Sales & marketing · 7 min read
Direct bookings vs OTAs, and why your hotel needs a booking engine
Short answer: Online travel agents bring guests who wouldn’t find you otherwise, but charge commission on every booking, including guests who already know you. A booking engine on your own website lets those guests book and pay directly, so you keep the commission and the relationship. Most hotels do best using both.
By the Biodux teamUpdated
Online travel agents (OTAs) such as Booking.com and Expedia are a big part of how travellers find hotels. They’re also expensive. The question isn’t whether to use them, but how much of your business should go through them.
What an OTA booking really costs
Commission rates vary by agent, market and contract, so check your own agreements. As an illustration, at 15% commission:
| Direct booking | OTA booking | |
|---|---|---|
| Three nights at ₦60,000 | ₦180,000 | ₦180,000 |
| Commission (15%) | ₦0 | ₦27,000 |
| You keep | ₦180,000 | ₦153,000 |
On one booking that’s ₦27,000. If 40 such bookings a month come through an OTA, that’s over ₦1,000,000 a month in commission.
Where OTAs earn their money
To be fair to OTAs, they do things most hotels can’t:
- They reach travellers who have never heard of you.
- They advertise in markets you can’t afford to.
- Many travellers trust them by habit.
A first-time guest from abroad who found you on an OTA is usually worth the commission.
Where you’re paying for nothing
The commission hurts most on guests who already know you:
- Repeat guests who book through the OTA because your website only has a phone number.
- Corporate travellers who search your name, land on the OTA listing first, and book there.
- Guests who called, got no answer at night, and booked online instead.
These are your guests. The OTA just happened to be easier.
What a booking engine changes
A booking engine puts a “Book now” page on your own website. Guests choose dates, see the room types that are actually free, read your policies and pay a deposit online.
With the Biodux Booking Engine:
- availability comes straight from Biodux PMS, so you never sell a room you don’t have,
- guests pay a deposit or the first night through your own Paystack account,
- the page uses your logo, colours, policies and booking rules,
- the reservation lands in your PMS without anyone retyping it.
How to win bookings back
- Put the booking button everywhere. Your website header, Google Business Profile, Instagram bio and WhatsApp business profile.
- Give repeat guests a reason. A small direct-booking perk, such as breakfast or late checkout, gives a reason to book with you instead.
- Make the direct page as easy as the OTA. Few steps, clear prices, clear policies, a known payment gateway.
- Answer the phone and WhatsApp. A lot of OTA bookings are guests who couldn’t reach the hotel.
- Check your rate parity terms. Read your OTA contracts so your direct offers stay within them.
A balanced mix
Most hotels we work with keep OTAs for reach and push repeat and corporate guests to book direct. Track the share of bookings by source every month. If direct bookings are growing, the plan is working.
Want a booking page on your website? See the Biodux Booking Engine or book a demo.