developed the Regiondo Channel Manager. It’s a robust system that lets you control multiple sales channels in one place. With over 140 active sales channels, including Viator, and GetYourGuide, you can keep track of all your bookings in one place.

To get started, you’ll need to create a free Regiondo account and activate the channels you want to use from the Channel Manager.

As we can see from the flights and hotel booking industries, OTAs are here to stay. Customers often prefer to compare deals and buy what they need in one place from websites they know and trust. Instead of fighting these tourism trends, it’s best to utilize it to your advantage by choosing the right OTAs to partner with.

Individual platforms present different benefits and the ones you choose will depend on your goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

If you want to reach East Asian travelers but don’t have the capacity to do it yourself, you can choose providers like Ctrip, Klook and VELTRA to do the groundwork for you.

Or maybe you’d like a cut in the large US market but can’t afford to advertise there. This is when the likes of Expedia LX and Viator could help.

And if you want the best of both worlds (new and old), while giving your customers superb customer service, GetYourGuide and Musement are the way to go.

Lastly, you can also partner with multiple OTAs to get the maximum exposure. This is a great option if you’re just starting out and need to fill capacity quickly.

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The 10 best online travel agencies in 2024

The top 10 online travel agencies.

• Booking.com
• Lastminute.com

Best online travel agencies for leisure travel

1. booking.com.

Main offerings and features:

• Intuitive booking tool and website
• Flight + Hotel booking for easily planning trips with no cross-referencing travel websites
• Simple car rental options and taxi hire
• Available in over 40 different languages and offers over half a million properties across 207 countries
• You can book experiences in your destination city to entertain you on your travels
• Genius rewards program

• Simple interface and booking tool
• Deals when making more than one booking
• 38 different languages and offers a 24-hour, multilingual customer support service
• Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking
• Millions of reviews to help make your decision

3. Lastminute.com

• Filter hotels according to budgets, star ratings, guest ratings, board types, and more
• ATOL protection on flight + hotel bundles
• Flash sales for last-minute deals
• Payment plans to spread out the cost of travel
• Extra entertainment booking for your trips, like theatrical productions and day trips
• Gift cards for gifting travel

• Expedia rewards for hotels, cars, and more
• Experienced support
• Compare cruise lines
• Big savings when booking flights, hotels, and car
• Operates in nearly 70 countries and in over 35 different languages
• Luxury travel options

• Book hotels, flights, cars, and bundles
• 24/7 support
• Lower prices on the app
• Great last-minute deals for spontaneous travel

6. Bookmundi

Best online travel agencies for flights

1. skyscanner.

• Super flexible booking filters
• Cheaper flights and hotels than other OTAs
• Price alerts for travel routes of interest
• Easy-to-use booking tool and UI
• Hundreds of location and currency options
• One-way, return, and multi-city travel options

2. Kiwi.com

• Simple flight booking tool
• Partnerships with Booking.com and Rentalcars.com
• Discover deals anywhere with the option to open up your search
• Easy-to-use app

Best online travel agencies for business travel

1. travelperk.

• Industry-leading inventory of travel services
• Flexible booking with FlexiPerk
• Safety alerts with TravelCare
• Integrated travel policy & approval flows
• Centralized invoicing
• Easy & real-time expense reports
• Carbon offsetting with GreenPerk
• 24/7 fast customer support in target 15s , on average
• VAT reclaim
• Integration with 3rd party tools , such as expense management or HR software like Expensify and BambooHR

Save time and money on your business travel with TravelPerk

2. sap concur.

• Works with some of the biggest brands
• Easy tracking and reporting of expenses for expense reports
• Many connected apps, such as Uber and Airbnb for cars and hotels
• One solution for a variety of business travel spending

Click below to compare both platforms’ features and benefits

• Ample integrations
• Award-winning mobile app
• Employee-centric travel management

Click below for a more detailed comparison between both platforms:

How do online travel agencies work, what are the advantages of booking through an online travel agency.

• Access to comparison tools
• Peer reviews to help you with your decisions
• Flexible cancellation policies
• All your travel in one place
• Local flights and deals

Rewards programs

Comparison tools, peer reviews, flexible cancellation.

Flexiperk: Change or modify any booking, anywhere, any time.

One account for all of your travel needs, a local approach to global travel, wrapping up.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
• Never miss another update. Stay in touch with us on social for the latest product releases, upcoming events, and articles fresh off the press.

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6 reasons to avoid booking through an online travel agency

Editor's note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Online travel agencies and third-party booking sites are everywhere. You probably recognize names like Expedia, Booking.com, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotels.com, Kayak and many more. Even Walmart has a booking site now for Walmart+ members .

Most of us have probably browsed these sites at some point and perhaps used one or two to book a trip.

Online travel agencies, or OTAs, certainly can help you sift through prices and itineraries across many airlines, hotel chains, rental properties and car companies. In theory, they keep you from having to visit a host of different websites before booking a trip.

They also provide the added benefit (in the eyes of some, at least) of populating all of your travel details in one place, from your flight to your hotel stay and car rental.

But these sites also have glaring drawbacks to consider. It can be more complicated (and sometimes more expensive) to change and cancel flights after booking with an OTA. And in some cases, hotel loyalty members are unable to earn points or enjoy elite status benefits .

Through the years, we've heard from plenty of TPG readers who have run into headaches trying to change, cancel or otherwise get assistance after booking through an OTA.

Here are some reasons that booking through one of these sites might not be right for you.

Cancellation and change fees can be more punitive than booking directly

Emerging from the depths of the pandemic, one of the more positive enduring changes for air travel was that the largest U.S. airlines generally kept change fees away — at least when it comes to their full-fare economy tickets (in other words, not basic economy).

However, it's possible to still run into fees when changing or canceling tickets booked through an OTA.

In some cases, airlines may penalize customers who book through a third-party site and want to make ticket changes. For example, American Airlines' policy says: "An additional charge (per person) will be required for reservations made by travel agents or through another website that are changed by our Reservations, airport or Travel Center personnel."

Generally, you can expect these sorts of extra charges to be passed on from the OTA to customers.

Some of these third-party booking sites also impose their own fees for certain ticket changes or cancellations.

If you're flying with a budget airline or on a fare that does include airline-imposed fees for altering your itinerary, that could mean paying your booking site's fee on top of whatever the airline charges.

For instance, Priceline says it may impose its own fees even if the airline doesn't.

"If your flight's fare rules allow a change, a per ticket exchange processing fee may apply," the OTA's website cautions.

Though some OTAs never impose additional service charges, why would you complicate things and add a middleman to the process if you don't need to? Unless you find a fare you can't book directly with an airline or hotel, there's often little reason to use an OTA.

Getting a refund can be difficult

It can be challenging enough to get your hands on a refund for a canceled flight or hotel stay, even if you're entitled to one .

Airlines doled out billions of dollars in refunds during the worst of the pandemic but have since tightened up some of the ultra-flexible policies they had at the height of COVID-19's spread.

Even when you are owed a refund, though, requesting one from the airline isn't always the easiest process ... whether you choose to wait on hold with customer service by phone or send an email.

With an OTA, you're often injecting a middleman into the discussion since your booking site may need to check with the airline to see if it can process a refund on your behalf.

And if the travel provider is less than eager to refund you, do you trust the OTA to go to bat for you like you would yourself?

When these travel disruptions occur, you can end up stuck in a lot of back and forth with the airline or travel provider and the OTA before receiving the money you deserve .

You may not earn points or elite credit

This one's very simple: When you book hotels through OTAs, don't expect to earn points or elite-qualifying credit for your bookings. Most major chains consider these third-party bookings to be "ineligible rates," so you're usually out of luck if you're trying to earn points toward your next redemption.

Likewise, if you booked a hotel through an OTA, don't expect to receive any of your elite benefits.

So, if you hold The Platinum Card® from American Express , your complimentary Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status is meaningless if you decide to book through an OTA. Say goodbye to your free breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi .

Related: Can you earn airline miles booking through OTAs?

Now, there are a couple of caveats here. You typically can earn airline miles and elite-qualifying credit even when booking through an OTA.

And, travelers nowhere near elite status with a major hotel loyalty program might not care about earning hotel points — especially since some OTAs now have their own loyalty programs. Most notably, there's the new One Key program encompassing Expedia, Hotels.com and rental property site Vrbo.

That being said, you don't have to be a road warrior to earn points; the right credit card strategy can take care of that.

You can't count on prompt customer support

Reaching customer service when something goes wrong often isn't easy when you book via an OTA.

Some sites have made it difficult to speak to a human unless you're within a week of your scheduled trip.

And even if you do manage to get in touch with someone, finding an agent willing to work with your itinerary may be a challenge.

To reduce their costs as much as possible, OTAs have generally shied away from offering robust customer service.

Instead, you'll often be asked to complete all of your changes and ask any questions online; you'll only have the option to speak with a representative by phone when things go really wrong.

The deals aren't always as good as they look

By now, you're probably asking yourself why anyone would book through an OTA. It almost always comes down to the fact that it's cheaper to book through an OTA than directly with the travel provider. But, I'd argue that it may not be as good of a deal as it appears.

As I mentioned, you won't earn hotel points or receive elite benefits on OTA bookings.

If you have status that would otherwise give you free breakfast, parking, lounge access or late checkout, the value of these benefits can add up quickly. If you booked through an OTA, you're not entitled to any of them.

Furthermore, most hotel chains have a best-rate guarantee. If you find a lower rate on an OTA, you can often try to first match the rate with the hotel chain.

If you're successful, it's the best of both worlds: You get your loyalty benefits and the lowest price.

Now, you might argue that this logic doesn't apply to flights since you still earn miles when booking through an OTA, and airlines don't generally price match.

Nonetheless, you should always factor in the possibility of needing to change your itinerary.

In that case, as mentioned, you may end up paying an additional service charge on top of whatever the airline charges you. Not to mention, you'll spend a while navigating phone trees and waiting on hold.

So, even if it looks like a good deal on paper, be sure to factor in the additional costs — money and stress.

Good luck during blizzards and thunderstorms

What happens when your flight is significantly delayed or canceled , or you can't make it to your hotel due to weather or other issues?

Typically, during major weather events, flights are governed by airline waivers, which make it easier for travelers to make penalty-free itinerary changes.

However, if you book through an OTA, you'll likely still have to go through the process of calling that booking company's customer service to make changes. Suffice it to say, getting through can be a challenge during a large snowstorm.

What's more, OTAs will generally follow the airline waiver to the letter of the law, whereas an airline agent might be more flexible.

While airline customer service might find a way to get you on a flight a day early ahead of a blizzard without charging any cost difference, an OTA agent may not be able to offer you that same courtesy.

The same is true for hotels. I've needed to cancel hotels at the last minute when travel plans get derailed because of the weather. For the few times I've booked through an OTA, I've always been told that I need to follow the written cancellation policy of the OTA. But, when I booked directly, I almost never had an issue getting the cancellation fee waived.

Related reading:

• Key travel tips you need to know — whether you're a beginner or expert traveler
• The best travel credit cards
• The 18 best places to travel in 2023
• 6 real-life strategies you can use when your flight is canceled or delayed
• 13 must-have items the TPG team can't travel without

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.