A direct booking is a reservation that comes straight to the hotel: through its own website and booking engine, by phone, by email or at the desk. There is no intermediary commission, so at the same rate paid by the guest the net revenue is higher than for the same booking through an OTA. The hotel also owns the guest relationship and data from the first contact.
Direct bookings still have a cost (booking engine fees, metasearch, paid search, loyalty perks), so the fair comparison is cost of acquisition per channel, not commission versus zero.
In practice: a fast, mobile-friendly booking engine, a well-kept Google Business Profile and a reason to book direct (flexible cancellation, breakfast, room upgrade) are the most effective levers, together with getting past guests to come back directly.
Simple hotel property management software for independent hotels, chains and groups.
Try it in your hotel