Direct hotel bookings: how to get more guests booking straight with you
Direct hotel bookings come with no OTA commission, and the guest's details stay with you. Here's what it actually takes to increase them, and how Roomismo helps at each step.
What are direct bookings?
A direct booking is one the guest makes straight with you, usually through the booking engine on your website, but also by phone, email or message. No Booking.com, Airbnb or other OTA sits in between, so there is no platform commission and the relationship with the guest stays yours.
Why direct bookings matter
OTAs do their job well: they put you in front of travellers who wouldn't otherwise find you. That exposure is paid for with a commission on every booking, at a rate set by the platform's contract rather than by you. Open your latest OTA invoice and look at what your property paid last month. That's the amount you're competing for.
Commission isn't the only cost. When a guest books through a platform, the platform keeps the contact, and next time it may suggest a different property. With a direct booking you have the guest's email and phone number, and you can write to them again next year.
The goal isn't to cut OTAs off. It's to stop paying commission on guests who already knew you: the ones who search your name on Google, who come back, who were sent by a friend.
What it takes to increase direct bookings
None of these is enough on its own. Together, they make booking on your own site the easiest option for the guest.
Your own booking engine on your website
If your "Book now" button leads to a contact form or an OTA, the direct booking is lost before it starts. Guests need to see availability, pick a room and pay without leaving your site.
With Roomismo
Roomismo's booking engine embeds in the website you already have or runs as a standalone booking page, with your colours, fonts and logo. Availability and rates come straight from the PMS, so there's no second calendar to maintain.
Your best rate, on your own site
Guests compare. If they find the same stay cheaper on a platform, they'll book there, even if they found you on Google first. Make sure your own rate is never higher than the platforms' and give a reason to book direct, like breakfast, a transfer or late checkout. Before you go lower, read the rate parity terms in your contract with each OTA.
With Roomismo
In the rates calendar you set prices, offers, minimum stays and cancellation policies per room and board type. In the booking engine you add packages, upgrades and discount codes for guests who book direct.
Fast booking on mobile
Plenty of guests search and book on their phones, often on a weak signal. A page that loads slowly or asks for ten fields on a small screen is the easiest place to abandon a booking.
With Roomismo
The booking engine is built mobile-first, with a short checkout and payment by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Guests book from their browser, with no app to download.
Instant booking confirmation
A "we'll be in touch" after payment plants doubt, and a guest in doubt goes back to the platform they know. Confirmation should arrive the moment the booking is complete.
With Roomismo
As soon as the booking is complete, the guest automatically receives a confirmation with their stay details and payment status. It arrives by email and SMS.
Replies that don't keep guests waiting
Questions about parking, arrival times or a baby cot arrive by email, WhatsApp and OTA messages. When the reply is slow, a guest who hasn't booked yet starts looking elsewhere.
With Roomismo
Roomismo's unified inbox brings messages from Booking.com, Airbnb, WhatsApp and the Guest App into one place. Automated email, WhatsApp and SMS messages cover the stay from booking confirmation to after checkout, and online check-in lets guests send their details before they arrive.
Guests who come back
A guest who stayed last year and had a good time is the easiest direct booking you'll get. You just need to remember them and give them a reason to book with you directly this time.
With Roomismo
Every guest has a profile with past stays, preferences, notes and payments, so you know when they come back. From the Communications Hub you can send an automated offer after checkout, for example a discount code for their next stay, without having to remember it.
Showing up on Google
Guests often discover you on an OTA, then search your name on Google to look at photos and reviews. If all they find there is the platform, that's where they'll book.
With Roomismo
The booking engine connects to Google Hotel Ads, so your rates show up on Google alongside the OTAs and guests can book straight with you.
Knowing where each booking comes from
Without tracking, you can't tell whether a campaign or an offer brought bookings or just visits. And then every decision about where to spend is a guess.
With Roomismo
Connect Meta Pixel and Google Tag Manager to the booking engine. Every completed booking sends an event with its value, currency and reservation reference, so your tools show which campaign brings real bookings.
Direct bookings and OTAs on one calendar
Direct bookings only work if availability is right everywhere. If a room sells on Booking.com and stays open on your site, you end up with a double booking and a guest who won't come back.
Roomismo's channel manager syncs availability and rates in real time with more than 50 booking platforms. As soon as a room is booked on any channel, it closes in the booking engine too. If you run several properties, you group them under one account and they share one booking engine.
Guides to more direct bookings
Specific tactics from our blog, for when you want to go a step further.
Direct Bookings Playbook: 7 Tactics That Actually Work
Read the guide
How to Increase Direct Bookings and Reduce OTA Commissions: The Hotelier's Guide to Taking Back Control
Read the guide
Optimising Your Hotel's Direct Booking Channel: A Strategic Guide for Vacation Home Owners and Property Managers
Read the guideSee how it would work for your property
In a demo we'll show you the booking engine, the PMS connection and the channel manager, set up for a property like yours.
