How to unlock incremental lodging revenue and drive hotel attachment rate 

Agencies are increasingly managing multiple connections to travel suppliers and aggregators, leading to escalating costs in a highly fragmented landscape. ​The constant need to search across a wide range of booking tools is a drain on already limited resources and shifts focus away from effectively serving travelers. ​ 

In addition, agencies have traditionally focused on flights, treating lodging as an afterthought. With a staggering 47% of agents failing to offer hotels at the time of air bookings, agencies that evolve not just their tech, but their mindset, will unlock a clear revenue making opportunity. Global research by our Management Consulting team shows the power of accessing all relevant content in one place and tapping into lodging revenue streams. 

What is hotel attachment rate?

Hotel attachment rate (HAR) refers to the proportion of booked reservations that include a hotel stay alongside other travel arrangements, primarily flights. 

As more consumers seek one-stop-shop travel solutions, agencies are perfectly positioned to meet this demand by selling all elements of a trip itinerary. In fact, many agencies already offer this today and simply aren’t capitalizing on the opportunity. 

The Sabre Management Consulting team conducted a study among select agency customers across the globe exploring hotel attachment rates. The findings revealed an HAR of only 37% (online/offline combined). 

It’s clear the revenue-generation potential from servicing travelers’ end-to-end requirements – specifically their lodging needs – is enormous. So, if agencies are perfectly placed to retail all travel elements, the question is: why aren’t hotel attachment rates higher? 

What impacts hotel attachment rates?

While many would be quick to say it’s driven by content availability, a leakage analysis of offline bookings from the study (i.e. those made by phone or over email) revealed that the primary driver of low attachment is behavioral: agents not offering a hotel to the traveler. 

These missed attachment opportunities accounted for 47% of the total addressable hotel attachment opportunities. Add this to the 34% of opportunities where the customers themselves requested flights and lodging upfront, and we’re left with agents proactively offering a hotel to the customer just 19% of the time. 

Once offered, lodging cross-sell options are accepted 63% of the time. So, the need and customer value are clear. 

Given the scale of the opportunity – and the commission at stake – travel agencies cannot afford to overlook offering hotel options to their customers. The solution can be as simple as asking the question: can I also book you a hotel? 

Agencies can use this mindset shift to implement strategies that can encourage HAR improvement: 

To maximize earning potential and improve the likelihood of converting recommendations, agencies need access to as many relevant lodging options as possible.   

SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace unites the whole industry’s travel content in one cloud-native platform so agencies can simply search, sell and service whatever your travelers need. From global chains to independent boutiques, it opens the door to the industry’s largest marketplace for lodging. 

• Access 2 million property options across direct and aggregator content, through a single connection. 
• Use AI to find relevant lodging options, automate cross-selling, and increase productivity with Lodging Retailer and Lodging AI. 
• Provide seamless service through flexible connectivity via Content Services for Lodging APIs or Sabre Red 360.