The Dutch hotel market is undergoing consolidation and a full 59% of hotel rooms throughout the country can now be booked through an international chain, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Monday.

It is now increasingly difficult for smaller hoteliers to compete with the big brand names especially since the leaders in the market like Hilton and Marriott are now operating a number of elite sub-brands, the FD said.

There are now 663 hotels in the Netherlands which are part of a hotel chain, up from 640 in 2017.

The FD said family-owned and operated hotels are now swarming to join the big names. There three options: They can surrender completely and have the branded hotel chain run everything.

Or a small hotel may join a marketing club like Quality Lodgings – QL –  whereby the owner retains full control and keeps the original name.

Finally a small hotel might opt to become a franchisee of a large chain and continue to manage the hotel but make use of the name and distribution network of a large chain.

Room prices higher

Joining a hotel chain can reduce costs through mass purchasing power. Average room prices can rise as hotels attract more guests because of joint marketing efforts, according to Dirk Bakker of property consultant Colliers.

Many  rooms are booked through booking sites like Booking.com and Expedia.  Small hotels must pay these sites a commission of between 20% and 25%, Bakker said.  Hotel chains pay only 6%.