Every booking through a platform costs you 15 to 20 percent commission. Every direct booking stays entirely with you. The difference often lies only in whether a guest reaches someone on the phone or by email – or not. An always-reachable reception is the most direct way to lower OTA commissions.
Why guests fall back on platforms
No one likes to book through a platform if they could book directly with the property. Guests do it because they reach someone there – and on the hotel website often no one. An unanswered email in the evening is enough, and the guest clicks on Booking.com. Exactly where you pay commission.
Three levers for more direct bookings
- Answer requests in under 90 minutes – around the clock
- Pick up the phone live, not with an answering machine
- Reply in the guest's language, not only in German
What a 24/7 reception changes about it
Checklist: virtual reception in 14 days
Download our proven checklist with onboarding plan — start risk-free.
When every request is answered quickly and personally, the incentive to fall back on a platform drops. The guest books where they feel well looked after – and that is the property that answers, not the one that stays silent. We answer requests in your name, in your PMS and in your style.
“The best OTA strategy is a reception that answers faster than the platform.”
What it means in numbers
A 30-room property that moves ten percent of its bookings from the platform back to direct saves five-figure commissions per year. The reception that makes it possible costs a fraction of that. The maths works out because reachability was the bottleneck – not the price.
Want to know how much commission you lose through unanswered requests? We'll work through your case – no obligation, with your real numbers.
