OTAs bring you guests, and that commission is money reasonably spent. But it helps to understand the cost that comes with it — because gradually and steadily shifting some bookings from OTA to direct can affect your net income more than many owners expect. The figures below are illustrative — a way to see the shape, not a forecast of your results.
What the commission actually costs
When a guest books through an OTA, a commission is deducted before the money reaches you. On a 2,000-baht room night, a 15–20% commission is 300–400 baht taken out before it ever reaches you. On its own that feels fair — the OTA found the guest. The real point is what it adds up to across a full year.
A small shift, repeated all year
Picture 1,000 room-nights a year. If even 3 in every 100 move from an OTA booking to a direct one, that's 30 nights where you don't pay OTA commission at all. At 300–400 baht each, that's roughly 9,000–12,000 baht a year — from a 3-point shift, on a small property. (Illustrative figures; the real numbers depend on your room rate and channel mix.)
Direct bookings usually mean a better guest relationship
A guest who books direct is already talking to you, not to a platform. With their consent, you can follow up on LINE, offer a returning-guest rate, or suggest an upgrade yourself. That relationship is yours to keep — often worth more than the single commission you saved.
What actually helps guests book direct
More direct bookings don't come from turning away OTAs. They come from making the direct path easy and giving one clear reason to use it:
- a clear "book direct" button on every screen and on your Facebook page,
- a small direct-only benefit (a welcome drink, more flexible check-in, a worthwhile direct rate),
- a booking that's genuinely easy to finish on a phone.
The commission you pay OTAs shows up every month; the direct bookings you're not yet capturing stay invisible. If you'd like, we can look at where your direct path gets stuck today — a clear, honest read, nothing oversold.