In an environment where international travel is almost non-existent, hotels are turning to OTAs, with their global access to domestic travellers, to drive business. This has raised doubts over the long-term viability and usefulness of traditional agents and wholesalers for hotels. However, hotels that ignore or downplay the strategic importance of traditional channels are making a fundamental mistake and this is why. Pre-COVID, traditional channels averaged around 50-70% of total distribution, despite the surge in popularity of OTAs and the shift in