High commission online hotel agents such as Expedia, ebookers, laterooms and bookings.com are expected to gain greater control of the market in 2012, according to the latest HotStats Hotel Confidence Monitor.

Nearly 90 per cent of London hoteliers and 80 per cent of provincial hoteliers believe that customers will change the method they use to book hotels next year, with nearly half expecting to become more reliant on third party websites charging up to 30 per cent commission.

Mark Dickens, managing director of HotStats, which produced the Hotel Confidence Monitor after speaking to 521 general managers across the UK, said: “Whilst the increase in the number of bookings through web-based channels will impact costs in the rooms department, due to sources charging commission levels of up to 30 per cent per booking, the ease of use for customers, presence and geographical spread which is achieved as well as access to previously impenetrable markets means that the strength of these new channels cannot be ignored.”

The changing economic landscape also means that 47.6 per cent of UK hoteliers are less optimistic compared to Q3 2011. This represents the most pessimistic response of the last nine surveys conducted by HotStats, with 38 per cent of respondents either pessimistic or very pessimistic about their hotel performance over the next three months.

The corporate sector remains the largest source of demand for hotels in London, according to more than half of the respondents. In the provinces, however, both the corporate segment and the domestic leisure market play an equally important role.