Hotels risk losing up to 20% of room revenue to booking platforms and distribution gaps, new research reveals

A leading hotel technology provider is warning hoteliers that revenue could be quietly leaking through high-cost third-party booking channels, outdated distribution setups and inconsistent pricing execution.

Industry analysis suggests hotels could be losing up to 20% of room revenue on some bookings due to a combination of OTA commission costs, rate discrepancies and gaps between key systems, including PMS, CRS, channel managers, booking engines and OTA platforms.

Net Affinity and Smarthotel, which provides booking technology and digital marketing solutions for hotels across the UK and Ireland, says the issue is becoming increasingly important as hotels work to protect profitability in a more competitive booking landscape.

With OTA commissions often sitting between 15% and 25%, hotels can see a significant difference between the headline value of a booking and the revenue they retain. The challenge becomes even greater when mobile-only OTA discounts, member rates or redistributed wholesale inventory undercut a hotel’s direct channel.

Fiona Cooper, Client Solutions & Integration Consultant, said: “Hotels are working incredibly hard to optimise their rates and drive demand, but too often revenue is lost in the gaps between systems, channels and booking journeys.

“The most visible booking is not always the most profitable one. Once commission, discounts, redistribution and booking journey performance are taken into account, hoteliers need to look closely at the true value of each channel.”

The findings also point to changing guest behaviour, with shorter stays and last-minute bookings continuing to reshape hotel demand. This means static length-of-stay rules, outdated minimum-stay restrictions or delays in updating availability can result in hotels missing profitable booking opportunities.

As mobile continues to play a central role in the guest booking journey, experts say hotels must ensure their direct channels are fast, intuitive and competitive. A slow mobile website, unclear offer or complicated checkout process can quickly push guests back towards OTAs.

Fiona continued: “Direct bookings remain one of the strategic routes to profitable growth, but they need to be actively protected. That means having a fast, mobile-first booking journey, clear value for guests and confidence that rates and restrictions are aligned across every platform.”

Net Affinity and Smarthotel are encouraging hotels to review their online booking journey, channel mix and distribution setup to identify where revenue may be leaking.

This includes assessing direct booking competitiveness, mobile performance, rate visibility, length-of-stay rules, booking engine experience and the true net contribution of each channel after commission and acquisition costs.

Fiona added: “Small friction points can have a major impact on revenue. A delayed rate update, an outdated restriction or an extra step in the booking journey can be the difference between a direct booking and a lost guest.”

For more information on Net Affinity/Smarthotel, please visit https://www.netaffinity.com/ and https://www.smarthotel.nl/.