Hospitality

Reducing OTA dependency and growing direct bookings by 89%

Luxury Hotel Group

Outcomes
+89%

Growth in direct booking revenue

−24pp

Reduction in OTA booking share

+18%

Higher RevPAR from direct vs OTA

+34%

Increase in repeat direct booking rate

The Challenge

Over 68% of bookings were arriving through OTA platforms at commission rates between 15-22%. The group's owned digital channels were underinvested and underperforming. Guest data was largely held by the OTAs, limiting lifecycle marketing capability.

Strategic Approach

We implemented a "book direct" programme combining paid media that targeted OTA-researching audiences, a loyalty programme to incentivise repeat direct bookings, and a post-stay email journey to convert first-time guests into loyal direct bookers.

Execution
  • 01

    Hotel meta-search advertising (Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, TripAdvisor)

  • 02

    Paid search targeting branded and competitor OTA keywords

  • 03

    Loyalty programme design and email automation

  • 04

    Post-stay guest data capture and CRM integration

  • 05

    Website booking funnel CRO reducing abandonment by 41%

  • 06

    Property-specific content strategy supporting organic search

Business Impact
The shift in booking channel mix, combined with higher average booking values from direct channels, delivered a net profitability improvement of AED 12.4M in the first year. OTA dependency fell from 68% to 44% of total bookings — a structural change that compounds annually.
Paid MediaSEOCRM & Lifecycle MarketingCRO

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