It might sound a bit counterintuitive at first, but listing your property on major booking sites like Booking.com or Expedia is actually one of the best ways to get more direct, commission-free bookings on your own website.
In the hospitality industry, this is known as the billboard effect, and it can be a powerful tool for growing your accommodation business.
What is the Billboard Effect?
Think of online travel agencies (OTAs) not as competitors, but as giant digital signposts pointing travellers straight to your property.
When guests start planning a trip, they usually turn to major booking platforms to compare their options, read reviews, and see what is available in your area. Once they discover a property they love, many travellers will look up that property's official website.
They often do this to see if they can find a better rate, explore more details about your rooms, or check if you offer special direct booking perks.
When these guests arrive on your website and find an easy-to-use booking button, they will often choose to book directly with you - securing a confirmed reservation without you having to pay any platform commission. If you aren't listed on those major platforms to begin with, prospective guests might never discover your property in the first place.
The proof is in the numbers
This isn't just a theory - it is backed by research. A well-known study by Cornell University looked closely at guest booking habits and discovered that 65% of guests who booked directly on a property's website had visited an OTA first while researching their stay.
Put simply, more than half of those direct guests would never have found the property if they hadn't spotted it on a major booking platform first.
Getting the balance right
To make the billboard effect work for you, you want your property listed across multiple travel sites to get maximum exposure. However, managing rates and room availability across half a dozen different channels manually can quickly lead to double bookings and admin stress.
This is where NightsBridge steps in to handle the heavy lifting.
As your calendar partner, NightsBridge connects all of your chosen booking channels together in one central place. The moment a guest makes a reservation or you update your rates, our system automatically updates every single connected platform in real time. You get all the visibility of the world's largest travel websites, while we take care of keeping your calendar perfectly in sync behind the scenes.
Useful links for further reading
If you would like to explore the billboard effect and channel management in more detail, take a look at these helpful resources: