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Digital Otters
Industries · Hospitality

Own the booking, not just the stay.

Direct-booking growth for US hotels, resorts, restaurants and venues — the site, the local presence, the metasearch and the lifecycle messaging that move demand off third-party commission.

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+31%Direct booking share
−22%OTA commission paid
+18%Average check size
Boutique resort · Direct channelLive
Destination searches240,100
Site sessions34,800
Booking engine starts5,120
Direct bookings1,470
Commission saved this quarter$214k
Hotel & restaurant websitesBooking engine optimizationGoogle Hotel Ads & metasearchLocal SEO per propertyReputation & review managementEmail & SMS for repeat staysGroup & event lead genSeasonal campaign planningDirect vs OTA reporting
Why us for hospitality

Every OTA booking is a rented guest.

Third-party platforms are a distribution channel, not a marketing strategy. The guest they send you belongs to them — until you build the direct relationship that makes the second visit yours.

We work the whole path: local search and metasearch visibility, a site and booking flow that beats the OTA experience, then email and SMS that bring guests back without paying commission twice.

Who we work with

Hotels, restaurants, venues — same guest, different economics.

Rooms revenueShift share from OTA to direct

Metasearch, brand defense and a booking flow that converts — measured on commission saved and revenue per available room, not click volume.

What we run
  • Google Hotel Ads and metasearch management
  • Brand-term defense against OTA bidding
  • Booking engine conversion optimization
  • Package and seasonal offer campaigns
  • Direct versus OTA channel reporting
Everything we do for hospitality

The full hospitality service list.

Take the whole program or a single line item — every service below is scoped and priced on its own.

Digital presence
Demand & visibility
Guest lifecycle
Brand & measurement
How the engagement runs

From destination search to repeat stay.

  1. Week 1Channel mix audit

    Direct versus OTA share, commission paid, booking engine drop-off and review position, all baselined.

  2. Week 2–3Foundations

    Booking flow fixes, listing optimization and tracking so every future dollar is measurable.

  3. Week 4Campaigns live

    Metasearch, brand defense and seasonal demand campaigns launched with pacing rules.

  4. OngoingShift share to direct

    Weekly optimization against direct booking share, commission saved and RevPAR.

Proof
“Direct is now a third of our room nights. That is not a marketing number, it is a P&L number.”
Sofia Grant · General Manager, Cedar Point Resort
+31%Direct booking share
$214kQuarterly commission saved
4.7★Average review score
The long version

What hospitality marketing actually includes

Hospitality marketing runs on two clocks at once: capturing travelers planning months ahead, and filling the inventory that expires tonight.

Direct share is the strategy

OTAs deliver volume at 15–25% commission. Every point of share moved to direct falls straight to margin, which is why booking flow optimization and brand-term defense usually pay back faster than new demand generation.

Local and destination search both matter

Guests search destinations early and specific properties late. A real program needs planning-stage destination content and bottom-funnel local SEO — otherwise you only ever compete on price at the last moment.

Reviews are your conversion rate

Rating and review recency move both ranking and booking decisions. Systematic reputation management across Google, Tripadvisor and OTA profiles is one of the few levers that lifts organic, paid and direct conversion all at once.

Engagement models

Three ways to start.

PropertySingle property

One hotel, restaurant or venue.

From $4,000/ month
  • Local SEO and listings
  • One paid channel managed
  • Review generation
  • Monthly reporting
Start with one
Most commonDirect growth

Full program to shift share to direct.

From $9,000/ month
  • Metasearch and brand defense
  • Booking flow optimization
  • Email and SMS lifecycle
  • Dedicated strategist
  • Direct versus OTA reporting
Build the program
PortfolioMulti-property

Management groups and portfolios.

Customtalk to us
  • Per-property programs
  • Shared creative systems
  • Portfolio-level dashboards
  • Named account team
Book a call
Before you ask

Hospitality marketing FAQs

Send us your current channel mix, commission rate and booking engine data. We will show you the share worth chasing and what it is worth to your P&L.

Book a growth call
Can you work with our existing booking engine?

Yes. We work with SynXis, Cloudbeds, Mews, OpenTable, Resy and Tock among others — optimizing the flow and the tracking without forcing a platform change on you.

How do you measure commission saved?

We baseline your current direct-versus-OTA mix and average commission rate, then report incremental direct revenue multiplied by the commission you would have paid on it. It appears on every monthly report.

Do we have to stop using OTAs?

No, and you should not. OTAs are excellent for reach and for filling distressed inventory. The goal is shifting the mix, not eliminating a channel that fills rooms.

Do you handle photography and video?

Yes. Property shoots typically produce stills, a hero film, drone footage and vertical cutdowns for social from a single production day.

Can you help with group and wedding business?

Yes — venue microsites, virtual tours, planner-targeted campaigns and CRM-tracked RFP follow-up for a sales cycle that often runs nine to eighteen months.

How seasonal can campaigns get?

Very. We build pacing rules around occupancy forecasts, local events and even weather triggers, so budget moves toward the dates that actually need filling.

Other industries

We do this for other sectors too

Next step

Let's move your mix toward direct.

Send us your current channel mix, commission rate and booking engine data. We will show you the share worth chasing and what it is worth to your P&L.

Book a strategy callSee our work