Hotel and travel technology buyers are finishing much of their vendor research before a salesperson ever hears from them, according to B2B marketing strategist Ivana Johnston. In an article on Hotel News Resource, Johnston lays out eight ways travel technology providers lose deals before the first sales call.
Her core point is simple. Many companies still act as though the first sales call is where buying begins. “It’s likely not,” she writes.
Buyers Build Shortlists on Their Own
Johnston describes a hotel management company executive replacing a core commercial system. The executive asks two colleagues what they use, reads trade articles, watches product videos and asks ChatGPT to compare five vendors. Only after three companies make the shortlist does she request a demo.
“From the sales team’s perspective, a new lead has entered the funnel,” Johnston writes. “From the buyer’s perspective, the evaluation started long before that form was submitted.”
Buyers of a PMS, revenue management system, CRM or group sales platform can now learn a great deal without talking to anyone at the vendor. The same applies to travel management companies and distributors evaluating booking technology, payments or data products.
Friction in the Sales Process
Johnston argues that travel technology companies have made products easier to use but have not always updated how they sell. The “Request a Demo” button is her example: a buyer clicks expecting to see the product and instead gets a qualification call.
That workflow makes sense inside the vendor, she writes, because sales teams qualify demand and protect their time. The buyer, who may have spent hours researching, experiences it as another hurdle.
Content, Websites and AI Discovery
Content now carries more of the sales conversation, according to Johnston. A LinkedIn post can put a company on a buyer’s radar months before a purchase. A customer story can reduce concern about implementation, and a podcast can introduce the founders.
The company website is only one part of that presence. A buyer may follow a CEO on LinkedIn for months without visiting the homepage, or ask an AI platform to summarize the company first.
AI search adds another layer, as AI reshapes travel for buyers and sellers. Johnston writes that a vendor may appear in an AI answer before a buyer visits its site, while another may be left out “because there is not enough clear, credible information available for AI systems to understand where it fits.” Google rankings still matter, she writes, but they are “no longer the only discovery game in town.”
Trust Before the First Meeting
Travel technology products often sit close to operational, commercial and customer data. Hotels may connect a vendor to PMS, CRM, revenue, guest or financial systems, much like AI concierge and booking APIs do, so security certifications, data policies and reputation all shape the decision.
Familiarity reduces uncertainty, Johnston writes, which can help younger companies competing against established vendors. “A 30-minute sales call does not have to build all of that trust from scratch.”
Sales Teams Restart the Journey
Johnston also flags a common mistake: treating a well-informed buyer as a stranger. The standard introduction begins, and the buyer watches slides covering research done weeks earlier.
Hotel technology decisions can involve IT, operations, revenue management, finance, procurement and ownership. One stakeholder may know the vendor well while another joined the evaluation that morning, so sales teams need to understand where the buying group actually is.
Her final point concerns attribution. A demo request or form fill often gets credit as the source of a lead, but Johnston writes that “the form did not necessarily start the buying process. It made the buyer visible.”
What Changes for Travel Technology Sellers
Johnston does not expect complex hotel and travel technology purchases to become fully self-service. Buyers still need salespeople to explain implementation, evaluate risk, navigate integrations and build the internal case for change.
What is changing is timing. For many travel technology companies, she concludes, the first sales call “may be one of the last stops before a decision.”
