OTAs bring bookings, but they also stay in control
Most hotels rely on OTAs to keep occupancy high, especially in low season. It is a working strategy. But it comes at a price: lost margins, limited control over guest data, and the constant challenge of competing with your own listings.
That is why more hotels are trying to shift bookings to their website, where every reservation brings more profit and long-term value. But many find that despite efforts, the shift just doesn’t happen.
The goal is clear, but the setup holds you back
At Exely, we work with hotels that have made direct bookings a strategic priority. And we have seen why some succeed and others struggle. In many cases, the problem is not the website itself. It is what is happening behind it.
Many hoteliers still update availability only in their Channel Manager for OTAs and forget to do the same for the website. Some hold back a few rooms for direct bookings, while OTAs sell out the rest. Others do not even realize when the website shows a higher price than OTAs.
It adds up. Every time it happens, the hotel loses a booking or pays more than should have to get it.
The real blocker might be your Channel Manager
If you treat your Channel Manager as just a way to avoid switching between OTA accounts, you are missing its true potential.
When your Booking Engine and Channel Manager work together as one system — not just technically, but strategically — everything changes. This is exactly how it works for hotels using Exely Booking Engine with Exely Channel Manager, or with a Channel Manager fully integrated into Exely. Availability and prices sync automatically across all channels, including your website. You can track and fix price disparities, manage all online sales from a single account, and keep the last rooms for your most profitable channel — all without extra effort.
This is what allows direct sales to grow steadily, not just occasionally.
Case in point: Boutique Hotel Seven Days
This 50-room hotel in Prague used to get just 10–15% of bookings from their website. After switching to Exely, that number grew to 25%.
The GM, Mr. Zagorski, uses the demand calendar and disparity reports to actively shift bookings to the website when demand is high:
I look at the demand calendar and disparity report to see when I can close OTAs and leave availability only on the website. It helps direct demand where bookings are more profitable
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Since implementing this strategy, the hotel has seen a significant boost in performance: revenue increased by €242,000 in 2023 compared to the previous year, and by another €403,000 in 2024. For the peak season, ADR rose from €110 to €180–200.
What’s next: More value from OTA bookings
Some bookings will always come from OTAs, and that is not a problem. What matters is what happens after the booking.
To help hotels capture more value from these reservations, Exely is launching two new solutions. Service Hub will allow hotels to automatically offer room upgrades to OTA guests. Alongside it, the new Exely Payment Hub will provide a complete payment infrastructure enabling secure prepayments and cancellation fee collection for OTA bookings via Channel Manager, as well as payments for room upgrades through Service Hub and all purchases made through Booking Engine.
Both tools work in the background, with no manual steps required. Together, they strengthen Exely Channel Manager and give hotels the ability to increase average check value and reduce the risk of no-shows even when the booking does not come through the website.
Final thought
If your hotel is struggling to shift sales to the website, it may not be about strategy. It may be about setup.
A Booking Engine and Channel Manager that work in sync and were built to support your direct sales goals can help you do more with every booking, no matter where it comes from.
If you are looking to strengthen your setup and get more value from every booking, our team can help. Leave a request, and an Exely manager will contact you to find the best combination of solutions for your hotel’s specific needs.
