Direct booking Independent hotels, UK wide
More direct hotel bookings.
A clearer journey.
The platforms are good at reaching people who have never heard of you. They should not also be taking commission on the guests who searched for your name.
Direct booking work usually starts with the wrong question. Not "how do we beat the OTA on price", which is a fight you win by losing money, but "why is someone who already decided to stay here still booking through somebody else".
The answer is almost never price. It is that the platform removed forty small doubts and your website left them in. It knows the cancellation terms in one line, shows four hundred reviews, remembers the card, and never once makes the guest feel handed over. Matching that is not a discount problem. It is a clarity problem, and clarity is cheaper.
01 Find where it leaks
Overall conversion rate hides the step that is costing you.
We measure the journey properly: reaching the availability check, seeing rates, choosing a room, entering details, completing. The step with the biggest fall is the work list. Usually it is one of two places, and until it is measured everyone guesses.
- Step-by-step journey measurement
- Channel and rate mix review
- Mobile session review
- Brand against category search
- A ranked list of losses
02 Give direct a real advantage
Change what the rate includes rather than what it is.
Consider benefits that guests value, such as breakfast, a later checkout or a dining package. Check the costs and the terms of your distribution agreements before publishing an offer. Rates, availability and benefits can all be subject to restrictions; there is no universal exemption.
- Direct-rate benefit design
- Distribution terms review
- Offer and package logic
- Plain-language rate rules
- Wording that guests believe
03 Close the trust gap
Guests choose the platform because it feels safer, not cheaper.
Cancellation terms in one sentence before anyone commits. A phone number a person answers, with the hours next to it. Recent reviews with dates. Named owners. Every one of those is a reason to stay on your own site, and being independent is an advantage here rather than a disadvantage.
- Cancellation and terms clarity
- Review and reputation display
- Trust content and proof
- Payment and security signals
- The questions reception answers daily
04 Keep the guest you paid for
The second stay should never cost commission.
A past guest is the cheapest booking available and the one place the platform's reach is worth nothing. We set up the capture at check-in, the note after the stay, and the message that arrives just before the anniversary of a good weekend.
- Consent-compliant address capture
- Post-stay and return sequences
- Seasonal writing that is not discounting
- Returning-guest measurement
- Handover so the team can run it
How it runs
A direct booking programme is measured in seasons, not weeks, because the only proof that counts is channel mix over time.
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01
Weeks 1 to 3
Measure honestly
Current channel mix, journey drop-off and the true cost of a platform booking for this property.
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02
Weeks 4 to 8
Fix the journey
The largest losses first, from the unanswered question to the handover into the booking engine.
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03
Weeks 9 to 12
Make direct worth choosing
The benefit structure, the trust content, and saying it plainly where the decision is made.
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04
Two to four seasons
Hold the gain
Monthly channel mix against the same month last year, and the return programme doing its quiet work.
Questions we are asked
Mostly variations of one question: can this be done without starting a price war with our own distribution.
How do we reduce OTA commission without breaking rate parity?
Start by reviewing your distribution agreements. Terms can cover rates, availability and benefits, and vary by platform and market. We can improve the direct booking journey without assuming a particular offer is permitted.
What direct booking share is realistic?
There is no universal target. Establish your current channel mix, booking volume and acquisition costs, then agree a measurable goal that accounts for seasonality and the hotel’s market. We do not promise a percentage uplift.
Is the booking engine the problem?
Usually not on its own. More often the loss happens before the engine, on a page that fails to answer an obvious question, or in a journey that asks the guest to start again on a different-looking site.
Improve the journey before replacing the system
We review the path from your website into the booking engine, including mobile usability, room and rate information, tracking and staff handoffs. The work can mean improving an existing integration or specifying a replacement. We agree the scope after checking your current website, engine and property management system.
- Website-to-engine journey review
- PMS and booking engine requirements
- Integration and conversion measurement
- Prioritised changes and launch verification
Explore the work
Plan your project
Tell us where it is leaking
Send the property, the current channel mix if you have it, and what you have already tried. We will come back with a view.
Start a conversation