Let’s be honest: Most properties rely on OTAs to fill rooms. Therefore, a hefty chunk of your revenue walks out the door before you’ve even welcomed your guest, with OTAs charging up to 30% commission on each booking.
NB: This is an article from Revinate
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And while those third-party platforms deliver brand exposure and room nights, the cost of acquisition keeps climbing.
So, what exactly is an OTA guest? Simply put, it’s anyone who books their stay through an online travel platform like Booking.com, Expedia, or Hotels.com instead of directly through your website or reservation line. These guests represent a significant portion of most properties’ business – and every one of them is an opportunity to reclaim that commission on future bookings.
Here’s what happens when you successfully convert them into direct bookers:
- You own the relationship – No more masked emails or restricted access to your own guests. You control the communication, the data, and the follow-up – which means you can customize experiences, recognize preferences, and build the kind of loyalty that keeps guests coming back.
- Repeat guests spend more – They spend 22.4% more than non-regulars and stay 28% longer on average. That’s not just incremental revenue; that’s meaningful profit.
- Long-term ROI compounds – Every guest you convert reduces your dependency on third-party channels. Over time, that means lower acquisition costs, higher margins, and a more predictable revenue stream.
There’s no denying third-party channels are great for discovery. But once a guest has discovered you, continuing to let them book through those platforms means you’re paying a commission every single time for a relationship you’ve already built. The smarter move is transforming that first stay into the beginning of a direct relationship that pays dividends for years to come.
Train reservation and front-desk teams to identify OTA guests
Your guest-facing staff is your frontline for conversion. But before your team can turn a third-party booker into a direct booker, they need to know who they’re talking to and how to start the right conversation.
Flag OTA bookings in your system
The first step is spotting them. Most modern PMS and CRM platforms let you tag or flag third-party reservations automatically based on the booking source. For example:
- In your PMS: Set up booking source codes that identify Booking.com, Expedia, or other external channels at a glance.
- In your CRM: Use segmentation rules to create a special tag that triggers specific follow-up workflows.
