OTAs earn their commission, sometimes
A room sold on a slow night can be worth the commission when the OTA genuinely introduced the guest.
Revenue defense for independent hotels
You’re Paying OTAs 18% on Guests Who Were Already Yours.
Walk-ins booking on their phones in your lobby. Website visitors who price-check on Expedia. Sold-out weekends where every room was selling anyway.
KillCommissions starts with a direct-booking widget that keeps booking-ready guests on the direct path. Lobby and front-desk tools are coming next.
20-minute reviewNo obligation
18%typical OTA commission example
15–18%OTA commission range
3–5%illustrative direct cost
The annual difference$18–36K/year
illustrative range for a typical 50-room independent
You’re paying 15–18% commission to
Booking.comExpediaHotels.comAgodaTripadvisorVrbo
Built for 30–150 room independent hotelsNo in-house revenue team needed
What KillCommissions actually sells
Three Places Commission Leaks. Three Ways We Fix Them.
Real hotel-side dashboard
See What Guests Ask and Control What the Widget Says.
From the real Hotel Margarita dashboard, your team can update the proactive message and appearance, then review guest conversations.
Real product screens · Hotel Margarita demo property
The expert argument
We’re Not Going to Tell You That OTAs Are Evil. That Would Be Stupid.
OTAs deserve their commission when they introduce useful new demand. Direct bookings also have costs. The waste begins when your website, phone team, or front desk creates the demand and the guest still finishes through an OTA.
The billboard effect is overstated
A guest already searching for your hotel by name did not need an OTA to introduce the property.
Direct bookings are not free
Booking-engine fees, payments, and website costs remain. Depending on the hotel’s stack, direct costs may be around 3–5%. The honest comparison is not 18% versus zero.
The commission leaks
5 Ways Hotels Send Existing Demand Back to OTAs.
These are the website, phone, lobby, and front-desk handoffs we review with hotels.
Guests Find You Online, Then Book Through Booking.com Anyway
A guest finds your website, likes the room, but opens Booking.com just to compare. Same price, but they trust Booking.com’s cancellation policy more. You pay commission for a guest who was already on your site.
Your Front Desk Sends Guests to OTAs Without Realizing It
A guest wants another night. Your front desk is busy, so they say to book through the app. The guest completes it on their phone in your lobby, and the OTA collects commission again.
You Pay Commission on Nights That Were Already Going to Sell
Festival weekends, graduations, and citywide events can fill the hotel without much outside help, but OTA bookings still arrive and the same commission still applies.
Guests Call or Walk In, Then Book on Booking.com After
Your team answers the questions, but the guest leaves the conversation without an immediate direct next step. They Google the hotel and complete the booking through an OTA.
The More You Rely on OTAs, the Harder It Gets to Stop
As more revenue flows through OTAs, occupancy and ranking feel tied to them. Direct-booking improvements feel riskier, so the same dependency continues.
That’s the leak.
That’s what we fix.Free OTA commission calculator
Calculate Your OTA Costs With Your Hotel’s Numbers.
Change the inputs and see the complete estimate immediately. No email required.
Based on your inputsBased on approximately 4,964 OTA-booked room nights and $893,520 in OTA room revenue.
Your estimated OTA commission
$160,834 per year$13,403 per month
$32.40commission per OTA-booked room night
4,964estimated OTA-booked room nights per year
This is estimated total OTA commission. It is not an estimate of avoidable commission or promised savings.
Find the part you can actually control.
Book a Demo 20 minutes · No obligationWe’ll review your website, phone, lobby, and front-desk handoffs and show you where guests are being sent back to OTAs.
Product 02Phone + LobbyComing soon
Stop Paying Another 15–18% When OTA Guests Extend Their Stay.
A guest who booked through Booking.com or Agoda often returns to the same app when adding another night, even while standing at your front desk. On a $200 extension, that can mean another $30–$36 in OTA commission.
The Lobby Kit will give staff one direct link and QR code to put the hotel’s booking page on the guest’s phone.
Guest's phone Your booking page
The front-desk handoff
“Absolutely. Scan this and it opens our direct booking page. You can check your dates and finish there.”
Configured after we confirm the public booking path your hotel already uses
What the kit will include
A ready-to-use direct booking handoff, not another platform to manage.
Managed booking link + tested QR
A short, copyable link for callers and a phone-tested QR for walk-ins, both pointing to the approved booking destination.
Print-ready signs + placement plan
Counter-card and desk-sign files with practical guidance for sightline, scan distance, and front-desk placement.
Staff script + launch check
Short handoff language for calls and walk-ins, plus a final check of the destination, QR files, and approved placement.
Ask about early access to the Lobby Kit.
Ask About Early Access 03Product 03Front Desk Conversion AuditComing soon
Staff and process
Find the Handoffs Sending Guests Back to OTAs.
A direct link solves one handoff. The audit will review the wider process around calls, walk-ins, stay extensions, and booking questions. Your hotel will receive documented findings, prioritized fixes, and scenario-based staff scripts.
Designed to support your team, not score or blame individual employees.
01
Documented journey findings
A clear review of what guests see, what staff are asked to do, and where the current handoff becomes unclear across the website, phone, lobby, and front desk.
02
Prioritized action plan
Practical fixes ordered by urgency and effort, so your team knows what to change first and who should own it.
03
Scenario-based staff scripts
Plain-language responses for phone inquiries, walk-ins, stay extensions, and guests who are not ready to confirm immediately.
Ask about early access to the Front Desk Conversion Audit.Ask About Early Access
Common questions
What Hotel Owners Ask Before a Demo.
Are you telling us to stop using Booking.com or Expedia?
No. OTAs can be valuable when they introduce new demand. KillCommissions focuses on giving guests who are already seeking your hotel a clearer direct route.
Does KillCommissions replace our booking engine?
No. The widget guides guests into the booking page you already use. Your current booking engine continues to manage availability, rates, payment, and confirmation. The planned lobby tools will use the same direct handoff.
Will it work with our PMS or booking engine?
Compatibility depends on your current website and booking setup. We review the complete path first and confirm what can work alongside it. We do not promise a named integration before that review.
How much work does this create for our staff?
The available widget is configured for the website and does not replace the booking engine. The planned Lobby Kit and Front Desk Audit are being designed to simplify staff handoffs, not create another complicated procedure.
Can we start with only the widget?
Yes. The Direct Booking Widget is the product available now. The Lobby Direct Booking Kit and Front Desk Conversion Audit are coming soon and will be scoped separately when they are ready.
What happens during the demo?
We review how guests book today, demonstrate the production widget, and identify which website or operational handoffs deserve a closer look. The call takes 20 minutes.
20-minute direct-booking demo
See How KillCommissions Would Work for Your Hotel.
We’ll show you the production widget, identify the most obvious commission leaks, and tell you honestly whether KillCommissions fits.
Book a Demo 20-minute review · No obligation · We’ll tell you if it is not a fit