Let’s talk about the big problem in the lobby: You are not partners with Booking.com or Expedia. They are the people who own your house.
When a guest books through an Online Travel Agency (OTA), you don’t just lose 15% to 20% of your sales in commissions. You’re losing something much more important: the relationship with the customer. The email address, the data, and the loyalty all belong to the OTA. You only get the guest for one night.
For small and independent hotels, 2026 is the year that everything changes. The “set it and forget it” website strategy is no longer effective because OTA ad costs are going up and Google’s AI search is changing how people look for travel.
We don’t just make websites at Razib Marketing; we also make Direct Booking Engines. This is your technical and strategic plan for getting your money back this year.
The Math of Independence: Why Direct is More Important Now
It’s simple to write off 15% as the “cost of doing business.” But let’s not just look at the money coming in; let’s also look at the profit margin.
If your hotel makes 20% net profit, giving 15% to an OTA doesn’t just hurt; it takes away almost 75% of the money you make on that room.
The truth about 2026:
- OTAs are making offers on your name: Find your hotel on Google. Is the first result your site, or is it Booking.com pretending to be you?
- The “Bill” is going up: Big chains and OTAs are changing the way people think about travel by offering loyalty programs that reward them for points instead of experiences.
The Fix: You can’t spend more on ads than OTAs. You have to do better than them in terms of experience. Your website needs to offer something that the OTA doesn’t: the promise of a better stay.
Speed is the New Money The “3-Second Rule”
This is where I come in as a developer. Most hotel owners care more about how their photos look than how their engines work.
Here is the harsh truth: You have already lost the booking if it takes 4 seconds for your high-resolution lobby photo to load on a smartphone.
- If a site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 53% of mobile visits are lost.
- Google’s Core Web Vitals are now a big part of how well a site ranks. Google will literally hide you from search results if your site changes its layout or takes a long time to load.
The Razib Marketing Standard: We don’t use heavy themes that make things slower. We make the most of every asset.
- Next-Gen Image Formats: We serve WebP images that look sharp and load right away.
- Lazy Loading: We put the most important things first, so the “Book Now” button is ready to click in milliseconds.
- Code for Mobile First: We make sure that our code works on iPhones and Androids first, and then on desktops.
Tip: Use 4G instead of WiFi to open your hotel website on your phone. Try to get a room. Your guests are feeling it too if you feel even a little bit of anger.
The “Google Travel” Change: How to Win at Local SEO
Guests aren’t just typing “Hotels in Miami” in 2026. They are asking AI, “What is a romantic boutique hotel in Miami with a rooftop bar and breakfast for vegans?”
Generic websites don’t pass this test. This test does not work for OTAs. You can win this.
Your website needs Schema Markup to get this traffic. This is code that Google can’t see that tells it exactly what you have.
- Does your website clearly say to Google, “We have an EV charger”?
- Does it say to Google, “We welcome pets”?
AI search engines won’t find you if this data isn’t hard-coded into your site’s structure. When we build something at Razib Marketing, we always use Hotel-Specific Schema. This makes sure you show up in those high-intent searches.
Easy Booking: The “Amazon” Experience
Why do people like Amazon? Because it’s easy to buy. What is it about hotel websites that people don’t like? Because making a reservation is work.
I have checked out hundreds of hotel websites where the booking engine opens in a new window, looks very different from the main site, or asks for 20 pieces of information before showing a price.
The Strategy to Kill Friction:
- “Book Now” Button: The booking button should always be at the bottom of the screen on mobile, no matter how far they scroll.
- Comparison Widget for Rates: Show the OTA price on your site and make your direct price 5–10% lower. Show the value right away.
- Upgrades with One Click: With just one tap, they can add breakfast, champagne, or a late checkout. (OTAs usually can’t sell these custom add-ons, which is what makes you stand out.)
The “Member Only” Secret (That Isn’t a Secret)
What makes Marriott have so many members? Because they keep their best prices secret.
You can do this as well. OTAs won’t let you advertise a lower public rate than what you give them. But you can give lower rates to a “closed user group.”
The Plan:
- Add a simple pop-up that says, “Join our VIP list to get 10% off right away.”
- The booking engine unlocks a “Secret Rate” when they enter their email.
- You get the booking without paying a fee, and you also get their email address for future marketing.
Stop renting your guests, in conclusion.
Your hotel is one of a kind. It has a story, a personality, and a soul. A 2018 template website can’t say that.
Your website will be your best salesperson in 2026. It works all the time, never gets sick, and if you build it right, it won’t charge you a fee.
Is your website helping you, or is it helping Expedia?
Are you ready to take charge of your money?
We at Razib Marketing make high-performance websites for independent hotels. We don’t just make things look good; we also make direct bookings.
By Md Atiar Rahman Ovi| Website Support Specialist, Razib Marketing