Every booking that comes through an OTA quietly hands over 15–25% of the room revenue you already earned. The fix everyone "knows" — take direct bookings — usually leaks anyway, because the website, the payment, and the front desk live in three different apps. Here's how to actually close a direct booking as one clean transaction.

Quick answer (for the impatient)

• OTAs charge 15–25% commission per booking. On ₹50L of OTA-sourced revenue, that's ₹7.5–12.5L a year handed away.
• A direct-booking website on your own domain lets a guest book and pay you directly — commission-free.
• The catch most hotels hit: the booking lands on the website but the invoice, payment and front-desk entry are still manual. AXOIX makes a direct booking one transaction — reservation + GST invoice + payment + confirmation, together.

The OTA tax — and why "just take direct bookings" usually fails

OTAs are great at discovery — they put you in front of travellers. The problem is the toll: a fifth of every booking, forever. So hoteliers try to shift guests to direct booking — and then hit the real wall. A typical "direct" setup is a website that takes an enquiry, a payment gateway in a separate dashboard, and someone re-typing the booking into the PMS. Three handoffs, three places for it to break, and a guest who gives up halfway.

How AXOIX closes a direct booking in one transaction

AXOIX gives every hotel a branded storefront on its own domain. When a guest books a room there, a single step does all of this:

• Creates the reservation and the guest record in your dashboard — nothing to re-type.
• Raises a GST-correct invoice automatically (slab-aware 0/12/18%, HSN 9963).
• Collects the money online — UPI with zero gateway fees, or card via Razorpay — with advance, full, or pay-on-arrival decided per room type.
• Sends the confirmation email and links the guest into your CRM for follow-up.

That's the difference: a competitor's "booking engine" produces a reservation; AXOIX produces a booked, invoiced, paid, confirmed guest — on a site that carries your name, not an OTA's, and costs you no commission.

Where AXOIX is honest about its limits

• Direct booking complements OTAs — it doesn't replace discovery. Keep your OTA listings to be found; use AXOIX to convert repeat guests, walk-ins, corporate tie-ups and your own marketing into commission-free direct revenue.
• If most of your bookings come from OTAs, keep your channel manager for now — live two-way OTA sync is on the AXOIX roadmap, not shipped (credentials + manual import are in today).
• You need a verified business bank account / UPI VPA to collect; AXOIX raises the invoice and payment link, your bank settles it.

FAQ

How much commission do OTAs charge hotels in India?
Typically 15–25% per booking depending on the platform and your contract. Direct bookings carry none of that.

Can guests pay online when they book direct?
Yes — AXOIX collects via UPI (zero gateway fee) or card through Razorpay, with advance, full, or pay-on-arrival options per room type.

Do I get a GST invoice for a direct booking?
Yes — a slab-aware GST invoice (HSN 9963) is raised automatically at the moment of booking, and posts to your books.

Will this replace Booking.com / MakeMyTrip?
No — use OTAs for discovery and AXOIX to convert direct/repeat demand commission-free. Live OTA sync is on the roadmap.

The bottom line

You can't avoid OTAs for discovery, but you don't have to pay them for the guests who'd happily book with you directly — your repeat guests, walk-ins, and anyone your own marketing brings in. Put a real booking engine on your own domain that closes the loop in one transaction, and every direct booking keeps the full room revenue in your account.

See the full AXOIX hotel features, the GST billing guide, or the honest comparison of 6 platforms.

Take direct bookings on your own branded site — commission-free. Start free →