OTAs aren’t stealing your guests. You’re giving them away.

A hotel general manager is scanning her monthly report, once again feeling growing frustration about the rising number of OTA guest bookings her properties are experiencing - and the fees that came with them. Direct bookings were down last month and OTA commissions were higher than ever, leaving her feeling like the OTAs are winning.

Then the thought enters her mind: They’re stealing our guests. After all, she knows that for every OTA guest booking, there’s a cost to her net operating income (NOI).

But then, as she began to look through her report, something caught her eye - something that took her by surprise. Most of the guests who booked stays via OTAs had visited her properties’ websites beforehand. And some had even made it as far as the booking engine before abandoning their carts!

She gasped as she realized what was happening: The issue wasn’t OTAs stealing her guests - it was a lack of having a solid cart abandonment strategy, compounded by weak loyalty messaging and a disjointed guest journey.

Unfortunately, the story above is all too common in the hospitality industry. It’s something many hoteliers face regularly. And while it’s easy to blame OTAs for “stealing” your guests, that viewpoint doesn’t position you in a place of power.

The truth is that while guests book with OTAs for a variety of reasons (including some upsetting tactics used by OTAs), you actually have more control over the situation than you may realize. You just have to shift your mindset.

So, in this article, we’ll challenge the idea that OTAs are stealing your guests by looking at how much is in your control. Then, you’ll receive actionable strategies to help you convert OTA guests into loyal direct bookers.

What is an OTA guest?

Before we reveal where you’re leaving your properties’ booking journey vulnerable to OTAs, let’s first address what an OTA guest is.

An OTA guest is a hotel guest who books through a third-party online travel agency (OTA), like Expedia or Booking.com, rather than directly through your website or call center. The obvious immediate downside for a hotelier is that these bookings often come with hefty OTA commission fees, which can be as high as 30 to 40%.

Now, while these platforms come with positives, such as delivering publicity for your hotel (commonly known as the billboard effect), they also serve as “middlemen” in the booking process by owning the guest data, controlling the booking experience, and cutting into your NOI.

As of 2024, OTAs accounted for more than 40% of online hotel bookings worldwide. And this percentage is only expected to grow as travelers continue to prioritize convenience and comparison shopping.

But instead of thinking of an OTA guest as a “lost” guest, let’s take a closer look at what’s really driving these booking patterns and what you can do about it.

Busting the myth: OTAs aren’t really stealing your guests

While it’s easy to think OTAs are pulling your guests away, the truth is that many of those guests actually tried to book direct with your properties first. So, what made them change course and end up booking on another platform?

It often comes down to friction within your properties’ website. Here’s a closer look at how your hotels’ digital experience could be costing your direct bookings:

You’re creating rate parity gaps

When guests see a lower price with an OTA than on your website, they’re more likely to abandon their cart and book elsewhere - even if the difference is just a few dollars. Remember, rate parity is a trust signal. That means any gap in pricing can plant seeds of distrust and actually budge your guests toward booking with an OTA that offers “best rate guarantees.”

Your mobile UX leads shoppers to OTAs

Modern travelers tend to prefer browsing and booking on their phones, so if your mobile site is slow or doesn’t flow in a logical and intuitive way, you will experience higher abandonment rates prior to booking. In fact, mobile cart abandonment is one of the biggest reasons for cart abandonment.

Your loyalty value proposition is missing

If your website doesn’t clearly point out the benefits of booking direct with your property, you’re not giving your guests any reason to switch from being an OTA guest. Incentives like upgrades, early check-ins, discounts, or even flexible cancellation can tip the scale in your favor. Just make sure not to bury this value deep in your site or too far down the page; otherwise, you run the risk of your guest missing it altogether.

Capitalizing on an OTA booking

So, what do you do when you’ve lost the booking and now have an OTA guest? First, start by reframing the situation in this way: An OTA booking isn’t a lost opportunity; it’s the start of a potential long-term relationship with a new guest! This simple mindshift can change everything.

When you think of an OTA guest as a high-intent traveler who just needed a better reason to book direct, it reveals a key opportunity: engaging with them during and post-stay. After all, this guest has already chosen to stay at your hotel, which means they’ve experienced your property, slept in your rooms, and have a firm impression of your brand. It’s up to you to bring them back to book direct with you.

How to convert OTA guests into direct bookers

If you’re looking to turn OTA guests into loyal, direct bookers, here are a few actionable strategies you can begin using immediately:

Capture emails at check-in

OTAs are notorious for masking guest emails, which means it’s up to you to reclaim them. Start by training your front desk staff to request guest emails at check-in by framing it as a great way to get loyalty perks, receipts for their stay, and even complimentary upgrades.

Send personalized post-stay thank-you emails

Once your OTA guest checks out, make sure to send a personalized email or text within 24 to 48 hours thanking them for staying at your property. Including a link to rebook direct with a discount can be an effective tactic. Alternatively, linking to a feedback form or loyalty program enrollment can provide more information on this guest so you can continue to market to them in a personalized way.

Enroll OTA guests into your loyalty program

Offering an OTA guest an immediate upgrade for enrolling in your loyalty program not only helps you capture their information, but it also establishes a positive brand impression in the first moments of their stay. It’s a simple gesture that can turn a one-time booking into a loyal, repeat guest who feels valued right from the start.

Use segmentation to deliver targeted offers

Once you’ve gathered OTA guest emails and identified them in your CRM, you can build a segment and deliver personalized communications to them based on their booking history. Highlighting the value of booking direct for their next stay (by providing an exclusive offer or reduced return rate, for example) can help to convert OTA guests into loyal guests.

Implement a multi-channel cart abandonment recovery strategy

Following a great experience, it’s highly likely that an OTA guest will return to your website in the future to consider booking direct with you. Make sure you don’t lose them again by using the cart abandonment recovery strategy. You can learn more about what to do - and why taking a multi-channel approach is the most effective strategy - by following the steps in this cart abandonment recovery playbook.

From conversion to mastery: Your next best action

If you’ve ever blamed OTAs for your rising guest acquisition costs and shrinking NOI, you’re not alone. And OTAs are known for doing some less than above-the-board tactics, but now you know how to stop those guests from slipping through the cracks when they visit your website.

With the right strategy in place, you can plug those leaks, recover lost revenue, and turn every OTA guest into a loyal direct booker - just like these hotels did.

Ready to take full control of the guest journey - from pre-booking to post-stay? Make sure you complete the cart abandonment module of the Direct Bookings Mastery Certification to master cart abandonment recovery and drive more direct bookings.

About Revinate

Revinate is a direct booking platform that leads the hospitality industry in driving direct revenue and increased profitability.

Our products and our people combine to give hoteliers the superpowers they need to crush their goals. With Revinate, hoteliers shift share away from OTAs and drive tangible results across an individual property or a portfolio. Our industry-leading, AI-powered customer data platform collects, unifies, and synthesizes data to give hoteliers a foundational advantage.

Hoteliers gain critical intelligence — guest lifetime spend, stay preferences, ancillary revenue, and more. With Revinate's Rich Guest Profiles™ data, hoteliers don't need to guess who their most profitable guests are or struggle to drive conversions across email, voice, messaging, and digital channels.

Revinate's direct booking platform and omnichannel communication technology powers 950+ million Rich Guest Profiles across 12,500+ hotels to drive over $17.2 billion in direct revenue.