Direct bookings vs OTA commissions: a practical guide for small inns

Jerry Ching, InnReply · October 28, 2026

Most small inns list on at least one big booking site: Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb or similar. These online travel agencies, or OTAs, bring in guests who would never have found you otherwise. In return they take a commission on each booking, and that adds up over a season.

So most innkeepers would like more guests to book on their own website. This guide is about practical ways to make that easier. It won't promise you a number, because every inn is different. But there's a lot you can do, and most of it is free.

First, be fair to the OTAs

The big booking sites aren't the enemy. They're a marketing channel you pay for only when it works. They're very good at:

• Being found. Travellers who don't know your town, let alone your inn, search there first.
• Trust. A first-time guest may feel safer booking with a big brand they've used before.
• Filling quiet nights. Last-minute travellers and people passing through often book on their phones in an app.

The goal isn't to leave them. It's to make sure that when a guest is already looking at your website, booking there is just as easy, so they don't go back to the booking site to finish.

Check your own contracts first

Before you change prices or offer perks on your website, reread the terms you agreed to with each booking site. Commission rates, any rules about the prices you show elsewhere, and what you're allowed to say to guests who booked through them are all set there, and they vary by site and by country. If anything is unclear, ask the site's partner support. It's much better to know than to guess.

Make your booking button impossible to miss

Some guests find an inn on a booking site, then search for its name to see the real website. They're interested. Now they need to be able to book in a few taps.

• Put a clear "Book" or "Check dates" button at the top of every page, including on phones.
• Make sure it opens your booking page directly, not a contact form.
• Try it yourself on your phone. Count the taps from your home page to a confirmed booking. Every tap you remove helps.

Answer the questions guests came to ask

A guest on your website usually has a question or two left before booking. Is there parking? Can the dog come? Is breakfast gluten-free? If the answer is easy to find, they book. If it isn't, it's tempting to go back to the booking site, where the details are laid out in a list they already know.

This is where an honest, complete FAQ page earns its keep. Our guide to what goes on an inn FAQ page has a template you can copy. The guide to late-night guest questions covers the ones that matter most.

Give guests a reason to book direct

Within whatever your contracts allow, a small thank-you for booking on your website can tip the balance. Ideas that don't cost much:

• A welcome treat: a bottle of local wine, cookies, a voucher for the café down the road.
• Flexibility you can control: an easier cancellation window, or a late checkout when the room isn't needed.
• Choice of room. On your own site, a guest can pick the exact room they fell for in the photos.
• A direct line to you. Guests who book with you can ask you anything before they arrive.

Say it plainly near your booking button: "Book here and we'll have a bottle of local wine waiting." Keep it honest and simple.

Use the free ways to be found

• Your Google Business Profile. Make sure it's claimed and verified, with your website link, photos, and correct contact details. It's free.
• Google's free booking links. Google can show a link to your own booking site next to your inn in search results and Maps, at no cost. Small properties usually get on through their booking system provider, so ask yours whether it sends your rates to Google.
• Your local tourism office and chamber of commerce. Some list local lodging with a link to your own site.
• Wedding venues, wineries and event spaces nearby. If guests come for them, ask if they'll link to you as a place to stay.

Look after the guests you already have

A guest who stayed once and loved it is the easiest direct booking there is. Put your website and email address on everything they see: the welcome card, the receipt, the thank-you note. Ask, kindly, if they'd like to hear about your quiet-season dates. Some returning guests simply don't know they can book with you directly.

Be quick when guests ask about dates

"Do you have anything for the 14th?" is the question that most often comes just before a booking. On a booking site, the answer is instant. On many inn websites, the guest has to open a booking page and work it out, or email and wait. The easier it is to see which rooms are free on your own website, the less reason a guest has to check the booking site instead.

Where InnReply can help

InnReply is a small chat box for inn websites, and I make it. It answers guests' questions from your own pages, and when someone asks about dates, it shows which rooms are free and opens your own booking page with the dates filled in. Bookings and payments stay in your booking system. When it isn't sure, it sends you the question by email. It won't turn OTA guests into direct ones on its own, but it can help the guest who's already on your website get their questions answered. See it on Maple Hollow, our made-up sample inn, or on the home page.