SiteMinder enhances its partnership with Trip.com, expanding access to the booming outbound Chinese travel market through new distribution avenues.
BANGKOK, THAILAND – Ten years after establishing the global hotel industry’s first connection to Trip.com, SiteMinder, the name behind the only software platform that unlocks the full revenue potential of hotels, has deepened its partnership with the leading online travel agent to make it possible for more hotels to access the rebounding outbound Chinese travel market.
As part of the partnership, Trip.com has signed an agreement to participate in SiteMinder’s new Channels Plus program, which simplifies distribution for hotels by giving access to multiple distribution channels through one setup. For Trip.com, the extended partnership means access to more hotels and the ability to expand its inventory to deliver world-class travel experiences.
The deepened partnership comes as SiteMinder reports that, over the first three months of 2024, bookings from China to the company’s 41,000 hotel customers surged by 75% from the prior year. As a reflection of the lucrative Chinese travel market’s spending habits, the average daily rate of those bookings was 10 percentage points higher than the global average. Conversely, at 21 days, the average lead time on those bookings was 62% lower than the global average, reflecting the low price sensitivity among Chinese travellers and their greater propensity to take trips at shorter notice. Indeed, SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2023 found that Chinese travelers were the most price-resilient globally.
The same report by SiteMinder found the majority of Chinese travelers (55%) both researched and booked their accommodation using a specific website or app, such as Trip.com.
“There is a clear indication that the outbound Chinese traveler market is rebounding and we are delighted to take our partnership with SiteMinder to the next level, to ensure that more hotels around the world have the opportunity to capitalize on a strong revenue stream,” says Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group.
“In this new travel era, defined by an increasingly dynamic landscape that is forcing hoteliers to re-evaluate and grow their revenue streams, we are pleased to deepen our partnership with Trip.com, a company renowned for its innovation and mass reach,” says Sankar Narayan, CEO and Managing Director at SiteMinder.
Consisting of more than 2,150 partners—from distribution channels such as Trip.com, hotel applications, management systems and hotel consultants—SiteMinder’s hotel ecosystem is the largest within the global hotel industry. Its scale puts SiteMinder in a unique position to simplify distribution for hotels and, subsequently, the company’s Channels Plus program continues to gain traction with leading travel brands. SiteMinder has to date secured agreements with 14 distribution partners for the program, which has also drawn strong registered expressions of interest from the company’s hotel customers. Its pilot, commencing today, is being made available to approximately 1,000 hotels and will be gradually extended until the general release of Channels Plus later this year.