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How to get more direct bookings for your hotel in 2026

Updated By Akkrev

Where independent hotels win direct bookings in 2026: being found before the OTA, a booking path as easy as Booking.com, and past guests who come back direct.

Key points

  • OTAs took 63.4% of independent hotel bookings in 2025 (Cloudbeds, 90 million bookings). Every booking you win back keeps 15 to 25% of its value.
  • Direct guests are worth more: in Bookboost's data they made 35% of first stays but 68% of return stays, and spent about 35% more on the first stay.
  • Direct bookings cancel less: 10.6% against 21.8% for OTA bookings.
  • Guests increasingly start with AI. 52% of UK travellers used AI to plan trips in 2026, and ChatGPT's most cited hotel sources are TripAdvisor and Booking.com.
  • Growth comes from three places: be found first, make booking easy, bring past guests back direct.
Direct and OTA bookings compared
  • First stays booked direct35%
  • Return stays booked direct68%
  • OTA bookings cancelled21.8%
  • Direct bookings cancelled10.6%

Bookboost, 2.2 million guests at European hotel groups, 2024 to 2026. Cloudbeds, 90 million independent hotel bookings, 2025.

To get more direct bookings, an independent hotel needs three things: guests who find your own website before the OTA listing, a booking path that is as quick and fair as Booking.com’s, and past guests who come back to you rather than through a platform. In 2026 the first of those increasingly happens inside AI answers, not just on Google.

This guide is for owners and managers of independent hotels, B&Bs, inns and guesthouses asking how to grow direct revenue and pay less commission.

Why direct bookings are worth chasing

  • OTA share keeps rising. OTAs took 63.4% of independent hotel bookings in 2025, and close to 80% in some markets (Cloudbeds, 90 million bookings in 180 countries).
  • Commission is the visible cost. Typically 15 to 25% of each booking.
  • OTA bookings cancel more. 21.8% of OTA bookings were cancelled, against 10.6% of direct bookings.
  • Direct guests are worth more. In Bookboost’s analysis of 2.2 million guests at European hotel groups (2024 to 2026), direct guests spent €379 on a first stay against €280 for OTA guests, before commission, and came back about four times as often (5.1% against 1.3%).

What it adds up to

Per booking 10 a month 30 a month
Two nights at £160, 18% commission £57.60 £6,912 a year £20,736 a year

That’s only the commission. It leaves out the higher spend and lower cancellations that come with direct guests.

Most guests meet your hotel on an OTA or in a search result long before they reach your website. That first meeting is changing:

  • 52% of UK travellers used AI to plan trips in 2026, up 12 points in a year, and ChatGPT was the most used tool at 35% (MMGY).
  • In Local Falcon’s study of 998 US hotels, ChatGPT named the hotel being tested in 63.5% of the study’s searches for “best hotel near me” and “best hotels near me”. Its most cited sources were TripAdvisor (27.1%) and Booking.com (23.1%). Hotel chain websites made up 6.9% of citations.

So an AI recommendation is a real growth channel: a guest asks “a quiet hotel in the Lake District with a good restaurant”, and your name appears with a reason. If the link under your name goes to an OTA, a guest who books through that link may incur commission for your hotel. Check which link AI gives for your hotel, and read why AI links Booking.com instead of your hotel.

2. Make booking direct easy and fair

Guests compare. They’ll book with you when:

  • The price is the same or better than the OTA for the same dates and room.
  • There’s a clear reason to book direct: a better cancellation policy, breakfast, parking, an early check-in or a small discount.
  • Booking takes as few steps as the OTA on a phone, with the room and price visible before any form.

In our pilot of 28 independent UK hotels, a scripted browser tried to reach a room list with readable rates for the requested dates. No reservations were made. Date pickers caused problems, and enquiry-only sites had no online booking engine to test. See the Agent Booking Index for the results and method.

3. Bring past guests back direct

Repeat guests are the cheapest bookings a hotel gets, and the easiest to lose to an OTA:

  • In Bookboost’s data, OTAs won 65% of first stays, but direct won 68% of return stays. Guests who had a relationship with the hotel came back to it.
  • A hostAI study of short-term rentals found 77% of repeat-guest revenue still went through OTAs. Operators with under 5% direct bookings lost up to 87% of repeat revenue to platforms.

Returning guests don’t always remember your exact name. Many search for you, or describe you to an AI (“that B&B in Whitby with the harbour view”). Whatever comes up first gets the booking. Keep in touch after the stay, and make sure your own site is what they find when they look you up.

How to get more midweek hotel bookings

Pick a period with rooms to sell, then give people a reason to choose those dates. If you host weekday business travellers, show the facts they ask for, such as late check-in, parking, breakfast times and how to get to a nearby venue. If you sell a Sunday-to-Thursday package, show the eligible dates and what it includes on a page with a booking link.

Compare the same nights before and after the change. Record room nights sold, room revenue and channel costs. Keep a note of rate changes, local events and availability so you can judge the change in context.

Where to start

  1. Search your hotel’s name in Google and ChatGPT. Is the first link your website or an OTA?
  2. Ask AI two guest questions for your area and type of stay. Are you named, and which page is linked?
  3. Compare prices for the same dates on your site and your main OTA.
  4. Book a room on your phone and count the steps and seconds.
  5. Count last month’s repeat guests and how many came through an OTA.

How to measure progress

Record the link in each sampled answer, check identifiable AI referral visits and booking clicks, then compare confirmed direct bookings and booking value in your reservation system. Log changes to prices, availability and pages so you have context for any movement. See how to measure AI search results and how to find AI referrals in Google Analytics.

Akkrev helps with the first step: whether AI recommends your hotel and which link it sends guests to. Every week it asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Grok models your guests’ questions, shows the sources behind each answer and gives you a short list of website fixes. For bookings made by AI agents, see agent booking. Plans are on AI search optimisation for hotels.

Questions

How can a small hotel get more direct bookings?

Make sure guests can find your own website as easily as your OTA listing (Google, Maps and AI answers), keep your direct price at least equal to the OTA with a small extra for booking direct, make the booking engine quick on a phone, and stay in touch with past guests so they rebook with you.

How much does OTA commission cost a hotel?

Typically 15 to 25% of the booking value. On a two-night stay at £160 a night with 18% commission, that's £57.60 per booking. Ten bookings a month moved to direct keeps about £6,900 a year.

Do guests use ChatGPT to find hotels?

Yes. MMGY's 2026 study found 52% of UK travellers used AI for trip planning, with ChatGPT the most used tool at 35%. In Local Falcon's study of 998 US hotels, ChatGPT named a hotel in 63.5% of relevant searches, and most often cited TripAdvisor and Booking.com rather than hotel websites.

Why do repeat guests book through Booking.com instead of directly?

Usually because the OTA is the easiest path: they search, the OTA appears first, and they're already logged in. A short-term rental study by hostAI found 77% of repeat-guest revenue still went through OTAs, and pointed to stronger brand recall for platforms than for the property.

Should I stop using OTAs?

No. OTAs bring guests who would never have found you. The goal is to stop paying commission on guests who were already looking for you, and on guests who have stayed before.

Sources

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