LONDON, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Booking hotels and holidays direct with the provider rather than going via a third party OTA’s (Online Travel Agents such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor) is continuing to bear fruit for many UK based travel companies with the sector growing an average by 7% year on year, according to recent in-house research.
The research sought the views of a random sample of one thousand website visitors to the BestBookDirect.com website over two months in Spring 2025 and offers some useful insights into what influences people's booking preferences when deciding between either a large OTA, or making a direct booking. The number one reason cited (78%) was brand loyalty where a customer wished to return to a favoured hotel or holiday provider often incentivised by loyalty rewards which could range from discounted room rates or complimentary extras such as free nights or a welcome gift.
Ease of website use and quality of information was also rated a significant factor by guests (45%) with many saying that there was far greater information and photos to browse through on the actual providers website, opposed to using an OTA’s website which often only ‘scrapes’ the parent brand website, thereby only creating a brief description which can lack the significant details that potential guests are seeking.
Other reasons included the ability to choose a favourite hotel room (12%) and a perception of greater customer service when booking directly. Lower down the list was the ease of making alterations to a direct booking as opposed to those managed by a third party OTA (6%).
On the other hand, the research did reveal that booking using an OTA had benefits if your travel plans require several different elements such as flights, hotels, and car hire, which can all be easily bundled into a single package using an OTA’s website. Guests were far more likely to use OTA’s (66%) for this reason when travelling outside the UK.
You can read the full survey results on the homepage of BestBookDirect.com
Chris Cottam, Head of Digital Operations at BestBookDirect.com, said: “We continue to see significant year on year growth in the UK based direct bookings market with several large hotel groups pivoting away from using OTAs over the past five years.”
“For this strategy to be successful it is important that hoteliers have a well established and recognised brand backed by a significant initial advertising budget, ideally using a broad mix of channels including both media and affiliated travel websites to drive direct bookings. Based on the fact that the commission rates charged on bookings made on an OTA for hotels are commonly 15-25% of the room rate, it is quite clear that increasing direct bookings can free up considerable revenue. In the longer term, building up a loyal and repeat customer base continues to pay dividends with reduced promotion costs, thereby decreasing hoteliers overall CPOR (cost per occupied room).”
BestBookDirect has had considerable success promoting late bookings for both the Bourne Leisure Group (BLP) and Travelodge. BLP includes both the Warner Hotels brand and Haven Holiday Parks promotion of last minute deals, and guest promotions continues to deliver solid results in maximising room occupancy rates.
Chris Cottam, added: “On the back of our success with many hotel and holiday partners in the UK, BestBookDirect has now decided to expand its holiday offerings to the holiday cruise sector and is pleased to announce it will be promoting direct bookings for both Fred Olsen Cruises and the Ambassador Cruise Line going forward, again with a keen focus on value deals and late bookings to maximise occupancy rates.”
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8298c0ff-f566-4721-90ed-d04424aea64a
CONTACT Chris Cottam COMPANY: BestBookDirect.com EMAIL: cjcottam@msn.com WEB: https://www.bestbookdirect.com/
