When asked if the help provided by internet intermediaries, such as by making yield management easier, was on balance a benefit to hoteliers, 52.3% agreed it was indeed a benefit.

But, while no respondents strongly agreed that such intermediaries were a benefit, 11.4% strongly disagreed and 27.3% disagreed.

'The balance of opinion within the hotel industry just favours intermediaries being a benefit. But there remains a substantial minority that believes the likes of Expedia are a serious threat', said Jonathan Langston, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting.

There is strong consensus that hotel companies must control their own rates with 88.6% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the view that intermediaries should not be allowed to offer prices that are below rates offered on hotel company web sites.

And there is agreement that consumers who traditionally booked through agents are increasingly switching to the internet. Just 2.2% of respondents said they did not know and all the rest agreed or strongly agreed.