Why Hotels Are Ditching OTAs (And What That Means for You)

Last updated on November 24th, 2025 at 04:31 pm

I booked hundreds of hotel rooms with Booking.com and Expedia in a year, look. Convenient, right? But this is one thing I have noticed in the recent past, there are a lot of hotels that are urging me to make reservations directly, on their sites. Initially I did believe that it was a marketing gimmick. Then I got into the real story of what is going on in the background.

What Is a Booking Engine, After All?

To begin with, before we dive into the drama it is important to have a breakdown of what a booking engine is. It is simply the software that enables you to reserve a room on the site of a hotel. You browse the dates, select a room, add payment details – it is done. No middleman involved.

Imagine that it is the own checkout system of the hotel. Whenever I make a reservation using Booking.com, they charge the hotel a 1525 percent markup. When I book directly? Money remains attached to the property.

Why Hotels Are Over OTAs

This is what made me change my mindset: I had an interview with the owner of a small boutique hotel in my town. She explained to me that out of every 100 dollars room a customer reserves using an OTA, she only retains 75-85 dollars. The remaining is paid as commission charges.

That is inhumane to smaller properties.

So hotels began competing by having their own booking engines. Whether to make a direct booking is roughly 5% cheaper – that is much cheaper than OTA margins of 15-25%. And they get something even better, your data.

By booking directly the hotels are aware of your preferences, your travels and your return. They are not able to do that when you are a simple Guest #47392 through an OTA portal.

What This Means to You (The Good Stuff).

It is here where we as travelers get interested.

Better Prices: Hotels are also capable of providing you with lower prices when you book direct. They are saving commissions, so there is room to make you some sort of a deal. I have tried this, same room, same dates, in some cases, it was 10-15 percent cheaper on the hotel site.

Perks Not Elsewhere: Free breakfast, upgraded rooms, late checkout: I have received all of these as a direct booking. These perks are only provided to direct bookers as well since you are more valuable to them.

Flexible Cancellation: Sometimes stuff does go wrong, and it is better to have direct contractual relations with the hotel than to have to negotiate endlessly through customer service at OTA. This was not my lesson when I received a cancellation at the very last moment.

The Tech Behind It

The booking engines that are used today are not straightforward. Hotels that use AI chatbots that respond to questions in real time, mobile apps that take note of my preferences, and even virtual tours prior to booking are all things I have witnessed.

This was available in one of the hotels I stayed in last month where I was able to tailor my hotel package, spa treatment, airport pick up, late checkout, etc., which was charged all as one. You would not be able to do that on an OTA.

The Catch? There Is One

This is not something that every hotel has worked out. There are other booking engines which are cumbersome, slow or simply bad designed. I have also given up bookings since the hotel site was messy unlike a smooth OTA experience.

And, one more big advantage OTAs have is a comparison shopping. In the times when I am visiting a new city and do not know where to stay, Booking.com helps to get 50 hotels compared in 10 minutes.

Here’s My Take

The change is not imaginary but it is not black and white. I continue to rely on OTAs in discovery – that ideal location in a new city. But when I know where I will remain? I visit the website of the hotel initially.

Hotels are putting a lot of bet on their own booking engines and the technology is keeping pace. Mobile bookings are presently occurring more than 60 per cent, and therefore those properties, which nail their mobile experience, are succeeding.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that the OTA age is not ending, but it is transforming. To the traveller, that is better of deals and personalized travels so long as you are ready to go direct. In the case of hotels, it comes down to survival, making the guests feel more of their money and creating actual connections with the guests.

The next time you book, you simply have to check both. What the hotel provides may surprise you when there is no middle man between you and the hotel.

Read:

AI for Smarter Pricing in Retail: Your Tech Stack for Price Domination