How Hoteliers Can Drive More Direct Bookings in 2025
Direct is Profitable – But Not Easy
Direct bookings are one of the fastest ways for hotels to improve profit and regain control of their demand. Yet, winning more direct share isn’t a flip of a switch – it comes from sharper pricing, smarter marketing and a booking experience that is as effortless as the OTAs.
The landscape is shifting fast: Online channels are taking a bigger share of travel, OTAs still dominate the discovery phase, travellers expect frictionless, mobile-first check out and AI is reshaping how guests research and choose.
Here’s the reality hoteliers are navigating:
Online channels are expected to account for 65% of global travel bookings - 69% for Europe and APAC.
c.7 in 10 online hotel euros in Europe are still intermediated with Booking.com as the main driver.
41% of both leisure and business travellers prefer to book via OTAs, while only 21% book directly through a hotel’s website.
63% in the UK are open to using AI during planning, booking and experiencing their stay (up to 96% in China).
52% have abandoned an online booking due to a bad digital experience, rising by 3% in the last 12 months.
45% of Gen Z are citing social media as a key source of inspiration, as well as travel influencers (42%)
Sources: Phocuswright (2024); D-Edge (2024); Amadeus (2025); SiteMinder (2025)
This article breaks down what’s truly hard about driving direct – and the practical plays that consistently move while protecting Gross Operating Profit (GOP).
Why Direct Bookings Matter for Profit & Control
Because acquisition cost to win a direct booking is typically lower than the fee paid to an OTA, shifting even a small slice of bookings from OTAs to Direct reduces room expenses and drops more of each room night straight to GOP.
Benefits of increasing direct share:
Stronger profit margins and lower distribution cost
Higher value per booking through upsell and cross-sell
First-party data for smarter marketing and loyalty
Better control of rate strategy and brand experience
What’s Making Direct Booking Difficult
Price parity and offer presentation: Offer presentation is how your rates and benefits are packaged and promoted. It can make an OTA price look better value than your site even when the headline price is the same.
Traveller behaviour & OTA discovery: Reaching audiences at the inspiration stage and guiding them through to conversion is critical – even as discovery shifts to OTA ecosystems and social.
AI-enabled search & changing SEO: Traditional search is evolving towards AI-generated answers. Site content must be ready for Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
Three-click check out expectations: OTAs invest heavily in technology to deliver a frictionless booking journey that takes just minutes to complete. Hotel sites must match this standard.
Continuous tech investment: Booking Engine, analytics, feeds and integrations age quickly. Assessing the priorities is essential, based on a clear understanding of the correlation between investment and return on investment (ROI).
Proven Tips to Grow Direct Share
Phase 1: Quick wins (first 60 days)
Define & promote book-direct benefits: Incentivise your customers to book direct by offering benefits that genuinely matter. Use on-site conversion tools; many drive a significant share of website revenue.
Optimise the Booking Engine (BE): Audit BE flow (fields, payment options, room comparison), enable wallets (Apple/Google Pay), test labels and reduce the steps. Aim for a fast, consistent and effective mobile experience.
Enhance metasearch placement: Budget for visibility on Google Travel, Tripadvisor and Kayak and consider options to enhance your listing. Display your Book Direct benefits clearly and activate Free Booking Links.
Phase 2: Growth plays (90 — 180 days)
Invest in SEO+GEO: Maintain technical SEO foundations and create helpful, hotel-rich content that answers travellers’ intent – that AI systems can understand and surface. Apply a strategic approach to align with your business needs and track ROI.
Build a high-converting website: Beyond visual appeal, focus on conversion. Track add-to-cart rate, and checkout performance. Keep site speed high and content fresh. Review meta descriptions and keywords regularly.
Leverage social media and influencers: Drive engagement and qualified traffic to the site with measurable partnerships and endorsements. Optimise on user generated content (UGC) in ads.
Curate upsells strategically: Customise your automated e-mail templates by using dynamic content and customisation options. Understanding preferences supports repeat stays and Total Revenue Per Available Room (TRevPAR) growth.
Strengthen Google/Apple Maps: It’s not just about accuracy of your location. Keep listings comprehensive and accurate (attributes, images, FAQs). Optimise for evolving search behaviour and link directly to your booking engine.
Revenue insight: Amadeus’ survey also highlights that, globally, travellers would pay an average 12% more than ADR for specific amenities—a valuable upselling opportunity.
Revenue Insight & GOP Impact
Owners care about cash, not vanity metrics. On like-for-like revenue, a direct booking that is attached to a lower cost of acquisition will support flow-through growth, while an OTA booking carries a larger fee. Practically, every £100,000 shifted from OTA to direct frees up distribution expense – money that flows almost entirely to GOP without changing rate and occupancy.
“Most wins come from removing friction before adding spend. We start there.”
Conclusion: A Process, Not a Switch
The rapid rise of AI in the booking journey, the role played by social media, and the ever-evolving customer expectations require hoteliers to adopt a smart, balanced and ROI-driven approach to grow their share of direct business. It’s a process: parity and value, a fast site with a sophisticated BE, always on the pulse of SEO/GEO changes, brand /non-brand/social Paid Per Click (PPC) and metasearch, and lifecycle marketing that drives compounding results.
Where are your pressure points?
Site conversion below 1%?
>20% of parity checks showing undercuts?
Paid Ads returning <10:1 ROI?
Brand.com share of online revenue < 30%
Unfold Consulting
We help hotels reduce OTA reliance and grow profitable direct demand with a 90-day plan that incorporates an audit, quick wins and growth experiments – grounded in our clients’ actual acquisition costs and GOP goals.
Over the past 15 years, we’ve partnered with hoteliers and asset owners to deliver measurable topline growth across city, resort, leisure, MICE, and corporate-focused properties, franchised and managed assets as well as independents across over 15 countries.
Explore our case studies and client portfolio to see how we’ve helped owners like you optimise direct bookings and unlock the full value of their assets: Unfold Consulting (web hyperlinked)
Glossary:
GOP – Gross Operating Profit
GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
TRevPAR – Total Revenue Per Available
