Costa, ElgaFerreira, Fernanda A.Ribeiro, JoaquimMeneses, Daniela2021-11-052021-11-052021978-1-912764-93-8978-1-912764-92-1http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/18816This research aims to understand the influence factors of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to book accommodation in four- and five-star hotels in Porto and Northern Portugal, as well as to understand their role in the profitability of each hotel. Online distribution is a necessity for hotels, either to reach higher clients’ numbers or to give visibility to the brand. The presence of OTAs can cause a dependency of the hotels on these intermediaries, so it is necessary to understand the influence that OTAs have on hoteliers, as well as to understand if they have strategies to capture direct reservations. In this present research, the quantitative methodology was chosen, and the data collection instrument was the questionnaire survey. In a universe of 150 hotel units, 55 valid questionnaires were obtained. Exploratory factor analysis was used to define the weights and to construct the index of the influence of OTAs on hotel units. Data collection confirms the influence of OTAs on hotels and the hotels consider OTAs to be essential for maximising occupancy and revenue and as a way of reaching more customers.engOnline distributionOTAFour- and five- star hotelsPorto and Northern Portugalconference object10.34190/IRT.21.035