SiteMinder deepens partnership with Trip.com amid Chinese travel market rebound

The extended partnership means access to more hotels for Trip.com

Ten years after establishing the global hotel industry’s first connection to Trip.com, hospitality tech platform SiteMinder, has announced it has deepened its partnership with the OTA 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 programme, 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. 

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. 

SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2023 found that Chinese travellers were the most price-resilient globally.

The same report by SiteMinder found the majority of Chinese travellers (55%) both researched and booked their accommodation using a specific website or app, such as Trip.com.

“There is clear indication that the outbound Chinese traveller 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 capitalise on a strong revenue stream,” says Monica Xiao, CEO of accommodation business group of Trip.com Group.

Sankar Narayan, CEO and managing director of SiteMinder, said: “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."