How a Ludhiana Hotel Recovered ₹18 Lakh in Margin by Reducing OTA Dependency
A 68-room hotel in Ludhiana was losing massive margin to OTA commissions. Here's the exact 12-month digital strategy that shifted bookings from OTAs to direct channels. A 68-room hotel in Ludhiana had everything a good hospitality business needs — a strong location, consistent occupancy, and a solid reputation among business travellers visiting the city. By most operational measures, it was a healthy property. But when we sat down with the owner and looked closely at where the revenue was actually going, a different picture emerged. Over 78 percent of bookings were coming through online travel agency platforms — MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Booking.com — at commission rates between 15 and 22 percent per booking. On roughly ₹80 lakh in monthly room revenue, that meant somewhere between ₹12 and ₹17 lakh every single month was going to intermediaries rather than the hotel itself. The owner's view, going in, was that direct bookings were unrealistic for a property of this size without...