Direct bookings vs OTA commission: the maths every hotel should run

The number nobody writes on the P&L

OTA commissions usually range from 15% to 25% of the booking value. Because they are deducted at source or invoiced separately, they rarely show up next to room revenue, so owners underestimate them.

A worked year

A 30-room hotel at 70% occupancy and 120 ADR earns about 920,000 in room revenue a year. If 65% comes through OTAs at 18% commission:

• ●OTA revenue: about 598,000
• ●Commission: about 107,600 a year

Moving just 10 percentage points of the mix from OTA to direct saves around 16,500 a year, before any extra marketing cost. That is a salary.

Do not fight the OTAs, use them

OTAs are the best shop window a hotel has. The goal is not to leave them; it is to stop paying commission twice for the same guest. A guest who found you on an OTA last year and books again next year should book direct.

What moves guests to direct

1. A booking engine that works on a phone in three taps. If your direct flow is worse than the OTA's, guests will go back to the OTA.
2. A reason: a better cancellation policy, breakfast included, a late checkout. Rate parity clauses limit price differences, not benefits.
3. Capture the email at check-in, with consent, and send one useful message before the next season.
4. Your own name on search: make sure your website ranks for your hotel's name.

Measure it

Track the share of direct bookings per month and per property, and the commission paid. If you do not measure it, the mix drifts back to the OTAs by default.

In FrontDesk

Every FrontDesk property gets a public booking engine with live availability from the planner and no commission. Bookings land directly in the planner. The pricing page shows what is included.