First booking with an OTA? The next one should be yours

As a hotel or resort operator, you’ve likely been pricked by the double-edged sword of online travel agencies (OTAs). Although they garner attention for your property and bring in first-time guests, they’re also costly—both financially and in terms of customer relationships. 

OTAs have captured 40% of the global travel market, and each booking can cost hotels a commission of up to 30%. While this might be an acceptable price for acquiring new guests, the real problem lies in what happens next.

When guests book through an OTA, the agency, not the resort, owns the guest relationship. That means OTAs hold the guest data, control the messaging and have the power to influence where the guest books their next stay. Resorts, on the other hand, are left with a one-time transaction instead of a long-term connection.

While OTAs may own the first booking, you have an opportunity to take control of the next one. By leveraging a hotel mobile app that provides reveal value, you can engage guests directly, enhance their experience and drive repeat bookings—without OTA commissions eating into your bottom line.

Turning guests into direct bookers: the power of a mobile app

The moment a guest arrives, it’s time to shift the dynamic away from OTAs and toward a personal relationship with your property. However, engaging guests effectively requires a direct communication channel—one that OTAs can't intercept. A mobile app provides that channel.

By integrating a mobile app into the guest experience, you ensure that your guests interact with your property—not an OTA—before, during and after their stay. Whether it’s checking in, booking a spa treatment or ordering room service, a well-designed app puts everything guests need at their fingertips while keeping them engaged with your brand.

Creating value: driving guests to your app

The success of your mobile app hinges on its value proposition. Guests won’t download an app just to receive promotional messages—but they will if it enhances their stay. Let’s take a look at how an app can drive adoption:

• Mobile check-in and check-out reduce wait times and create seamless arrival and departure experiences.
• Digital room keys offer secure, keyless entry straight from a guest’s smartphone.
• Restaurant and spa bookings let guests reserve experiences effortlessly.
• Personalised itineraries help guests make the most of their stay.
• Real-time updates keep guests informed on events, closures, weather and more.

The more a guest uses the app during their visit, the stronger their connection to your resort, making them far less likely to return to an OTA for their next booking.

Winning the data game: ownership and insights

One of the greatest advantages of a mobile app is data ownership. While an OTA may provide you with little more than a name on a reservation, your mobile app takes guests through an onboarding flow that can capture everything from email, age and address to details on communication and activity preferences.

Guest insights that go beyond demographics

Beyond the demographic data that comes from onboarding is a wealth of insights around guest behaviour and preference that a mobile app unlocks. This data might include:

• Booking habits—Understand how and when guests book their stays.
• In-app engagement—Track how guests interact with resort services and promotions.
• Guest feedback trends—Collect real-time insights into guest sentiment and satisfaction.
• Spending and visitation patterns—Analyse purchase behaviours across your resort, including restaurants, the spa and other amenities.

With these insights, you can personalise guest promotions, optimise your marketing strategy and continuously refine the guest experience to ensure higher satisfaction and retention. 

Higher opt-in rates vs. traditional marketing

Unlike email campaigns, which can fall victim to low engagement, mobile apps are far more effective in collecting guest data. In fact, 39% of users who download resort apps built with Attractions.io provide their email addresses and consent for remarketing, giving you a highly engaged audience for future communication.

Instead of relying on OTAs for visibility, an app lets you use data-driven strategies to keep guests coming back—on your terms.

The post-stay play: retargeting guests for direct bookings

A guest’s departure shouldn’t mean the end of the relationship. With a mobile app, you can stay connected long after checkout, creating opportunities to drive direct bookings for future stays. By leveraging user segmentation and personalised messaging, you can maximize conversion rates and encourage repeat visits directly through your app.

Using segmentation for smart retargeting

Instead of sending the same generic messaging to app users, try segmenting your guests based on past interactions. Then tailor your outreach accordingly.

• Push notifications based on app activity: Apps built on Attractions.io have an 80% retention rate, so that means it’s likely your guests will open your app after they leave the resort, signalling continued interest. That’s the perfect moment to trigger targeted push notifications. A well-timed message, such as a special discount or an invitation to an upcoming event, can turn interest into a direct booking. 
• Time-sensitive offers: By analysing past booking trends, you can get a clear view of when guests are most likely to return. Send a family that stayed at your resort over the holiday season a personalised invitation to a Christmas event, or help a couple celebrate their upcoming anniversary with a limited-time promotional offer. 
• Customised loyalty rewards: Allowing guests to collect points that unlock exclusive perks can be a major incentive, but personalised reward offers make rebooking that much more attractive. By segmenting users based on their past visit and spending history, you can offer customised incentives like room upgrades, spa discounts or VIP event access to encourage repeat bookings.
• Seamless rebooking with an embedded booking engine lets guests book their next stay with just a few taps—no OTA necessary. And, with your user data neatly segmented, you can pre-fill details from previous stays to reduce friction and boost conversions.

By keeping communication lines open and offering meaningful, targeted incentives, resorts can transform one-time visitors into loyal, repeat guests.

How Attractions.io helps resorts compete

Designed specifically for resorts and attractions, Attractions.io’s mobile app platform helps you take control of the guest relationship. Apps built with Attractions.io reach around 70% of guests, and over 60% of downloads take place before guests even arrive on site, helping them plan activities and helping you target your outreach based on valuable guest data.

See how we drive direct bookings and improve the guest experience, from check-in to well beyond checkout:

• Seamless booking integration—Embed your booking engine directly in your app to make it easy for guests to book directly, anytime.
• In-stay engagement—Keep guests interacting with your resort with activity schedules and bookings, in-app messaging, interactive wayfinding, mobile wallet and more.
• Post-stay retargeting—Use personalised push notifications and offers to drive repeat bookings.
• Guest data and insights—Own your data to tailor guest experiences based on past user behaviours.
• Integrated loyalty—Our professional services team can help integrate your existing loyalty and rewards programmes for a seamless transition.

OTAs might have the first booking, but they don’t need to own the next one. Discover how Attractions.io’s mobile platform can help you take control of guest relationships and drive more direct bookings.