OTA channels bring in a large number of bookings for hotels — but with commissions ranging from 15-25%, they also "eat" a significant portion of your revenue. A smart strategy is to use OTAs to attract new guests, while building a stronger direct booking channel. DiCloud online hotel management software helps you do both.
Why worry about OTA commissions?
Suppose your hotel charges 2 million VND/night, OTA commission is 18%. A guest stays 3 nights: you pay 1.08 million commission. With 100 rooms and 70% capacity, each year you "pay" billions of dong to OTA.
The goal isn't to ditch OTAs — they're still an effective marketing channel for new customers. The goal is to increase the direct booking rate and use online hotel management software to manage all channels most effectively.
Part 1: Integrate OTA with DiCloud
Channel Manager built-in
DiCloud online hotel management software integrates channel manager with hundreds of popular OTA and GDS channels:
- International OTA: Booking.com, Agoda, Airbnb, Expedia, Hotels.com, Traveloka
- Own booking engine: DiBooking — direct booking without intermediaries
- Metasearch:Google Hotel Ads, TripAdvisor
When there is a booking from any channel, the system automatically deducts inventory on all remaining channels in under 30 seconds — completely eliminating the risk of overbooking.
Rate Manager — Smart price managementUpcoming
The Rate Manager module in online hotel management software DiCloud allows:
- Set up automatic pricing rules (increase prices when capacity is high, decrease when capacity is low)
- Create separate rate plans for each OTA and direct booking
- Rate parity monitoring — warning of rate parity violations with OTA channels
- Flash sale scheduler — schedule automatic discounts for OTAs within a certain time frame
Part 2: Building a direct booking channel
Booking Engine on the website
DiCloud provides a booking engine embedded into the hotel's website - beautiful, mobile-friendly interface, supports online payment (VNPay, Momo, international cards). Guests book directly on your website, no intermediaries, no commission.
Effective "Book Direct" strategy
How to increase direct bookings that hotels using DiCloud have successfully applied:
- Best Rate Guarantee: Ensure the price on the website is always equal to or better than OTA
- Direct booking perks: Free breakfast, late checkout, room upgrade — only when booking directly
- Loyalty program: Earn points for customers who book directly, redeem gifts or free nights
- QR Code check-in: Send QR code before check-in via email — faster, more convenient than booking directly
📊 DiCloud integrates DiBooking - its own booking engine that allows guests to book rooms directly on the hotel website without going through an OTA intermediary, supporting payment via BIDV, VNPay, ZaloPay, Momo and international cards.
Part 3: Analyze room sales channel effectiveness
After integrating all channels into your online hotel management software, DiCloud allows you to compare the true effectiveness of each channel:
- Net Revenue per Channel: Revenue after deducting commission of each OTA
- Average Stay Length:OTA guests vs. How many nights does a direct guest stay?
- Repeat Rate: Return rate of guests from each channel
- Cancellation Rate:OTA usually has a higher cancellation rate than direct
This data helps you allocate marketing budget more intelligently: invest heavily in channels that bring the highest Net Revenue, gradually reducing dependence on high OTA commissions.
Connect to OTA and increase direct bookings with DiCloud
30-day free trial — includes channel manager and booking engine.
Conclude
A smart OTA strategy isn't about giving up on OTAs — it's about using online hotel management software to manage all channels effectively, while building a stronger direct booking channel to reduce commission costs over time.
DiCloud provides a comprehensive hotel management solution that integrates channel manager, booking engine, and analytics in one platform — giving you complete control over your room sales strategy. Integrate with DiHotel hotel management software for advanced PMS features suitable for high-end hotels.