The difference between the European and US markets is vast when it comes to hotel ownership and how it affects bookings.
Primarily this revolves around the fact that independents represent a massive 67% of the market in Europe, compared to a 30% ownership figure in the US.
The chains are a long way behind their indy counterparts, not least because of the traditional structure of ownership of hotels along the Mediterranean coastline.
This inevitably has some degree of influence around the way hoteliers market and distribute their inventory, but equally how consumers then find and book properties.
Ahead of a major report into the subject, Phocuswright and H2C in Germany have released some findings of their study.
Travelport was one of the co-sponsors of the report.
The company's senior vice president of hospitality and digital media, Niklas Andréen, says:
"Business travelers are a lucrative sector for independent hotels as they typically spend more per stay and return more often and therefore the ability to connect to these valuable consumers as well as being able to distribute corporate negotiated rates for them has been a challenge for independent properties."
Here is the infographic with some of the initial findings:
NB:Hotel Italy image via Shutterstock.