While the advent of the online market provides an additional channel of distribution to product and service providers, it has also led to the increase of competition with a vast number of online intermediaries (e.g., retailers, agents, distributors etc.). Although there has been substantial interest in understanding what information is searched online previously to a purchase, no study has yet investigated how the search information leads to the different distribution channel selection. In this research, we study the heterogeneity of the customers performing different search patterns and purchase behaviors when purchasing directly or through an intermediary. We demonstrate a descriptive analysis in the context of the hotel industry setting, conducting two studies using different datasets. In study 1, we analyze the clickstreams of different booking channel selection (direct hotel website vs. online travel agencies) and this dis-aggregated approach enables us to observe the consumer’s browsing behaviors across domains prior to purchase. In study 2, we look into the disparities in search channel visits prior to booking and the different purchase behaviors of customers who have made multi transactions from both channels. We subsequently, discuss the managerial implications of our findings for firms to better allocate their marketing spending and minimizing on commission to intermediaries.