Industry Focus
Hospitality
Digital Infrastructure
Hotels and venues battle OTAs that siphon 15-25% of every reservation. We build direct booking infrastructure that captures the margin you're currently giving away.
Operating Reality
Hospitality digital systems fail at revenue capture for predictable reasons:
OTA dependency destroys margins at scale. Booking.com takes 15-20% and Expedia takes 15-25% per reservation. For a 100-room property at $200 ADR and 70% occupancy, that commission leakage exceeds $300K annually. OTAs also bid on your branded search terms, intercepting guests who were already looking for you. The Marriotts fight back with billion-dollar loyalty programs. Independent properties need digital infrastructure that captures direct bookings before guests ever reach an OTA.
Hospitality is visual, and Airbnb has permanently raised the bar. Guests browse 15-30 properties before booking. The decision happens in the first 3 seconds of landing on your site. A slow-loading page with compressed images and a dated template gets closed immediately. Your property competes against Airbnb's immersive, photography-forward standard on every booking decision.
Seasonal volatility determines annual profitability. Peak season fills regardless, but shoulder and off-season occupancy is where the year is made or lost. Properties relying on OTA-driven discounting to move inventory during slow periods destroy rate integrity. Year-round SEO content targeting events, corporate retreats, weekend getaways, and seasonal experiences builds demand without discounting.
OTAs own the guest relationship and withhold contact data. A property with 10,000 annual OTA bookings has zero ability to remarket to those guests directly. No email list. No loyalty data. No repeat stay incentive without paying commission again. Every booking through an OTA is a customer rented, not a relationship built.
What we actually fix
Direct booking architecture recaptures margin. Friction-free reservation flows that convert visitors before they check OTAs. Every direct booking is 15-25% more profitable than a platform referral.
Visual design sells the experience. Cinematic layouts and professional photography communicate atmosphere before arrival. The website is the first impression of the property.
Demand generation fills shoulder seasons. SEO for destination searches, email campaigns for repeat visitors, and seasonal promotions drive occupancy when it matters most.
Systems we build
Each capability applies specifically to hospitality operations.
Proof and context
Common questions
How do you help hotels reduce OTA dependency?
We build direct booking infrastructure on three fronts. First, SEO for destination and experience searches: "boutique hotels in [city]," "romantic getaways near [region]," and event-specific terms that capture demand before guests reach Booking.com or Expedia. Second, a booking engine integration through providers like SynXis, Cloudbeds, or Little Hotelier that converts visitors directly on your site with rate parity or best-rate guarantees. Third, email capture and guest remarketing so past visitors receive targeted offers for future stays. The math is straightforward: every booking shifted from OTA to direct saves 15-25% in commission. For a property doing $1M in OTA bookings, shifting even 20% to direct saves $30K-$50K annually in pure margin recovery.
What about restaurant reservations and ordering?
We integrate reservation and ordering systems you own, reducing dependency on platforms that take a cut and own the guest data. For reservations, we work with systems like Resy, Yelp Reservations, or direct booking widgets that reduce per-cover fees compared to OpenTable's $1-$7.50 per seated diner from network referrals. For online ordering, we build direct systems through Toast, Square Online, or ChowNow that bypass DoorDash and Uber Eats commissions of 15-30%. You keep the margin and own the customer relationship for future marketing.
How important is photography for hospitality websites?
It is the single highest-ROI investment a hospitality property can make in its digital presence. Guests browse 15-30 properties before booking, and the decision is overwhelmingly visual. Airbnb has permanently raised the standard: immersive, lifestyle-oriented photography showing the guest experience, not just the room. We coordinate with professional hospitality photographers to ensure room shots, amenity features, dining presentations, and location context all work together in a cohesive visual narrative. Properties that invest in professional photography consistently see 20-40% higher conversion rates from the same traffic volume.
This works for:
Properties ready to reduce OTA commission dependency
Venues with visual assets worthy of premium presentation
Multi-property brands needing flexible booking systems
This is not for:
Properties satisfied with OTA-driven revenue
Venues without professional photography assets
If direct booking revenue and margin protection matter to your property, we should evaluate your current digital infrastructure.