Growth · 9 min read · Updated June 2026
How to get more direct bookings (and rely less on OTAs)
OTAs are fine for discovery and brutal for margin: 20–30% of the ticket, plus they own the guest. Every booking you move to your own page is pure margin recovered. Here's the playbook operators actually use to shift the mix.
By the Theybook team — built with operators, for operators
Know your channel math first
Start by measuring where bookings come from today: OTA, your website, phone, walk-up, repeat. Multiply each channel's volume by its real cost — a 25% OTA commission on a $200 ticket is $50; the same booking on your own flat-fee page costs effectively nothing.
That number is your budget. If OTAs take $20,000 a year from you, a serious investment in your direct channel pays for itself many times over — and unlike commission, the investment compounds.
Make your booking page worth booking on
Guests compare. If your direct page is slower, uglier or clunkier than the OTA listing, they'll book where it's easy. Your page needs fast mobile checkout, real photos, visible reviews, clear pricing and instant confirmation — table stakes the OTAs already do.
This is why theybook ships a design studio and a checkout built to finish on a phone: the direct option has to be the best option, not the loyal option.
Win the searches you already deserve
Claim and complete your Google Business Profile — it's the highest-intent free channel in local tourism. Add your booking link, hours, photos and posts; answer every review.
On your site, target the queries guests actually type: 'your-city + your-activity', 'best X tour in Y'. One genuinely useful page per experience beats ten thin ones.
Turn every trip into the next booking
Post-trip review requests build the social proof that converts strangers. Reminder emails reduce no-shows, and a clean confirmation experience earns the forward to a friend.
Your customer list is the long game: a 'book again' email with a returning-guest code, sent before peak season opens, routinely outperforms any paid channel — and it costs nothing when you own the data.
Use OTAs deliberately, not by default
Keep OTA listings for what they're good at — net-new discovery in markets where you're unknown — and steer everything else direct: email signatures, social bios, partner referrals, QR codes at the dock.
Some operators price OTA listings slightly higher than direct, making their own page the obviously better deal without violating parity rules they haven't agreed to. Check your contracts; price with intent.
Key takeaways
- Measure channel mix and its true cost before optimizing anything
- Your direct page must be the best booking experience, not just the cheapest
- Google Business Profile is the highest-intent free channel in local tourism
- Reviews + repeat-guest emails compound; commissions never do
Ready to keep 100% of your bookings?
Set up your booking page in minutes — flat monthly fee, 0% commission, payouts to your own Stripe.
Questions, answered
FAQ
01Should I leave OTAs entirely?
Usually not at first — they're useful discovery in markets where you're unknown. The goal is mix-shift: let OTAs introduce you, then own the relationship so the second booking is direct and commission-free.
02What's a realistic direct-booking share?
Established operators with a good booking page and active review flywheel commonly reach 60–80% direct. Every ten points of shift on $200k of bookings is roughly $5,000/year reclaimed from 25% commissions.
03How much does Theybook cost?
Theybook is a flat $99/month (or $83/month billed annually) with every feature included — unlimited bookings, unlimited experiences, the full design studio, automated emails, waivers, gift cards, CRM and team accounts. There is no commission, no per-booking fee, and no setup fee. The only other cost is Stripe's standard card-processing rate, which is paid to your own Stripe account like any other payment processor.
04Do you really take 0% commission?
Yes — zero, permanently. Commission platforms typically take around 6% of every order, which on $300,000 of annual bookings is roughly $18,000 a year. Theybook's flat fee means a record month costs exactly the same as a quiet one, so every additional booking you win is pure margin.
05Who processes the payments?
Your own Stripe account. Guests pay by card at checkout and the money settles directly to your bank on Stripe's normal payout schedule. Theybook never holds, routes or touches your funds — if you ever leave, your payment history and customer relationship with Stripe remain entirely yours.
06Do I need technical skills to set it up?
No. Setup is self-serve and most operators are bookable the same day: add experiences, set availability, pick a design preset and connect Stripe. The design studio uses visual controls with a live preview, and embedding on an existing site is a single copy-paste.
Keep what you earn. Start today.
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