Distribution & OTAs
OTAs, commission, and direct bookings: what a booking really costs you, what rate parity restricts, and where the billboard-effect evidence stops.
Distribution & OTAs
What OTA Commission Actually Costs You
The real cost of an OTA booking is commission plus payment fees plus the cancellation gap — often more than 20% of the rate. Here is the full arithmetic.
2026-07-20 · 7 min read
Distribution & OTAsWhy Your OTA Commission Is Partly a Marketing Bill
Cornell's billboard-effect study found that listing on an OTA raised direct bookings — 26% at the one independent hotel tested. Where the evidence stops.
2026-07-19 · 7 min read
Distribution & OTAsHow to Win Direct Bookings Without Breaking Parity
Rate parity restricts the price you publish, not the value you offer. What it means, what the Digital Markets Act changed in the EEA, and what stays open.
2026-07-18 · 7 min read