When it comes to generating additional bookings, as a hotelier, you simply cannot overlook the relevance and scale of the OTA market. After all, online travel agencies (OTAs) have been around for almost two decades and have completely transformed the hotel booking process.

However, you wind up paying them a large percentage of your total booking price! They also have complete control over all guest data, preventing you from contacting guests before they arrive at your hotel.

There are plenty of compelling reasons to concentrate on increasing hotel direct bookings.

Increase direct bookings and eliminate OTA commissions as a source of revenue to get hold of your deserved guest data too!

• You can save anywhere from 15% to 25% on the amount of commission you pay to OTAs.
• You also get your hands on your visitor data, which OTAs don't usually share with you. 

So you keep 100% of the revenue and the data generated through direct channels. Your hotel's acquisition cost per customer decreases when guests book directly.

When compared to OTA bookings, direct bookings through your booking engine result in a 2X boost in the booking value. This is due to the fact that on OTAs, you only can offer packages, which results in a price increase. This may deter a traveller from making a reservation. However, you can market add-ons through your hotel reservation engine.

Ensure that fewer bookings are cancelled and that revenue is not lost.

Hotels have to deal with about 40% of OTA booking cancellations.

OTAs offer 'Free cancellation' or 'Pay at hotel' policies to entice guests to book through them. Because clients are not required to pay a deposit when making a reservation, the number of cancellations increases. 

Additionally, when booking through an OTA, guests are more likely to book multiple properties. They usually do it because they wait until the last minute to decide on a destination. In the end, they'll have to maintain one booking and cancel the others.

Cancellations like these result in "lost money" and "loss of opportunity." This is even more significant if you don't have a well-thought-out revenue management strategy in place, as this might throw your hotel's occupancy prediction off track.

Things will improve if you can get as many direct bookings as possible through your hotel's website. This is because, in most cases, customers must pay a deposit when booking at your hotel. Under typical conditions, this stops them from withdrawing their reservations.

CONCLUSION

So why should hotel direct bookings be increased? The solution is clear and easy. Direct bookings can help you lower your client acquisition costs and increase your profitability by increasing brand loyalty and providing you immediate access to your customers.

Even still, it's worth noting that all reservations are inherently positive. When we appreciate the value of direct bookings, it often sounds like we're implying that third-party reservations are bad, which they aren't. True, different types of reservations will generate different amounts of revenue and profits for you. Even while OTAs get a portion of your room rate, it's still money you might not have made otherwise.

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