Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): Complete Guide for Hotels

What is an OTA?

OTA stands for online travel agent (or online travel agency) and refers to online platforms where travellers can book hotels, flights, car rentals, and vacation packages. For hotels, OTAs serve as key hotel distribution channels where properties can list their accommodations to reach thousands of potential guests searching for rooms.

Major OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia attract hundreds of millions of visitors each month, giving hotels access to travellers they would never reach independently. Because the commission-based model means hotels only pay when a booking is generated, successful OTA management comes down to capitalising on that reach while minimising fees; a balance that a modern property management system (PMS) can help maintain.

This guide covers how OTAs work, which platforms to prioritise, and how to maximise revenue from your OTA connections.

Table of contents

Why are OTAs important for hotels?

OTAs are crucial for hotels because they serve as both marketing and distribution channels, connecting properties with the majority of travellers who prefer booking through these platforms. OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia dominate search results with massive marketing budgets, offering hotels visibility they couldn’t achieve independently. These platforms provide travellers with convenience, choice, competitive pricing, and security, making them essential partners for hotel booking success despite commission costs.

The hospitality industry has fundamentally shifted toward online booking channels, with OTAs capturing the largest share of digital travel reservations. Major platforms like Booking.com and Expedia invest billions in marketing and technology infrastructure, creating sophisticated search and comparison tools that have become travellers’ preferred starting point for accommodation research.

These platforms succeed because they address core traveller needs: comprehensive inventory comparison, transparent pricing, user reviews, and secure payment processing. For hotels, this translates to access to a ready-made marketplace where potential guests are actively searching and ready to book. The scale and reach of established OTAs make them indispensable distribution partners, particularly for independent properties that lack the marketing resources to compete directly with major hotel chains in search engine visibility.

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What are the different types of OTAs for hotels?

Hotels can work with several types of OTAs, but the most relevant categories are hotel OTAs, vacation rental OTAs, and flight-led travel OTAs that also surface accommodation. Hotel OTAs are usually the core distribution channels for traditional properties, while vacation rental and flight-led platforms can help hotels reach different traveller behaviours and trip types.

Hotel OTAs

Hotel OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda focus specifically on accommodation, giving travellers a way to compare prices, amenities, locations, and reviews across properties. For hoteliers, these platforms represent the highest-volume distribution channels and are typically the foundation of any OTA strategy. Many also run deal and discount programs that can boost visibility during low-demand periods.

Vacation Rental OTAs

Vacation Rental OTAs such as Airbnb and Vrbo originally catered to apartments, villas, and other alternative accommodations, but have increasingly opened their platforms to traditional hotels and small properties. Listing on these channels can help hoteliers tap into a different traveller segment — particularly guests seeking longer stays or more local, experience-driven trips.

Flight Booking OTAs

Companies like Skyscanner, Kayak, and CheapOair, are flight booking OTAs that specialise in helping travellers find and book flights. They offer a comprehensive view of flight options from various airlines, allowing users to compare prices, timings, and routes. Many of these platforms also provide additional services like car rentals and hotel bookings, making them a convenient option for planning a trip.

How do OTAs work for hotels?

OTA platforms work by allowing hotels to create detailed property profiles featuring amenities, images, reviews, room types, and rates for travellers to assess and book. Hotels benefit from increased online visibility and bookings without handling marketing, while paying commission fees for each OTA-generated reservation. The trade-off involves gaining access to the OTA’s marketing power and customer base in exchange for reduced profit margins compared to direct bookings.

Profile optimisation directly impacts booking conversion rates, making high-quality photography, detailed descriptions, and current information essential for competitive performance on these platforms.

The operational workflow involves real-time inventory synchronisation between the hotel’s booking system and the OTA platform, ensuring accurate availability and pricing updates. When guests complete reservations, OTAs collect payment and transfer booking details to the hotel, streamlining the entire process. This automated system allows hotels to manage multiple distribution channels efficiently through integrated hotel booking engines while focusing operational resources on guest experience and property management rather than building their own marketing infrastructure.

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How should hotels choose which OTAs to connect to?

Hotels should choose OTAs based on five factors: their local market, target guest profile, property type, offerings like packages or last-minute deals, and the balance they want between OTA and direct bookings. Every property’s ideal channel mix is different, but the foundation should include high-volume global platforms like Booking.com and Expedia, supplemented by niche OTAs that match specific guest segments.

This will include:

Your local market: There will likely be a few channels that specialise in driving bookings to your country and/or destination
Your ideal target market: Some channels will help you capture bookings from high value travellers that frequent your location
Your product: For instance, certain channels will specifically service luxury properties.
Your offerings: You can also find particular channels that are better for promoting packages, last-minute bookings etc.
Your strategy: How many bookings will you be looking to drive via OTAs, versus your direct channels like your website and social media pages?

There’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all approach to choosing the channels you partner with. Determining the best OTAs to connect with requires you to:

Have a clear plan in place first
Perform in-depth analysis of your options
Identify how you will execute your strategy with the right tech solutions.

For instance, the more channels you connect to the more vital your property management system and channel manager become.

Integrating these two systems will help keep your reservation data accurate, automated, and up-to-date – and ensure you have proper reporting functions available to measure channel and business performance.

All hotels should prioritise the OTA major players, some of whom attract hundreds of millions of unique visitors every month. But niche OTAs can be a valuable tool too, as they allow you to reach specific – and often higher-spending – guest segments. Key OTAs that a hotel should consider listing on include:

Booking.com – Booking.com is recognised as the global leader of OTAs, proving to be one of the most popular booking channels for travellers across all segments and parts of the world.
Expedia – Another big player but Expedia is also known for being especially valuable to travellers looking to book packages.
Agoda – Particularly popular in Asian markets
Mr & Mrs Smith – Dedicated to boutique and luxury properties.
Airbnb – Specialises in small or unique properties and properties that provide a ‘home away from home’ experience for travellers.
Lastminute.com – As the name suggests, great for those looking for last minute stays, especially in Europe.
HRS.com – Primarily aimed at business travellers.
Trip.com – The largest OTA in one of the largest countries on Earth, China.
HotelTonight – Travellers seeking out great deals on last minute bookings go to HotelTonight.
MakeMyTrip – Popular with Indian travellers for domestic and outbound stays, with a growing international footprint.

These are just some of the most popular channels, but there are literally hundreds available, some of which may suit your property better.

How should hotels manage OTA reviews?

Hotels should treat OTA reviews as both a trust signal and a conversion lever. Travellers often filter listings by guest rating and read recent feedback before booking, so a strong review profile can improve both visibility and booking confidence. The priority is not to reply to every comment, but to respond consistently to negative reviews, acknowledge notable positive ones, and use guest feedback to fix issues before they show up publicly.

Positive reviews do more than strengthen perception; they also support discoverability within OTA platforms. That makes review management an ongoing operational task, not just a reputation task. Hotels that actively collect feedback during the stay, follow up after check-out, and respond in a calm, consistent voice are in a much stronger position to improve both review volume and guest trust.

Ways to improve OTA reviews

Ask for feedback while guests are still on-property, so issues can be resolved before they become public reviews.
Follow up after the stay with a review request while the experience is still fresh.
Respond to negative reviews promptly, fairly, and without sounding defensive.
Acknowledge standout positive reviews to reinforce appreciation and show that guest feedback is valued.
Assign review responses to a small number of trained staff so your tone stays consistent.

OTA review management works best when hotels collect feedback early, respond calmly, and treat reviews as an active part of conversion, not just reputation.

What strategies increase hotel bookings on OTAs?

A hotel can increase OTA bookings through three practical strategies: strengthen its listing content, use the Billboard Effect to recover more high-intent demand, and apply performance data to improve targeting and conversion over time. Together, these actions help hotels attract more clicks on OTAs, create a stronger direct booking path when guests switch channels, and make better decisions about pricing and promotions.

OTA booking strategy stats:

26% of travellers now start their hotel research on platforms like Booking.com, surpassing Google and other search engines (21%) for the first time in industry history.
Booking.com is easily the most popular booking channel but direct bookings are top 3-5 choices for global travellers too.
Approximately 18% of travellers who discover a hotel on an OTA will eventually make a direct booking with the hotel – an example of the billboard effect.

Taken together, these trends point to three clear priorities: make your OTA listing more compelling, make your direct booking experience strong enough to capture OTA researchers, and use performance data to refine how you market and sell your rooms.

1. Optimise your visual content and property profile

Winning guest bookings on OTAs is much the same as winning them directly: first impressions count. Since OTAs now act as research starting points for many travellers, your listing needs current photography, complete property information, and room descriptions that clearly communicate value.

One of the strongest first impressions you can make is through the images of your property and its interior. Travellers want to see what they are paying for, and weak photography can quickly undermine confidence. If you cannot produce high-quality photography yourself, it is worth investing in it. You should also refresh your images regularly, especially after renovations or refurbishments, so your listing reflects the real guest experience.

2. Capitalise on The Billboard Effect created by online channels

Just because a traveller finds your hotel on an OTA doesn’t mean they’ll always book on the OTA. Often they’ll visit your website once they discover you. This is called The Billboard Effect and it’s where you have the opportunity to win back revenue.

When a traveller does land on your website, you need to make it as appealing as possible for them to make a booking there, instead of heading back to the OTA or even another hotel. If they don’t find the same room types, names, pictures, and policies they get frustrated.

You can also win travellers over with great content, packages, and appealing deals. Use a blog to broadcast helpful information, news, and travel tips. Establish an online booking engine to house your special packages and rates helping you capture guests directly.

3. Use data to market better

The most valuable tool at your disposal as a hotelier is data, especially when it comes to your potential guests. You want to drive more bookings at your property, but marketing blindly to the masses is not the way to do it. You first need to narrow down who your target market should be, and how you can actually reach them effectively.

This might not be constant either, at different times of the year you might have different priorities or travellers may have different habits. That’s why it’s so important to have access to valuable data and be analysing it frequently.

There are many places you can find this data, including from OTAs, which often publish guides on how you can target specific audiences to boost your conversions and bookings.

Key takeaways

Treat OTAs as a discovery channel, not just a sales channel: Many travellers now use OTAs to shortlist properties before deciding where to book, so your listings should work like high-converting storefronts, not just basic inventory pages.
Strong listings win more clicks and bookings: High-quality photography, accurate room details, and clear property information help travellers compare confidently and see the value of your stay faster.
Use OTAs to drive direct revenue too: Around 18% of travellers who begin on an OTA end up booking direct, so your website and booking flow should match OTA content closely while offering clear reasons to book with you instead.
Let data guide your OTA strategy: Track channel performance, pricing, guest behaviour, and market shifts so you can refine your targeting, pricing, and promotions based on performance data.

How can hotels maximise revenue from OTAs?

Hotels can maximise OTA revenue through four higher-impact levers: sharper rate and promotional strategy, selective paid visibility, competitor-informed pricing decisions, and expansion into regional demand pools. Foundational tasks like inventory accuracy, review management, channel selection, and profile quality still matter, but they are already covered elsewhere on this page in more depth.

What the data tells us about OTA dominance

Treat OTAs as core revenue drivers. They now account for a majority of hotel bookings, so the upside from sharper profiles, pricing and merchandising is significant. See OTAs now drive over half of all hotel bookings.
Win visibility with consistent branding, rate integrity and persuasive content. Travellers overwhelmingly favour OTAs for convenience and trust, with 70% willing to book via an OTA even at the same price, so your OTA presence must be as strong as your website.
Operate with a clear playbook across inventory, pricing, reviews, paid ads, segmentation and competitor tracking. Given OTAs’ scale in travel distribution, staying disciplined across these levers is how you protect share.

1. Cleverly manage your rates and promotions

Guests don’t simply use OTAs for a wide range of choice and inspiration, often they’re looking for last-minute deals and offers. If you have time-sensitive promotions they’ll have more chance of being caught and you can more easily sell the remainder of your rooms. It’s not hard to make alterations on OTAs to highlight a particular rate or capitalise on seasonal events to attract more guests to your property profile.

2. Consider paid advertising

Paid advertising on OTA platforms isn’t exclusively for large hotel chains with substantial marketing budgets. Independent properties can also leverage pay-per-click advertising to enhance their visibility and compete effectively. For example, TripAdvisor advertising options allow hotels to boost their visibility through sponsored placements and targeted campaigns. While paid advertising doesn’t guarantee increased bookings, it significantly improves your property’s visibility in search results, keeping your hotel top-of-mind for potential guests. Properties with compelling visual content and strong value propositions typically see improved revenue performance and enhanced OTA rankings through strategic advertising investments.

3. Understand your competition

Competitive intelligence is essential for maintaining optimal pricing strategies and identifying market opportunities. Understanding how similar properties in your market position themselves prevents significant pricing errors that could hurt your competitiveness. Monitoring competitor activity also reveals valuable insights about local market conditions. For example, rate changes often signal occupancy trends or promotional opportunities that your property can capitalise on. Modern revenue management systems and competitive analysis tools provide hotels with real-time data to make informed pricing and positioning decisions.

4. Reach a wider audience

Broaden your mix with regional leaders that open new demand pools. For example, MakeMyTrip has moved beyond its India-first footprint and now serves more than 150 countries, while expanding international hotel supply through partnerships such as Premier Inn, giving you access to fast-growing outbound segments and UK-bound traffic. Prioritise channels that map to your feeder markets, then connect them via your channel manager to keep availability and rates in sync.

How does a channel manager increase OTA bookings and revenue?

A channel manager helps hotels increase OTA bookings and revenue by keeping rates and availability accurate across connected channels in real time. That reduces overbooking risk, keeps rooms bookable wherever travellers are searching, and makes it practical to sell through a wider mix of OTAs without multiplying manual admin.

For a deeper look at how to evaluate and set up an OTA channel manager, see our full guide.

It keeps your inventory accurate across every OTA

When a room sells on one channel, a channel manager updates availability across your other connected OTAs straight away. This helps prevent double bookings and pricing mismatches, both of which can hurt conversion, create guest frustration, and limit your ability to stay visible across multiple platforms.

It makes broader distribution manageable

Selling on a handful of OTAs manually is difficult to sustain, especially as your rates, availability, and restrictions change throughout the day. A channel manager makes it operationally realistic to connect with both major and niche channels, so you can expand reach without adding the same amount of manual work or risk.

It helps you capture revenue more efficiently

Because your availability stays current across channels, you are less likely to miss bookings due to stale inventory or closed-out rooms that should still be on sale. At the same time, automation frees up time for revenue-driving work like pricing, promotions, and channel analysis instead of constant manual updates.

How do OTA commissions work?

OTA commissions are the fees that hotels pay to third-party booking platforms for every reservation generated through their site. These fees are based on a percentage of the total booking value, and typically range from 15% to 25%. They are generally only charged once the guest has completed their stay.

While OTA commissions represent a significant slice of revenue, they should be viewed as a marketing investment: the price you pay for gaining access to a global audience that can be as large as hundreds of millions of people.

When you break it down, the commission fee you pay covers the massive investments that an OTA has to make in order to be the go-to place for travellers looking for a hotel. The likes of Booking.com spend vast amounts of money on search engine marketing and technology to earn a level of traffic that an individual hotel would have no chance of achieving on their own site.

In an ideal world, a hotel will use OTAs to fill rooms during low-demand periods, then capitalise on the billboard effect to drive higher value direct bookings from OTAs during peak times.

Frequently asked questions about OTAs for hotels

How can I work with my OTA market manager to increase bookings?

Your OTA market manager should be treated as a practical growth partner, not just a support contact. Ask them which campaigns, promotions, merchandising placements, or market-specific opportunities are available for your property, then assess those options against your own occupancy goals, margin targets, and feeder markets before opting in. They can also help you understand how your property is positioned within the platform, but the best results will come when you combine their platform insight with your own data on conversion, seasonality, and guest behaviour. In short: use the OTA’s expertise to spot opportunities, but let your own performance data decide which ones are worth pursuing.

Does brand positioning affect OTA performance?

Yes, brand positioning can directly affect OTA performance because travellers are comparing multiple properties at once and looking for clear reasons to choose one over another. Your OTA listing needs to communicate what makes your property distinctive, whether that is sustainability, luxury, family-friendliness, local character, or another clear value proposition, through its descriptions, imagery, amenities, and policies. This matters because OTAs are not just booking platforms; they are also comparison environments where strong positioning helps improve both click-through and conversion by making your property easier to understand and trust. The key is to make that positioning visible in concrete ways across the listing, rather than leaving it as a vague brand statement.

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): Complete Guide for Hotels

What is an OTA?

Why are OTAs important for hotels?