Travel websites need to regain direct bookings.
The intermediary platform takes up to about 30 percent per order, and your website is the only place where you can cut that cost down.
A website for the travel and accommodation industry needs to focus on one core goal: converting customers who are aware of your accommodation into direct bookings, rather than letting them return to the marketplace. This requires a streamlined booking flow with few steps, optimization for mobile, clear reasons to book directly, and strong imagery of the space to pull the decision towards you.
- Hotels or homestays looking to reduce dependence on intermediary platforms.
- resort touchpoint selling experiences and atmosphere needs strong images
- intense price competition, prioritizing hard-to-replicate added value
- the flow has many poorly optimized steps on mobile, causing customers to return to the platform
- competing on price with platforms instead of adding value
Most hotel, homestay, and resort owners stop at the question: "Does it look good?" That is the right question but not enough. The real question is: is this website winning back bookings from intermediary platforms? If not, each booking through Booking or Agoda is costing you about 30 percent of that revenue, consistently, without doing anything extra.
The intermediary platform is not a competitor, but it is an expensive channel.
The practical perspective: intermediary platforms (OTAs, or Online Travel Agencies) help you reach new customers who are not yet aware of your name. That is a valuable role. The problem arises when a customer learns about your accommodation through the platform, then looks for your website for more information, and ultimately returns to the platform to book because your website did not convince them at that stage.
A good travel website is not just a replacement for a platform. It is meant to convert those who are aware of the brand into direct bookers, where your profit margins are significantly higher.
A concise flow is the most important technical factor.
The intermediary platform has invested millions of dollars to make their ordering flow quick and intuitive. If your website requires customers to fill out more steps or looks cluttered on mobile, customers will choose the easier route and return to the platform.
- Four steps down from selecting a date to payment is a best practice.
- On mobile, the booking button must always be visible, without needing to scroll up to find it.
- Pricing and promotional information must appear before customers start filling out the form.
- Reassuring messages, such as "Best price when booked directly" or "Free cancellation up to 48 hours," should be placed near the booking button, not on the policy page.
The reason for direct placement must be evident, not left for customers to guess.
This is a point that many travel websites leave unaddressed. You know that booking directly is more beneficial for customers, but the website does not communicate this clearly and consistently.
Adding value that the platform cannot provide: More durable and harder to replicate. For example: free breakfast, late check-out until 2 PM, parking, member discounts via email. These create substantial reasons for customers to choose direct booking without you having to sell at a loss.
Pricing and direct offers must also be consistent across all channels: website, email marketing, social media. If customers see different prices in different places, they lose trust and return to the marketplace because it feels safer.
The imagery of the space must be strong enough to influence decisions.
In the travel and hospitality industry, imagery is not a decorative element. Images are the reason customers make decisions. A room photographed with a phone under weak yellow lighting cannot sell the experience, no matter how good the price is.
- Images of real spaces, natural lighting, wide yet honest angles.
- Experience images: breakfast, morning view, relaxation area outside the room.
- Short videos of the surrounding environment if the location is a selling advantage.
- Photos need to load quickly on mobile devices; do not keep customers waiting.
Many clients first discover accommodations on platforms and then look to book directly. The website is where that awareness translates into direct revenue.
Canary Technologies, How to Increase Direct Bookings.
Common errors in travel websites
- A flow with many steps, straightforward on desktop but confusing on mobile, causes customers to drop off.
- No clear message about direct benefits, leaving customers to infer and unable to do so.
- Prices on the website and prices on the platform are inconsistent, creating doubt instead of trust.
- Low-quality visuals or those insufficient for customers to envision the actual experience.
- Cancellation policies that are unclear or only placed on a separate page may not be found by clients when needed.
The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ
When creating a website for clients in the travel industry, Sinh Vũ approaches the question: how do customers make decisions here? This industry differs from selling physical products in that customers are purchasing an experience that has not yet occurred, based on images and a sense of trust. Therefore, the content strategy and experience flow must go hand in hand, inseparably.
A website is not an electronic brochure. It is a sales representative that operates 24 hours a day, and in the hospitality industry, that representative must be skilled enough to persuade customers to book on the spot, without needing to go anywhere else.
Decision checklist
Topic: What does a travel and accommodation website need? Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Select each item you find appropriate, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
Canary Technologies: How to Increase Direct Bookings; Mews: OTA vs direct booking; Sinh Vũ's practical experience with clients in the tourism sector.
Frequently asked questions
If you are already on the market, do you still need to invest in a separate website?
Necessary. Many customers first discover a place through a platform, but then they visit the website to check more thoroughly before deciding. If your website cannot convince them at that stage, they will return to book through the platform, and you will lose an undeserved commission. The website is where awareness from the platform turns into actual revenue.
Should the price on the website be lower than on the platform?
It is not necessary to lower prices, and competing on price is often a trap. Instead of reducing prices, you can add value that the platform cannot provide: free breakfast, late check-out, parking, or exclusive offers for email subscribers. The important thing is that the price on the website must be consistent, and the benefit message must be clear enough for customers to see that direct booking is worth it.
How many steps in the flow are reasonable?
Four steps down is a best practice according to recommendations from Canary Technologies and Mews. More than that, guests start to feel fatigued and return to the floor they are more familiar with. On mobile, each additional step is an opportunity for guests to drop off.