Resorts depend on OTAs like Reserving.com, Agoda, and Expedia to remain seen and fill rooms. However whereas these platforms drive bookings, they will additionally trigger unintended income loss — not as a result of the platforms are flawed, however due to avoidable errors in how lodges handle them.
From hidden low cost stacking to missed map pins, these widespread missteps can quietly erode your revenue margins, harm your rankings, and result in visitor dissatisfaction.
Listed here are 5 missed on-line journey agent (OTA) errors — and the best way to repair them.
1. Stacking Too Many Promotions With out Realizing the Influence
Promotions can enhance visibility and drive bookings — however for those who’re not cautious, you may be gifting away 60–80% in reductions with out even understanding it.
Right here’s what occurs:
- You run a cell charge or nation low cost.
- The OTA provides a member low cost on prime.
- Then it applies a seasonal marketing campaign or portfolio deal.
Every OTA stacks reductions in a different way, and lots of of those stack robotically.
To make issues worse, some reductions aren’t even seen in your extranet. These “hidden reductions” — present as much as the visitor however to not you, making it laborious to trace the actual ultimate charge.
Why it’s an issue:
You lose management over your pricing, harm charge parity, and harm your ADR — all whereas pondering you’re working only one promo.
The right way to repair it:
- Use your channel supervisor (like STAAH) to set a constant BAR (Greatest Out there Charge) throughout all OTAs as your pricing basis.
- Make sure the identical promotions are utilized throughout all channels. This helps with constant monitoring, eliminates confusion, and provides higher visibility of ultimate costs.
- Use instruments just like the STAAH OCC Components to rapidly detect and rectify charge parity points throughout all platforms.
- Handle promotions immediately by way of STAAH somewhat than particular person OTAs, so all the pieces is seen and trackable in a single place.
- Verify how every OTA applies reductions on prime of your BAR charge and pay attention to hidden promotions that won’t seem in your extranet.
- All the time do a check reserving from the visitor facet to see the ultimate public-facing charge. It’s the one strategy to verify what friends are literally seeing — and paying.
2. Poor OTA Content material — Unhealthy Pictures, Weak Descriptions, Lacking Facilities, and Flawed Map Pin
Visitors store with their eyes. In case your OTA itemizing has poor-quality pictures, imprecise descriptions, or lacking particulars — you’re silently shedding bookings and rating.
Widespread points we see:
- Low-quality, outdated, or unprofessional pictures
- Restricted or incorrect pictures (e.g., a twin room ought to present twin beds)
- Unclear or lacking amenity and facility info
- Incorrect map pin (sure, some lodges actually present the flawed location)
- Generic descriptions that don’t promote the expertise
Why it’s an issue:
- Weak visuals and incomplete listings result in decrease conversion charges — and OTAs will push you down in search outcomes consequently.
- OTA search filters depend on your amenity knowledge. If you happen to don’t checklist Wi-Fi, parking, breakfast, or pool appropriately — you gained’t present up when friends filter for these options.
- Flawed or lacking info results in visitor confusion, unmet expectations, and finally, unfavourable critiques.
The right way to repair it:
- Rent knowledgeable photographer. It’s one of many highest-ROI investments a lodge could make. Nice pictures enhance belief and conversion — and also you solely have to do it as soon as.
- Use detailed, benefit-driven descriptions. As an alternative of “Room with A/C,” say “Vibrant, ethereal room with personal balcony, blackout curtains, and quick Wi-Fi.”
- Leverage instruments in STAAH’s superior channel supervisor to handle pictures, content material, and facilities throughout main OTAs like Reserving.com, Expedia, and Agoda.
- Audit your OTA listings recurrently to make sure all content material — facilities, services, descriptions, insurance policies — is full and correct.
- Double-check your map pin location on each OTA — particularly in case your property is tough to seek out.
3. Gradual Response to Visitor Messages and Opinions
OTAs monitor how briskly you reply to reserving inquiries, visitor messages, and critiques. Lengthy delays harm not simply the visitor expertise, but additionally your OTA rating and visibility.
Why it’s an issue:
- Gradual response occasions sign poor service and may push your itemizing decrease in OTA search outcomes.
- Ignoring or delaying evaluation responses gives the look of neglect and reduces belief from future friends.
- Even an ideal keep may end up in a unfavourable evaluation if post-stay communication is missing.
The right way to repair it:
- Set inside response time targets (ideally below 24 hours) for each messages and critiques.
- Use STAAH’s ReviewMinder to monitor, handle, and reply to critiques throughout a number of platforms, multi functional place. This makes it simpler to remain on prime of your on-line fame with out switching between a number of tabs.
- Personalise your evaluation responses utilizing STAAH’s AI instrument, as a substitute of counting on generic templates. STAAH’s ReviewMinder AI is freed from cost for all subscribers to the service.
- Use pre-written templates or AI for quicker response and preserve a pleasant, constant model tone.
Quick, considerate responses present that you just care — and that builds visitor confidence and long-term fame.
4. Leaking B2B Charges into B2C Channels
Some of the pricey however missed errors is importing company or wholesale (B2B) charges into public OTA channels. The outcome? Deeply discounted charges present up on metasearch or OTA listings — typically undercutting your individual worth.
Why it’s an issue:
It damages charge parity, cannibalizes B2C and direct bookings, and confuses potential friends who see totally different costs on totally different platforms.
The right way to repair it:
- All the time segregate B2B charges from public-facing charge plans.
- Solely provide these discounted charges via correct B2B platforms, akin to vetted bedbanks, wholesalers, or B2B OTAs like Hotelbeds or WebBeds.
- Think about using dynamic static charges, which stop ADR and RevPAR from being cannibalized.
- Keep away from importing B2B charges into channels that additionally distribute to retail OTAs except you have got full management over the place these charges seem.
- Use STAAH to assign and management charge visibility by channel, protecting your pricing construction clear and intentional.
This lets you proceed providing strategic B2B partnerships — with out risking worth leakage into consumer-facing platforms.
5. Enhance Fee With no Clear Technique
Visibility instruments like Reserving.com’s Visibility Booster or Agoda’s Progress Specific can enhance publicity — however provided that used appropriately. Turning them on with out a technique typically results in excessive prices, low ROI, and in some instances, paying extra for demand you already had.
Why it’s an issue:
Rising fee with out fixing basic points like poor content material, gradual responses, or charge inconsistencies magnifies the issue as a substitute of fixing it.
The right way to repair it:
Earlier than you activate any visibility instruments or conform to a better fee charge, be certain your foundations are stable:
- Pricing technique is clear (understanding low cost stacking, charge parity in place)
- Content material is full and constant throughout OTAs
- Distribution is correct (proper room varieties, stock synced, map pin verified)
- Message response and evaluation dealing with are immediate {and professional}
Solely after these fundamentals are mounted do you have to contemplate rising fee — and even then, it needs to be aligned to a selected objective (e.g., off-peak intervals, new property launch).
Closing Ideas: Use the Proper Instruments to Keep away from These Pricey Errors
Managing OTA distribution isn’t nearly being listed — it’s about being strategic. These 5 errors can quietly eat away at your income, even when occupancy seems to be robust.
The excellent news? With a wise technique and a sturdy channel supervisor like STAAH, you’ll be able to take again management:
- Management all of your on-line charges in a single place
- Handle content material throughout OTAs constantly
- Reply to visitor critiques quicker
- Forestall worth leakage
- Use visibility instruments correctly — with knowledge to again you
The outcome? Greater visibility, higher conversion, and stronger income — with out the necessity to develop your group.
Writer: Chieh-Chi (Jacky) Huang
Jacky Huang is the founding father of GetGuest, a web based income administration service serving to small and medium-sized lodges develop via dynamic pricing and OTA optimization. As a lodge proprietor in Thailand, Jacky developed his personal framework via hands-on experimentation. In the present day, he companions with unbiased lodges throughout the nation to ship measurable outcomes and drive long-term progress.
