How hotels, resorts and restaurants in Thailand win more direct bookings and cut OTA and delivery-app commission costs.
Ask a boutique hotel owner in Chiang Mai or a restaurant owner in Thonglor what hurts most about running the business, and "the platforms" comes up quickly. Online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com and Agoda fill rooms that would otherwise sit empty. Food delivery apps bring orders from people who would never have found the restaurant. But every one of those bookings and orders comes with a commission.
This isn't an argument for quitting the platforms. It's about changing the mix — so that more of your guests, especially returning ones, book with you directly.
What commissions really cost
OTA commissions for hotels commonly sit somewhere around 15–25% of the booking value, depending on the platform, your contract, the country and whether you pay for extra visibility. Food delivery apps in Thailand often take a similar or larger share — around 30% of the order value is common for restaurants, sometimes more with promotions.
On a ฿3,000 room night, an 18% commission is ฿540. Over a year of 2,000 OTA room nights, that's more than a million baht. Moving even a fifth of those bookings to direct saves real money — enough to pay for a very good website many times over.
Illustrative example with an 18% OTA commission and a 3% card fee on direct bookings. Your actual rates depend on your contracts.
Why guests book on OTAs (even when they like you)
Understanding this is the key to winning them back. Travellers use booking platforms because they feel safe and easy: familiar interface, reviews, instant confirmation, free cancellation, and a single place to compare. A lot of guests find you on Agoda, then Google your hotel's name — and if your own website looks outdated, has no booking button or shows prices higher than the OTA, they go back and book there.
That "billboard effect" is your opportunity. The guest is already looking for you. Your website's job is to make booking direct at least as easy and as trustworthy as the platform — and a little bit better.
What a good direct-booking website needs
A real booking engine, not a contact form
Guests expect to see live availability and prices and confirm instantly. "Send us your dates and we'll get back to you" loses most people. Connect a proper booking engine to your website and your channel manager, so availability stays in sync with the OTAs and you never double-book.
A reason to book direct
Rate-parity clauses in some OTA contracts can limit how you price publicly, so many hotels offer value instead of a lower price: free breakfast, a late checkout, an airport transfer, a room upgrade when available, or a welcome drink. Make that benefit obvious next to the booking button: "Book direct: free breakfast + late checkout."
Everything a guest needs to decide
- Great photos of the actual rooms, bathrooms, views and common areas — not just the lobby.
- Clear room types with sizes, bed types, who they suit and what's included.
- Location made easy: a map, directions from the airport or BTS/MRT, and what's nearby.
- Reviews and ratings, ideally pulled from Google or TripAdvisor.
- Policies in plain words: check-in times, cancellation, children, pets.
- English and Thai, plus other languages if you have a strong guest market (Chinese, Korean, Russian…). See bilingual websites done right.
Fast and mobile-first
Most travellers browse on their phones, often on hotel or airport Wi-Fi. If your booking page takes five seconds to load, they're back on the app. Read why speed matters.
Match the platforms on ease and trust, then beat them on perks.
For restaurants: take orders and reservations yourself
The same idea works for restaurants. Keep the delivery apps for discovery, and give regulars a better deal for ordering direct:
- A simple online menu with photos and prices, fast on mobile.
- Direct ordering for pickup or delivery through your own site or LINE, with PromptPay payment. See online payments in Thailand.
- Table reservations online, with a LINE confirmation.
- A loyalty perk for direct orders: a free drink, a stamp card, or a small discount.
- Put a card or QR code in every delivery bag: "Order direct next time — get a free dessert."
Get found for your own name
Direct bookings start on Google. Make sure your hotel or restaurant owns the search results for its own name:
- Complete your Google Business Profile: with photos, the booking link and correct details. Our Google Maps guide walks through it.
- Turn on free booking links: Google Hotels lets properties show free booking links alongside paid ads when you use a supported booking engine.
- Respond to reviews on Google: guests read them before choosing between your site and the OTA.
- Collect guest emails and LINE friends: with permission, so you can invite past guests back directly.
Track it: set up conversion tracking so you know how many bookings come from your website each month, and compare the commission you'd have paid. It's the most convincing number in the whole project.
Frequently asked questions
Should my hotel stop using Booking.com and Agoda?
For most properties, no. OTAs are valuable for reaching new guests, especially international travellers. The goal is to shift repeat guests and people who already know your name to book directly, reducing your overall commission cost.
Can I offer a lower price on my own website than on OTAs?
It depends on your contracts and local rules — some agreements include rate-parity terms. Many hotels avoid the issue by offering extra value to direct bookers, such as breakfast, upgrades or late checkout.
What is a channel manager?
Software that keeps your availability and rates in sync across your website's booking engine and all the OTAs, so a room sold on one channel is immediately closed on the others.
If you run a hotel, resort or restaurant and want a website that brings bookings home, tell us about your property — or see what we build on our services page.