Direct Booking Tug-of-War: Hotels’ Long Bid to Take Back Power
Ten years after Hilton, Marriott, and other chains began coaxing travelers to book directly, online travel agencies still control roughly the same slice of the pie. Yet the chains have won the economics: lower commissions, better contract terms, and stronger loyalty programs.
Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt's chief commercial officer, had half his stock-based award riding on one number: the share of bookings flowing through Hyatt's own site and app. Between 2023 and 2025, he missed the target. He didn't get that part of the payout. The incentive captured how much a decade of fighting online travel agencies still consumes the major hotel groups.
It’s been 10 years since Hilton launched the "Stop Clicking Around" ad campaign. It spent nearly $100 million, and ads appeared in 18 countries. Staff wrapped elevators and key cards with a message for guests: book directly.
Each OTA booking carries a commission, dollars that come straight off operating margins. Guests who book directly with hotels are cheaper to acquire, hand over the data that fuels personalization, and tend to spend more over their lifetimes.
That Hilton, one of the world's best-known hotel brands, was pushing travelers to use its site and app showed how badly hotels w
skift.
