Direct bookings aren’t free - and understanding why is essential for every hotelier. While avoiding OTA commissions sounds appealing, building a successful direct booking channel requires more than a website. It demands strategic investment in technology, marketing and expertise. From optimising your website and booking engine to leveraging SEO, paid campaigns and engaging past guests, direct bookings involve ongoing effort and a clear plan.

This article explores the real costs behind direct bookings and outlines practical, data-driven steps to grow them effectively. Learn why competing with OTAs means more than willpower, discover proven strategies for website excellence and digital presence, and understand how analytics turn guesswork into growth. If you’re ready to take control of your distribution strategy, start here - and build a balanced, profitable mix that works for your property.

Running a small to medium hotel, motel, or boutique property isn’t just about filling rooms - it’s a constant balancing act. From managing staff rosters and suppliers to guest expectations and even renovations, the workload can be overwhelming.

For many independent operators - especially first-time investors or family-run businesses - the challenge is even greater. Suddenly, you are making complex decisions about revenue management, distribution, technology systems and marketing, all while keeping daily operations on track.

Should you outsource these functions or keep them in-house? The choice can significantly impact your profitability, efficiency, and guest satisfaction.

Discover the pros and cons, real-world examples and practical tips in our latest blog.

In a competitive hospitality market, small to medium hotels must find smart ways to grow awareness, drive bookings and boost revenue. One often-overlooked strategy is tapping into retail-driven sales events - like Black Friday, Boxing Day and Click Frenzy - to create urgency, attract new guests and reward loyal ones.

This blog explores how hotels can use these high-traffic periods to build visibility, fill low-occupancy gaps and strengthen guest relationships through well-timed promotions, strategic packaging and aligned marketing efforts.

As AI reshapes how travellers search and book, it is crucial your property stands out in AI-driven results. These tools rely on structured data - including amenities, location, reviews, and photos - to surface relevant listings.

Outdated or missing information can cause your property to be overlooked.

Use our checklist to ensure your accommodation is AI-friendly and ready to capture more bookings.

In the competitive accommodation sector across Australia and New Zealand, guest feedback often arrives too late to drive immediate improvements. Housekeeping teams offer real-time insights into guest needs and behaviours.

Incorporating their observations within your continuous improvement processes helps drive operational excellence, improve guest satisfaction and inform smarter decisions across your property.

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression - and in tourism and hospitality, that first hello can shape the entire guest experience."

In the world of tourism and hospitality, first impressions are not just important – they are everything. Whether it’s a warm greeting over the phone or a prompt, thoughtful email reply, these early touchpoints shape how guests perceive your property long before they step through the door. For small to medium hotels, every interaction is a chance to stand out – not with flashy tech or big budgets, but with genuine, personalised service. In this blog, we explore how mastering the art of communication – especially over the phone and via email – can transform enquiries into bookings, build lasting loyalty and elevate your guest experience from the very first hello.

Running a small hotel can be a labour of love, and with so much to manage - bookings, operations and caring for guests - marketing often gets pushed to the side. But you don’t need a big budget or a full-time team to make an impact. Simple, low-cost strategies can help you attract new guests and stay connected with regulars.

This blog shares practical marketing tips tailored for small operators. From free tools like Google Business Profile and ATDW listings to building local partnerships and sharing authentic content, these ideas are easy to apply and designed to help your accommodation stand out without being overwhelmed.

Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool for small accommodation operators looking to boost visibility and connect with new audiences. With travellers increasingly discovering places to stay through social media, AI tools and authentic content, working with the right influencers can help showcase your property in a meaningful way.

We outline how to identify genuine influencers, evaluate their value and set clear expectations for collaboration. We highlight how you can tap into regional tourism campaigns and collaborate with local businesses and include practical tips for making the most of influencer created content.

As hotels gear up for the new financial year, the annual budget ritual begins - spreadsheets, forecasts and opinions aplenty. But budgeting is more than a numbers game. It is about perspective.

Aligning past performance, present pressures and future ambitions is what transforms a budget from a static document into a dynamic strategy. 

So, before you say yes to every suggestion - from AI upgrades to rooftop bar builds - pause and ask: is this decision informed by your own strategic priorities, or just echoing someone else’s?

There was a time when travel followed a well-worn path - school holidays, summer in Europe, and weekend getaways defined the peaks and troughs of the tourism calendar. But today’s traveller has rewritten the rules.

Traditional travel seasons are giving way to a more spontaneous, values-driven rhythm - one where flexibility, meaningful connections and sustainable choices guide the journey.

For accommodation providers, this shift is both a challenge and an incredible opportunity. Those willing to evolve are finding new ways to engage modern travellers year-round.

Travellers are increasingly using Google, search and AI tools to create itineraries, guide them on where to stay, what experiences to book, the best time to travel and how to prepare for a trip.  When your potential guests are searching, they are now inputting questions or queries such as ‘what is the closest hotel to Auckland airport’, ‘I want to book accommodation in Port Fairy with a day spa and restaurant’ or ‘create an itinerary for four nights in the Top End.’

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) have always been an important opportunity to tell your story and answer your guests’ questions. In the continually changing world of digital marketing and search engine optimisation (SEO), FAQs have become an even more powerful tool for improving visibility, engagement and the user experience.

A decade on, what began as a vision has transformed into an award-winning business, has grown from one team member (myself) to 13, and has expanded beyond my original business model to provide revenue management services to small-to-medium accommodation operators to now include a suite of tech, sales and marketing services.

The past 10 years have been shaped by challenges, successes and invaluable learnings. Operating a business is a constant evolution, and these ten key insights have guided me through the highs and lows of the first decade.

In the world of hospitality, change is inevitable. Guest expectations continue to evolve, technology drives innovation, design trends shift, and new competitors open.

Renovating hotel rooms is no longer about driving increased revenue or upselling your guest amenities – it is about retaining market share by staying relevant, providing authentic experiences, and understanding the changing needs and desires of today’s travellers.

In this blog, we outline why investing within your business is not just a strategy to increase room rates or increase profit.

In today's environment, pet-friendly accommodation is no longer a niche offering – it is a powerful way to provide a unique point of difference for  your accommodation experience while attracting a wider audience and developing guest loyalty.

But what does it take to successfully create a pet-friendly accommodation offer while continuing to ensure the experience you are delivering to your other guests is not negatively affected?

In our latest blog, we look at the operational requirements you need to take into consideration as part of your decision-making process.

Most small businesses don’t have the luxury of having a dedicated crisis management team and are often experiencing firsthand the impact of the crisis. Navigating these events requires clear communication, empathy, and resourcefulness.

We have curated our guide for small businesses when finding themselves having to manage a natural disaster.

Just as I encourage my team to take well-deserved breaks to spend time with family and friends and to recharge the batteries, it is also essential for my wellbeing to do the same. But, as a business owner, it can be extremely daunting leaving the keys to the office with others. So how do I ensure my incredible team can continue operating as normal in my absence – allowing me to focus 100% of my attention to the meeting I am having or enjoy an uninterrupted holiday.

At a time when we are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content we are exposed to across a range of online channels throughout the day, is it time to ask the question – does email still have a place in today’s marketing plan or are they obsolete?

Local councils are already putting the Christmas decorations up, supermarkets have released their Christmas ham ranges, our inboxes are being inundated with festive holiday themed content and bookings - yes, you now must book - have opened to have a photo with Santa.

The countdown to the Christmas and New Year summer holiday period has officially begun and now is a great time to double-check that you are ready for the summer rush.

While the use of third-party sales channels can assist in building awareness of your property - particularly to those who are not familiar with you - the ability to convert those guests to book directly with you on their next stay is the ideal outcome. 

“Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. It involves the creation of intelligent systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and problem-solving.”