How to cut booking site commission without losing guests

Every booking that comes through a travel website carries a cost. The site takes a percentage of the room rate, and the percentage varies by site and agreement. On a busy month the booking site commission can be one of the largest bills a hotel pays that it never sees on a payslip. And the guest belongs to the site, not to you.

You do not need to stop using booking sites. They bring guests you would never reach alone. The aim is smaller: make every guest who already knows you book with you directly, and use the sites for the guests who do not.

First, see what you are paying

Most owners do not know their real figure. For one month, list every booking and mark where it came from: a booking site, a phone call, WhatsApp, a walk-in, a return guest, a company. Then, for the site bookings, add the commission. Many hotels are surprised. The total is rarely small.

You need a clear record of where bookings come from. If your reservations are in a notebook or a spreadsheet with no source column, start recording the source today. In a reservation system it is one field.

Seven practical ways to win more direct bookings

1. Answer faster than the site does. A guest who messages you on WhatsApp usually wants a quick answer and a price. If you reply within minutes with the room, the rate and how to pay a deposit, many will book with you.

2. Offer something the site does not. It does not need to be a big discount. Free breakfast, a late check-out, an airport pick-up or a free bar drink is often worth more to the guest than 5% off and costs you less than the commission.

3. Put a booking page on your own website. If a guest finds you on Google or Instagram and can only call, many will go back to a booking site instead. A page where they pick dates, see live availability and pay a deposit keeps the booking with you. Xenia has a booking page and widget for the hotel's own website, with live availability, a deposit paid through guest payments and a confirmation email.

4. Ask return guests to book directly. The easiest direct booking is a guest who has already stayed. At check-out, give them a card with your number and say "next time, message us directly". Keep a guest list so you can reach them.

5. Keep your price consistent. If your own phone price is higher than the site price, guests will notice and book on the site. Keep the same rate everywhere, and make the direct benefit the extras.

6. Make company and group bookings direct. Companies, churches and event organisers have no reason to pay a commission. A corporate rate agreement with a clear price gives them a reason to call you.

7. Look after your Google listing. Make sure your hotel's name, phone number, pictures and address are correct on Google Maps. Many guests find hotels there and call straight away.

Use the booking sites more carefully

• Do not discount on the site. A lower price on the site invites guests to look for it there.

• Check cancellations. Look at how many site bookings cancel. A booking that cancels after you have turned other guests away has a cost.

• Watch the dates. Use the sites to fill the quiet nights, and sell busy weekends directly.

What this has to do with the front desk

Winning a direct booking only helps if you can deliver it well: the room is ready, the price is what you said, the deposit is recorded, and the receipt is correct. A deposit paid into a personal account that never reaches the books costs you more than any commission.

That is why deposits should go through a record. With Xenia, a deposit paid online goes to the hotel's own bank account and is recorded against the reservation, and the guest receives a confirmation. See how reservations and bills fit together on the front desk page, or read about setting room rates for weekends, seasons and long stays so the rate you quote is one you can keep.

A simple target

You do not have to remove booking sites to win. Pick one measure, such as "more than half of our bookings come to us directly by the end of the year", measure it monthly, and act on it. Small changes, like answering faster and asking return guests to call, add up quickly.