OTAs spent $5.2 billion on marketing in Q2 of 2025. That is not a typo. Billions. Booking Holdings dropped $2.2 billion. Expedia spent $1.6 billion.
This is not just spending. It is an arms race. If you are an independent hotel, you will not win by trying to match it. The only way forward is to compete smarter.
OTAs are flooding social, search, and AI-driven channels with budget that independents cannot match. They capture the guest early, shape the options, and dominate the conversation. By the time a traveler reaches your site, you are already playing catch-up.
If you do nothing, you are invisible.
Your brand is your strongest weapon. Without it, you are just another option in a list of OTA results.
Travelers book with emotion first and logic second. Research shows that 56% of travelers are more likely to book a hotel that tells a compelling story. Brands that lean into storytelling see conversion rates climb by up to 30%. And companies that communicate their brand consistently through storytelling report up to 20% higher customer loyalty.
The numbers prove how powerful loyalty really is in hospitality. According to CBRE’s analysis of 675 million loyalty members, loyalty program members accounted for 52.8% of all occupied hotel rooms in 2024, up 12% year over year. That kind of recurring revenue is the result of strong brand investment and consistent storytelling over time.
Ask yourself: what are the pillars of your brand? How are they carried out every single day? If you are fortunate to have a rich history, what are you doing to treasure it and share it in a way that feels alive today?
Storytelling is not fluff. It is strategy. It is the difference between being remembered or forgotten, between a direct booking and another OTA commission. Do not let AI strip away the human heart of hospitality. Use it to amplify your story and strengthen the connection you build with guests.
Metasearch is where you meet OTAs head-on. It is where travelers compare options side by side. If your direct booking offer is not there, you are giving OTAs a free pass.
Visibility in metasearch means you are in the conversation when it matters most. It is your chance to intercept the booking before it is lost to an OTA.
Clicks do not pay the bills. Stays do.
That is why pay-per-stay metasearch is so powerful. You only pay when a guest actually stays at your property. No wasted clicks. No empty impressions. Just real performance.
For independents, this is the kind of model that makes budgets stretch further while still keeping you competitive against OTA firepower.
Property Promoted Ads are another tool in your arsenal. They put your listing in prominent placements during the traveler’s research phase. This keeps your hotel visible when travelers are actively weighing their options.
More visibility means more opportunities to steer travelers toward booking direct.
Travel planning is shifting fast into AI engines. Travelers are asking AI assistants to find them hotels that match their exact preferences. If your direct booking link is not being fed into those engines, you are already behind.
The next frontier of metasearch is making sure your hotel shows up in AI results with a direct booking path. Imagine a traveler asking, “Find me a boutique hotel in downtown Nashville with a rooftop bar.” If your direct link is there alongside OTA listings, you just leveled the playing field.
AI-powered metasearch creates a direct line between traveler intent and booking on your site. It is visibility at the very start of the journey, and it allows you to compete in this new environment without trying to outspend the OTAs.
OTAs will keep spending billions. Independent hotels cannot match it, but they do not have to.
Invest in your brand. Tell your story. Show up where travelers are comparing. Utilize models like pay-per-stay to manage costs. Use Property Promoted Ads to boost visibility. And take the next step with AI-powered metasearch to get your direct booking link into the channels where travelers are already searching.
This is how independents compete smarter, protect a larger share of their revenue, and secure direct bookings in a marketplace dominated by OTAs.