Why Criticising OTAs Is Easy — and Building Alternatives Is Not
A growing wave of social media “gurus” insists that hotels relying on OTAs are being managed badly. Yet few explain how to replace OTA demand with direct bookings, build meaningful visibility without unlimited budget, or create a direct channel that can genuinely compete. The reality is more complex: hotel distribution is a delicate strategic balance. OTAs should not be demonised, but managed intelligently as part of a healthy distribution mix while hotels build stronger brands, demand and direct-booking capabilities.
Hotel social media has found a new favourite villain: OTAs. Every week, I see someone vehemently explaining that “if you depend on Booking, you’re doing things wrong”. And I admit that, for a while, I even nodded along. Until I began to examine the data, commercial tensions, demand elasticities, marginal distribution costs… and realised the conversation was far more complex than the slogan.
I am struck by how those who criticise that dependency most rarely explain how to achieve that longed-for commercial independence. And they do not because the path is not glamorous: it requires discipline, investment, consistency, a multi-year strategy, team culture and acceptance that certain markets or seasons will continue to come through the channels that convert best: OTAs.
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