For most small hotels, online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com and Expedia are a double-edged sword. They bring in guests who might never have found you otherwise. But every booking comes with a commission, typically between 15% and 25% of the room rate. For a 20-room independent hotel, that can add up to tens of thousands of pounds a year.
That’s why more independent hoteliers are rethinking their approach. The goal isn’t to abandon OTAs entirely. It’s to win back a bigger share of bookings directly. Here’s what’s driving the shift, and what’s working.
The guest journey has changed
A surprising number of guests discover a hotel on an OTA, then go looking for it elsewhere before they book. They check Google Maps for location, read reviews, look at photos and visit the hotel’s website. If they find a clear, attractive way to book directly, many will take it, especially if there’s a reason to.
At the same time, AI search tools are changing discovery. When someone asks Google’s AI Mode or ChatGPT for a hotel recommendation, the answer often links to the hotel’s Google Business Profile rather than to an OTA listing. That gives independent hotels a genuine opening to capture guests directly.
Five things that make direct booking work
1. Make your Google listing point home. Your Google Business Profile should link straight to your own booking engine, not to a third-party site. It’s a small setting that many hotels get wrong.
2. Give guests a reason to book direct. A best-rate guarantee, free breakfast, late check-out or a welcome drink can tip the balance. Guests don’t need a big discount. They need to feel they’re getting something extra.
3. Make your booking engine painless. If booking on your website takes eight steps and a confusing calendar, guests will go back to the OTA. Test your own booking process on a mobile phone at least once a month, and fix anything that makes you hesitate. If it annoys you, it will annoy your guests too.
4. Collect reviews where they count. Reviews on Google influence local search rankings and AI recommendations. Ask happy guests at checkout, and reply to every review, good or bad.
5. Stay in touch after the stay. A guest who books directly gives you their email address. A friendly follow-up with seasonal offers can turn a one-off visitor into a repeat guest who never goes near an OTA again.
Keep OTAs, but use them strategically
OTAs still have a role, particularly for reaching international travellers and filling quiet midweek dates. The smartest independent hotels treat them as a marketing channel rather than their main source of bookings. They control availability carefully, keep rates consistent across channels and use their own website to give returning guests a better deal.
Small changes, real savings
Shifting even 10% of bookings from OTAs to direct can make a meaningful difference to a small hotel’s margins. And most of the steps above cost little beyond time and attention.
For hoteliers looking for a fuller plan, this guide on how to increase direct hotel bookings covers the tactics in more detail.
The bottom line
Independent hotels can’t outspend the big travel sites, but they don’t need to. By owning their Google presence, rewarding guests who book direct and keeping in touch after the stay, they can rebuild a direct relationship with guests, and keep more of every booking.
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