If you run a small hotel or rooms to let, I’ll bet you have said this before: “thank goodness for Booking, otherwise I wouldn’t fill up”. Am I wrong?

And you’re partly right. I’m not going to argue. But there is another side that never shows up on the dashboard: dependency, and the commission quietly eating away at your profit, booking by booking. OTAs (Booking, Expedia, etc.) are useful. I’ll say it twice. The problem starts when they become your only oxygen.

That OTA “convenience” comes with a price tag

Booking platforms bring you guests, but they don’t do it for free: a commission on every booking. How much exactly? Neither Booking.com nor Expedia publishes a fixed percentage, and that in itself tells you something. The European Commission market study on the distribution of hotel accommodation in the EU, from 2022, reports an average basic commission rate in the 10 to 20 percent band, with effective rates noticeably higher once a property buys extra visibility. So for every 100 euros a guest pays, a significant chunk doesn’t go to you, it goes to the platform. On paper it’s one line. In practice it’s the boiler you didn’t replace.

Over a full season, this means:

  • Less money for renovations, staff, improvements.
  • More pressure on your prices to “make the numbers work”.

And the more you rely on OTAs, the harder it is to break out of this cycle. A sword of Damocles that also invoices you.

So who actually owns your guest?

With a direct booking, the guest talks to you. They leave you their details, you build a relationship, you can bring them back next year. With OTAs, that relationship mostly belongs to the platform: emails, messages, communication all go through them. You provide the sheets, the breakfast, the good morning. Someone else keeps the name and email.

This means:

  • It’s hard to build loyalty and gain repeat guests.
  • You don’t have a full picture of your guests’ data, to make smart offers or communicate.

Simply put: you fill up, but you don’t “bond” the guest with your own brand. And next year you start again from zero, with the very same person.

And what if the rules change tomorrow?

Another issue is that you don’t control the “rules of the game”. Platforms can change terms, commissions, ranking, cancellation policies, and you simply adapt. Nobody asks you. You are not at the table where those decisions get made.

If for any reason you drop to a lower position in the results, suddenly your bookings can fall through no fault of your own. When most of your bookings go through there, that’s a risk. And you find out mid season, too late to react.

I’m not telling you to “cut” the OTAs, I’m telling you to shift the balance

The point isn’t to turn your back on the platforms. That would be romantic, and reckless. OTAs will keep bringing you new guests and international audiences who might not find you otherwise.

The goal is different: to gradually build a stronger direct channel, so that:

  • You keep a larger share of every booking.
  • You have your own customer base and your own booking rhythm.

Think of it as a balance: OTAs to get discovered, website/social to get re-chosen. An introduction first, then a relationship.

Let’s look at the small steps that make the big difference

It doesn’t all need to happen overnight, and I’m not asking you to rebuild everything over the winter. You can start with small, practical steps:

  • Have a site that makes direct booking easy, especially on mobile.
  • Give the guest a small, clear reason to book with you (e.g. better cancellation, early check-in, welcome drink), not just “same price as the OTAs”.
  • Treat every OTA guest as an opportunity: gently encourage them to find you directly next time.

These alone, over one season, can noticeably shift your direct vs OTA ratio. And yes, mobile goes first, because if booking is awkward there they won’t ask twice.

How I can help your property

If you have a small hotel, villa or rentals and feel “held hostage” by the booking platforms, we can work on a very specific goal: to gradually reduce your OTA dependency and strengthen your direct bookings.

Together we can:

  • See where you stand now (site, social, booking channels, OTA vs direct ratio).
  • Design simple steps so your direct channel becomes a real option for the guest.
  • Put “smart” tools in place (automations, artificial intelligence, email flows) that work behind the scenes for you.

No theory, no heavy technical vocabulary, only what you need to see a difference in your bookings.

Want to see what’s possible for your property?

If you recognize yourself in what you read, meaning you depend heavily on 1-2 platforms, you pay significant commissions every month, and you don’t have the time or inclination to “get into” digital yourself, then let’s talk.

I’ll look at your online presence (site, social, OTA profiles) and suggest the 2-3 most essential steps to strengthen your direct bookings, tailored to your reality, not theoretical.

And somewhere along the way, that opening line changes a little. From “thank goodness for Booking” to “thank goodness I have my own channel too”. A balance that finally leans your way.