The True Cost of OTA Commissions: How Much Are You Really Losing?

Here’s the truth: OTAs don’t create THE unforgettable guest experience — HOTELS do. It’s the warm welcomes, thoughtful touches, and dedication to service that turn a stay into a story worth sharing. So why should an OTA claim a slice of the pie?

An OTA is an online travel agent or agency, feeling like both a blessing and a burden, they bring in hotel bookings through dominating the market but at what financial cost to hotels. How do OTA commissions work and can hotels reduce OTA commissions for an effective business operation.

OTAs dominate the market. With considerable budgets and global reach, they’ve mastered SEO strategies, consistently appearing at the top of search results — often outranking the hotel’s own website itself. It’s not just visibility; it’s market influence. Hotels of all sizes struggle to compete with the resources of OTAs and eventually rely on them as a tool to get heads on beds.

OTAs charge room revenue commission per booking from 10% through to 30%, small boutique operators charging 10 -15%, market giants such as Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda and more often charging 15%-25%. Some cases of luxury OTAs charging upwards of 30%.

Let’s take a closer look:

That’s biting into your hotels profit margin by a significant amount, limiting growth and feasibility of the hotel. Can hotels reclaim their booking revenue?

1. Increase Profit Margin: Remove the OTA entirely in the booking process, absorbing the total profit margin.
2. Less Reliance on OTAs: Power to the people, the hotel has more control.
3. Increase Hotel Occupancy: More heads on beds.

How can this be achieved?

Through cutting out the middle man aka OTAs and increasing direct bookings, hotels can grow their direct revenue, is it too good to be true? HyperHotels applies digital marketing solutions to invest in the hotels future, creating tailored strategies to increase direct bookings, revenue, and profitability across all areas of your hotel.

OTAs are powerhouse booking mechanisms that take a decent chunk of each hotel’s room booking profit anywhere from 10% – 30%. Awareness is the first step toward change. You can take back control. You can shift the balance by boosting direct bookings and rethinking your reliance on OTAs.
 
Book Your Free Consultation Now with HyperHotels.
 
What would a future look like without OTAs?

With 20+ years in hospitality of all facets, including F&B, hotels, to a refined focus on hospitality digital marketing.