If most of your bookings come through Airbnb or Booking.com, you’re paying 15% or more of every stay just to be found. That’s not a reason to leave the platforms. It is a reason to know the number, and to stop handing it over by default.
Do the sums on one booking
Take a £2,000 week in a coastal cottage. At 15%, that’s £300 gone before the cleaner is paid. Across a season of twenty such weeks, it’s £6,000.
Now picture the same guest booking direct. You keep the £300. Even if you spend £30 on a welcome hamper to say thank you for booking with you, you’re still £270 better off, and the guest feels they got the better deal.
Work out your own version:
- Your typical booking value
- The commission and fees you pay on it
- The cost of a perk you could offer direct bookers instead
The gap between the second and third lines is what every direct booking is worth to you.
Why owners keep paying it
I talk to accommodation owners every week through The Whitby Guide. The most common reason they give for staying with the OTAs is simple: there’s no upfront cost. You only pay when you get a booking.
That feels safe. But it means the platform sets the terms, owns the guest’s details, and takes a slice of every booking, including the ones that would have found you anyway. Repeat guests who rebook through an OTA because they can’t remember your name are the most expensive bookings you’ll ever take.
Perks beat discounts
Don’t race the platforms on price. A direct rate far below the OTA price looks suspicious and trains guests to haggle. Keep the price close and add something the platforms can’t:
- Late checkout or early check-in, when your changeover allows
- A hamper of local produce
- A discount at a partner café, pub or attraction
- A more flexible cancellation policy
- First choice of next year’s dates
Then say it everywhere: your homepage, your booking page, your Google profile, your guidebook. Guests only book direct if they know there’s a reason to.
Start with the guests you already have
The fastest wins are guests who’ve stayed before. Make sure everything they touch carries your name and website, not the platform’s. Open your calendar 14 to 18 months ahead so they can rebook before they leave. And ask, at checkout, if they know anyone who’d love it here.
None of this means deleting your listings. The OTAs are useful. The goal is that they support your business instead of running it.
Want the full method? My free starter guide covers seven moves to win more direct bookings, plus a scorecard to see where you stand. Get the free guide.