Direct bookings: how a hotel can pay less in commissions
Booking platforms bring guests but take a share of every night. Here is how the hotel’s own website can take over part of the bookings — and what it needs to succeed.
The big booking platforms are useful: they bring guests who would never have heard of you. But their commission is often between 15 and 20% of the price of the stay — and you pay it even for the guest who found you on their own and then booked through the platform because it was easier there.
The goal is not to drop the platforms, but for the guest who is already looking for you to book with you.
Why guests book through the platform even when they are on your site
- The site does not show free dates — they have to email and wait.
- The price is unclear or looks higher.
- The process is awkward on a phone.
- There is no trust: no confirmation, no clear cancellation terms.
Each of these is solved by the website.
What a hotel website needs
An availability calendar and a price for the whole stay
The guest picks dates and the number of people and immediately sees the free rooms with the price for the whole stay. No "email us for availability".
Seasonal rates and minimum stay
High season, holidays and weekends have their own price; the minimum stay is set per period. All of it is managed from the admin, without a developer.
Rooms like a shop window
Photos, size, beds, view, amenities. The fewer questions are left, the more direct bookings.
Confirmation and clear terms
The guest gets an email confirmation immediately, and the deposit and cancellation terms are written clearly. Trust is the most important thing the platforms give — the site must give it too.
Speed and two languages
Most bookings start on a phone. The site must be fast, and guests from abroad need an English version with its own addresses.
How guests get to the site
- Google: proper titles and descriptions, structured data for the hotel and rooms, and a sitemap.
- Your Google profile: a link to the site and to bookings.
- Returning guests: on their second visit it makes sense to book directly — tell them in the confirmation and at reception.
How much you can save
The maths is simple: every night booked directly instead of through a platform saves the commission. Even a small share of bookings moving to the site often covers the site's maintenance for the year.
How to start
Our ready-made hotel project has an availability calendar, seasonal rates, minimum stay and notifications to the hotel and the guest. We set it up with your rooms and rates in a few weeks. Write to us — we will tell you honestly what you stand to gain.
