Clio O’Gara, Access Hospitality offers advice on shifting the balance between OTA’s and Direct – it’s everyone’s job
Let’s be honest with each other for a moment. If you’re an independent Irish hotelier, you already know the number. In 2025, OTAs took 63.4% of independent hotel bookings. That’s not a statistic you read once and forget as it’s the kind of figure that sits with you over your morning coffee.
So, is it getting better or worse? And can independent hotels realistically shift that balance?
My answer is yes, but not through one single act. Shifting the balance is a combination of actions. It’s never truly over, but here’s the thing that might surprise you; it’s everyone’s job.
Use the OTAs, but use them on your terms
I know it might feel counterintuitive, but OTAs aren’t the enemy. Think of them as your billboard. They have the reach, the marketing budgets and the global audiences that most independent hotels simply can’t match on their own. So let them do that work for you to get your name and your property out there.
But here’s where you keep control. You limit their availability. Don’t hand over your best rooms on your best dates. Give them stock when you need it, and keep it limited on your high-demand days. Save all the good stuff like early check-in, late check-out, inclusive packages exclusively for guests who book direct through your own website.
That’s the billboard effect working in your favour, not theirs.
The most powerful tool you’re probably underusing
Here’s where it gets really interesting, and where I’ve seen some of the greatest results for hoteliers I work with.
When an OTA booking comes in, your job isn’t done. Tools like GuestStay go out to the guest before arrival, allow them to complete their pre-check-in, and push through the OTA email address so you actually get the guest’s contact details.
That email address is gold. Use it to build a relationship with that guest before they arrive, during their stay and after they leave. Add them to your CRM and offer them a repeat stay direct on your own website. One OTA booking, handled well, can become a lifetime of direct bookings. That’s how you change the numbers.
Make the booking process beautifully simple
Making guests book direct is a tough job. But you have to do it, and it’s never over.
The single most important thing? Make the booking process as simple as possible. Remove every frustration. Every extra click, every confusing step, every moment of doubt is a guest who drifts back to Booking.com because it feels easier.
And remember, most people are booking on a mobile phone. Your website, your booking engine, your entire direct journey needs to feel effortless on a small screen. If it doesn’t, you’re losing bookings before the guest even thinks about it.
Sell rooms only, then upsell everything else
One strategy I love, and one that works beautifully when paired with the right technology, is selling rooms only so you can upsell breakfast and dinner separately. It keeps your headline rate competitive, and it opens up a whole world of revenue opportunity once the guest is already committed to staying with you.
When technology bundles work together, real-time availability, instant payments, spa and table bookings all flowing into your property management system without any human intervention. That’s when the magic really happens. The guest gets a confirmation that tells them every need and request has been taken care of. That’s not just good technology, but a great guest experience.
What does a realistic direct booking target look like?
When we talk about direct booking share, we need to look at the full picture of bookings. Direct business isn’t just your website but it’s your phone bookings, your sales office, tour operators and local functions. All of that is direct business.
OTAs should ideally represent less than 20% of your total booking mix. Your own website’s share will vary depending on your hotel type and location, but the direction of travel should always be the same by being more direct, more personal, more profitable.
Want to go deeper on this?
If this has got you thinking, and I hope it has, Access Hospitality is hosting an event where we’ll be diving into exactly these topics. Chat to our experts about direct booking strategies and the latest technology that makes it all possible.
The technology that ties it all together
Think about everything we’ve covered in this article. Capturing guest emails, building CRM relationships, seamless upselling and effortless booking journeys. All of it becomes so much easier when your technology works as one connected suite, not a collection of disconnected tools pulling in different directions.
The Access Hotel Property Management Suite brings your PMS, booking engine, guest engagement tools, payments and more into one unified platform. Every room, every booking, every guest connected. So, your team can stop chasing information across systems and start focusing entirely on the guest.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. Not the technology or the commission percentages. It’s about the guest. Build a genuine relationship with them, make their experience exceptional, and they’ll come back, direct, every time.
