12 Proven Strategies for Hotels to Increase Direct Bookings and Cut OTA Commissions

As an independent hotelier, you likely have a complex relationship with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). While booking sites provide valuable online visibility, their commission costs can significantly impact your bottom line.

Protecting your profitability means developing a strong direct booking strategy. The goal is simple: provide better value and experience for direct bookers to reduce OTA dependence and drive more commission-free reservations.

The question isn’t whether to use OTAs, but how to achieve a healthy balance between direct and indirect bookings without sacrificing visibility or booking volume.

The smart approach? Leverage OTAs for exposure while investing in strategies that direct traffic to your own website and convert OTA guests into loyal direct bookers.

In this guide, we’ll share 12 actionable strategies you can implement at your small hotel, B&B or holiday home to boost direct reservations and maximize profitability.

Build your direct booking foundation: 4 essential steps

You’re busy running your property, so let’s focus on the absolute essentials first. These four steps form the foundation and will make or break your entire direct booking strategy. Without these elements in place, the other tactics in this blog won’t be effective either.

Remember, you don’t need to transform your entire operation overnight. Begin with these critical actions, then gradually implement additional strategies as your resources allow. This step-by-step approach will help you consistently increase direct bookings while maintaining quality service.

1. Create a website that actually converts visitors

A strong direct booking strategy starts with a strong hotel website, as this is typically your primary direct channel. Think of it as your property’s online business card – the first impression that greatly influences travelers’ booking decisions.

To optimize your website for direct bookings, focus on two critical elements: online visibility and user experience. Your site needs good search engine visibility through effective SEO—after all, if travelers can’t find your website, they can’t book directly. Next, ensure it’s well-structured, professional and easy to navigate to convert visitors into guests.

Make sure your website is the go-to source for in-depth information. Keep your OTA listings more general, as travelers often use them to check key details like amenities, reviews and pricing. When they visit your hotel’s official website, they’re usually looking for a deeper sense of the atmosphere, experience and the people behind the property. Convey your unique story here – this is what truly sets your website apart from OTAs and competitors.

See if you can cross off all items on the website checklist:

• Secure domain with HTTPS encryption

• Supports main languages of your target audience

• Clean and intuitive navigation that stays visible

• 4 to 7 main tabs on the homepage

• Basic SEO: meta titles, meta descriptions and headings

• Fast loading times for all pages

• Images are sharp but smaller than 1 MB

• Descriptive file name and alt text for each image

• No faulty links (leading to 404 pages)

• Cohesive design and branding

• Good readability (font and colors)

• No excess text or clutter

• Correct and up-to-date information

• Mobile-friendly, responsive design

• Clear descriptions of room types and facilities

• Google Business profile with a link to your website

• Links to your social media pages

• Personal story and unique strengths stand out

• Straightforward booking process (see next step)

2. Make booking direct ridiculously easy

The next crucial step in driving direct bookings for your hotel is integrating a user-friendly booking engine (booking module) that matches your website branding seamlessly. Your booking engine is where visitors convert into paying guests, so it needs to be convenient, fast and secure.

Choose a booking engine that allows guests to check availability and reserve their stay in just a few simple steps. Ensure it connects to your channel manager to display accurate inventory and avoid overbooking. To avoid losing guests at the final step, your booking engine should enable a secure payment process that offers diverse payment methods catered to your target audience’s preferences.

Lighthouse’s Booking Engine is designed for maximum conversion, providing:

• A customizable booking system that integrates with any website

• A mobile-friendly, seamless booking experience with no unnecessary steps

• Eye-catching “Book now” buttons

• A Ratebox pop-up showcasing your direct booking advantage over OTAs

• A Fastbooker tool for instant availability checks

• Fast and secure online payment options through Payment Manager

3. Guide visitors to “Book Now” with unmissable buttons

Just as you work to help travelers discover your website, you need to clearly show them how to access your booking engine. Keep in mind that most internet users are lazy and impatient – they don’t want to work hard to find something. Make it clear to them that they can easily book directly on your website with clear calls-to-action (CTAs).

Your homepage should feature eye-catching buttons in prominent positions where visitors can’t miss them. Use action-oriented phrases like “Book now” or “Reserve your stay.” Place these CTAs strategically on high-traffic web pages including your homepage and room description pages.

For even more persuasive power, you can create a sense of urgency, for example with limited-time offers and purchase triggers like countdown timers or pop-ups. Since many travelers book on their smartphones nowadays, these CTAs should of course be optimized for mobile as well.

4. Win the price game: Make direct booking the obvious choice

Now that you have a professional website and booking engine in place, you need to convince website visitors to complete their reservation. Since price is the deciding factor for many travelers, reassure them that they’re getting the best deal on your website.

When possible, charge lower prices than on your OTAs. With the Booking Engine Ratebox widget, you can give visitors a transparent overview of the rates on different booking sites. This way, they’ll recognize at a single glance that your website offers the best deal. Alternatively, you can exceed OTA rates by adding extra value for the same or a slightly higher price. Promotions can be particularly effective during low-demand periods or local events.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on your local competition. Your potential guest probably has tabs open of other properties to compare offerings, so be sure to monitor your direct competitors’ rates to inform your pricing decisions.

Boost your direct bookings: 8 advanced tactics

Once you’ve covered the fundamentals and you have the capacity to go the extra mile, consider implementing (some of) the following strategies to further boost your direct reservations.

5. Offer incentives for direct bookings

As an extension of your “best price/value” strategy (see above), offer exclusive benefits to direct customers:

You can highlight these perks within the Ratebox or – if you don’t have our Booking Engine – on your homepage itself, so they grab website visitors’ attention immediately.

Take it further by creating higher-value options that appeal to guests’ growing desire for experience-rich stays.Create rate plans with enticing add-ons as well as unique packages (e.g., a romance or adventure package, including a champagne bottle or bike rental respectively) that are only bookable on your own website. Don’t forget to promote these on prominent web pages with a link to your booking module, on your social media and via email (see below).

6. Turn social media followers into direct bookers

Social media has evolved from just travel inspiration to a powerful direct booking channel. Establishing a strong presence on these platforms is essential for reaching younger travelers (ages 18-34). With the rise of experience-based travel, showcase both your property and what makes your destination special.

First, identify which major channels your target audiences use the most: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or LinkedIn. Next, think about what makes your accommodation special and post engaging content around this consistently, adding your personal touch every time:

• Special offers and promotions

• Popular amenities and facilities

• Guest testimonials

• Behind-the-scenes videos

• Things to do and see nearby

• Upcoming events

• Sustainable practices

• Employee spotlights

• Contests and giveaways

Your most effective marketers? Your guests! Leverage user-generated content by encouraging clients to share their experiences online, mentioning your page and location (geotag) in their posts. This way, they will inspire peers and expand your reach for you. Optionally, you could even consider collaborating with smaller influencers whose audience aligns with your target demographic.

To convert social engagement into direct bookings, make booking links prominent and easily accessible throughout your social profiles.

7. Drive quality traffic to your booking page

Digital marketing campaigns are a great way to draw more potential guests to your website, increasing your chances of securing direct bookings.

Like we’ve discussed at the beginning of this blog, SEO practices are essential to help users find their way to your website. Beyond the basics, such as providing each page with a meta title and a logical heading structure, you can enhance your SEO strategy with (blog) content.

To increase your website’s organic visibility, incorporate high-traffic keywords when writing about local events, well-known tourist attractions, travel tips or popular facilities. Google Keyword Planner can help you identify what potential guests could be researching. Moreover, there are numerous AI-based tools available to help you assess and improve your SEO efforts.

Paid strategies can increase your visibility significantly in front of the right audience, and they don’t always require big budgets. Their big advantage is that they are more targeted, relatively quick to set up and flexible to tweak, whereas SEO practices take longer to implement and see results from. Allocate a moderate budget at first and evaluate your ad performance before investing more money.

With Google Search Ads or Google Hotel Ads, you can target people specifically looking for accommodation in your destination. Social media ads are great for inspiring travelers based on their demographic and interests, even if they hadn’t previously considered your destination.

Both Google and social media allow for personalized retargeting ads, which are incredibly useful for reminding past website visitors about their pending reservations.

8. Use OTAs strategically without becoming dependent

To avoid being overly dependent on one or two big OTAs, diversifying your channel mix is key. List your property on a nice variety of booking sites – including smaller, local ones – that align with your target audience to maximize visibility and reduce commission costs. Don’t forget about metasearch websites like Google Hotel Search and Trivago either. These highly popular platforms allow guests to easily compare hotel prices on different booking channels and can drive traffic to your website cost-free.

A truly strategic distribution approach goes beyond simply appearing on multiple platforms. Actively manage availability and pricing across different channels to encourage more direct bookings. For example, once your occupancy rate reaches a certain threshold, you can close the remaining rooms or increase prices on OTAs to encourage last-minute direct bookings. To maximize efficiency and accuracy, use a smart Channel Manager that pushes these price and availability updates to channels automatically.

Also analyze which channels capture the most and least valuable guests, and adjust your presence accordingly. If clients of a certain OTA consistently book your cheapest rate and never purchase any additional services on site, it may be worth reallocating focus to a different channel during high-demand periods. That way, you can fill your rooms with higher-value guests that generate more direct income.

Forn optimal distribution strategy, use tools to track demand trends and channel performance, so you can make well-informed decisions. To help busy independent hoteliers like you, Lighthouse offers an AI-powered solution that optimizes your pricing and distribution automatically.

9. Leverage reviews to build trust and drive bookings

Guest reviews significantly influence booking decisions. Some OTAs, like Booking.com and Airbnb, request reviews by default after every stay. But, what about your own website? Ask guests to leave a Google review for your property during check-out (with a handy QR code on your front desk, for instance) and via follow-up emails afterwards (see below), optionally in exchange for a small reward.

Displaying positive reviews on your website and during the booking process adds credibility and reassurance for potential clients. It can give them that final nudge they need to complete their reservation.

10. Create local partnerships that attract niche travelers

Are there any businesses or events in your area that you can join marketing forces with? With travelers increasingly seeking complete and local experiences, partnerships can be a powerful asset for independent properties. Not only do they put you in touch with new niche audiences, but they help you enrich guest experiences and drive more revenue. As a bonus, this strategy improves your website’s domain authority and search ranking by establishing backlinks from reliable sources.

There are two main ways you can go about finding potentially interesting partners. For one, think about what people will be researching or booking when planning a trip to your destination (e.g., kid-proof activities). Secondly, talk to your existing clients. What are their plans outside of your hotel or B&B? What restaurants, attractions or shops are they visiting?

Local partnerships can take various forms:

• Set up a simple referral arrangement, for example with an exclusive discount code that’s valid on your website booking engine.

• Sell products from local vendors as an extra online or on site.

• Create joint packages or cross-promotions, for example with restaurants or tour operators.

• Collaborate with local event organizers, cross-promoting and offering special rates for attendees.

11. Master guest communication to build loyalty and repeat bookings

Consistent and effective guest communication allows you to turn first-time guests into loyal direct bookers. The crucial first step is to collect guests’ emails if they booked through an OTA. That way, you can reach out to them with personalized follow-ups, fostering a stronger customer relationship and creating opportunities to upsell. Build guest profiles in order to personalize communication and offers based on guests’ data, past requests and purchasing history.

Each reservation should trigger a series of well-timed emails:

• Booking confirmation and thank you message

• Practical information before arrival

• Additional information and upsell offers after check-in

• Check-out and paying instructions before departure

• Review request and special offer after check-out

Since personalizing and sending individual emails to each guest is impractical, using an automated emailing tool that connects to your customer database is the best approach. Lighthouse’s Reservation Manager streamlines your guest emails, so your staff can focus on creating memorable in-person experiences.

12. Create a loyalty program that outshines OTA rewards

To significantly increase repeat direct bookings, establish a simple yet effective tiered loyalty program exclusively for your direct customers. This strategic approach helps you compete with large OTAs and their aggressive loyalty campaigns.

Create different tiers (e.g., bronze, silver and gold) and offer enticing benefits according to these levels, such as discounts on future bookings, popular extras or a free additional night after a certain number of stays. Promote this rewards system clearly on your website, through social media and in your follow-up emails after check-out (see above).

How to avoid losing visibility or booking volume

You might be thinking: “What if I lose visibility or booking volume by cutting out OTA sales?”. Well, it’s important not to view OTAs as the enemy, but as part of your overall strategy to become more profitable. It’s all about regaining control of your distribution mix step by step.

Here are three additional tips to help you maintain a strong online presence and steady occupancy rates while boosting direct bookings.

Keep leveraging OTAs’ billboard effect

Don’t just limit the number of partners you work with, as this will impact your online visibility. Having a diversified channel mix also gives you more bargaining power to negotiate a fair commission rate.

Global OTAs remain a vital part of your direct booking strategy. They allow a broader audience of worldwide travelers to discover your accommodation and many of them will move on to your official website afterwards, a phenomenon known as the billboard effect. However, don’t underestimate the power of niche booking sites either. These smaller or local OTAs will help you reach travelers looking for a specific experience who are often willing to pay a little extra for it. Plus, their commission rates are usually a whole lot lower than those of big players.

Not sure where to start? Explore our ultimate OTA directory for independent properties where we list numerous popular OTAs that you may not have thought of before.

Don’t obsess over occupancy: Focus on total revenue and profitability

While empty rooms might cause concern, avoid focusing solely on occupancy rate or booking volume. Instead, look at the bigger picture: your property’s overall profitability. Sometimes trading a few bookings for higher-paying guests who stay longer and return regularly makes more business sense. This approach means fewer rooms to clean, more efficient staffing and lower marketing costs.

To maximize revenue and profits, you want to attract more guests who book your deluxe rooms or suites, dine at your restaurant and purchase additional services, room supplements or extras. Multiple studies have shown that guests who book directly tend to spend considerably more per stay, whereas clients of large OTAs are generally more budget-conscious.

Rather than looking at the number of bookings, be sure to track the following key performance metrics when comparing your channels:

• Net revenue generated

• Average booking value

• Cancellation rate

Don’t have the time or know-how to calculate and analyze these numbers? Lighthouse’s solution for independents helps you monitor, evaluate and perfect your channel mix with automated reporting and readily available insights.

Be strategic with how you distribute your available rooms

Showing the same availability on all channels is highly recommended to avoid confusion among potential guests. However, you can choose to close certain channels that are expensive in commission during high-demand periods when you already have good occupancy.

Instead of completely closing certain days, you can also add additional restrictions for OTA bookings, like a longer minimum length of stay (LOS) in order to maximize income. Experiment with low versus high seasons to determine which channels are valuable in which periods. Access to accurate data is the key to making the right strategic decisions.

Optimize and automate your distribution strategy

To boost direct bookings efficiently, choose an integrated automation tool that combines direct bookings, channel management and strategic room pricing in one platform. That way, you don’t have to put in more work to achieve that perfect balance between direct and indirect bookings.

This is where Lighthouse for independents comes in. Next to a user-friendly website booking engine, our complete solution for independent hotels offers smart data-driven recommendations to help you maximize profits while saving time. Discover how our AI-powered platform supercharges your distribution strategy, boosting bookings and profits for your hotel.

Your direct booking journey starts now

Implementing these 12 strategies doesn’t need to happen overnight. Start with the four foundation steps, then gradually incorporate additional tactics as your resources allow. Finding the right balance between OTAs and direct bookings is an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring and adjustment.

The rewards are worth the effort: lower commission costs, stronger guest relationships, better data ownership and ultimately, higher profitability for your independent property.

Ready to take control of your direct booking strategy? Lighthouse’s all-in-one platform gives you the tools, insights and automation you need to boost direct bookings while maintaining optimal visibility across all channels. Start your free trial today and transform your booking mix for maximum revenue.

 

About Lighthouse

Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) is the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry. We transform complexity into confidence by providing actionable market insights, business intelligence, and pricing tools that maximize revenue growth. We continually innovate to deliver the best platform for hospitality professionals to price more effectively, measure performance more efficiently, and understand the market in new ways.

Trusted by over 65,000 hotels in 185 countries, Lighthouse is the only solution that provides real-time hotel and short-term rental data in a single platform. We strive to deliver the best possible experience with unmatched customer service. We consider our clients as true partners – their success is our success.

This article originally appeared on Lighthouse.