The ROI of Direct Bookings: Why 15% Feels Like 50%

Why are you paying someone else to introduce you to your own guests?

For many hotels, online travel agencies (OTAs) are treated as necessary. They bring visibility, fill rooms, and keep the engine running. But behind every booking they send, there’s a hidden cost—one that erodes your profit, limits your control, and leaves you chasing volume instead of value.

Let’s take a closer look at what you really give up when you hand over 15% of your revenue per reservation—and what you gain when you decide to take it back.

15% of revenue can mean 50% of your profit

It starts small. A €1,000 booking comes in. You get €850. Not ideal, but acceptable. Then it happens again. And again. Now imagine 100 bookings like that each month. You’ve paid €15,000 just to be visible.

But that 15% doesn’t just disappear from your revenue. It cuts directly into your margin. Most hotels operate on a profit margin far lower than 30%. That means every time you give away 15–20% to a third party, you’re losing half of what you could have earned.

In slow months, that cost becomes even harder to absorb. The commission doesn’t scale down just because your bookings did.

You don’t just lose money—you lose ownership

A direct booking is a relationship. An OTA booking is a transaction.

When a guest comes through a third-party platform, they’re not really your guest. You don’t get their real contact info. You can’t follow up before arrival. You can’t upsell, build loyalty, or stay in touch. The OTA controls the experience—and takes the credit.

Direct bookings change the dynamic. From the moment someone lands on your website, the tone is yours to set. You build trust through your own messaging. You control pricing and presentation. You stay visible after the stay. You strengthen your brand—not someone else’s.

That relationship doesn’t end at checkout—it can lead to repeat visits, reviews, and referrals. None of which cost you 15%.

OTA dependency limits your growth

The more you rely on third-party channels, the less room you have to grow independently. Your pricing is boxed in by parity agreements. Your brand competes against others on the same platform. You become just one more option on a filtered list.

Meanwhile, you’re discouraged from offering incentives or perks that could tip the decision in your favor—unless you pay more for “visibility.” It’s a short-term strategy that creates long-term fragility.

Direct bookings are an investment in stability

Hotels that focus on growing their direct booking channel often see higher average booking value, more return guests, lower acquisition cost, and clearer guest data for smarter marketing.

You’re not just saving on commission—you’re building a healthier business with fewer dependencies and more control over your future.

How Hitels supports direct-first hotels

At Hitels, we don’t treat direct bookings as a feature—they’re the foundation. Every site we create is designed to perform, not just look good.

We build with a booking engine that connects directly to your bank account—no plugins, no commission. Our mobile-first design ensures that browsing and booking feel effortless. You can run seasonal offers, discounts, and upgrades without needing a developer. And you own the guest relationship from start to finish.

Instead of layering marketing tools onto a generic template, we give you the structure to grow bookings from the start—with no middlemen in the way.

Conclusion: Take back your margin

The real cost of OTAs isn’t just the money you lose per booking. It’s the momentum you never gain. The relationships you never start. The guests who might have returned—if they’d known who you were.

With a direct-first strategy, supported by a platform built for performance, you don’t just keep your margin. You grow it.

And you never have to wonder if 15% could’ve been something more.