Direct Booking Engines
Online travel agencies take a commission on every booking. For a hotel or a small group, this often represents the entirety of the net margin on a room. Set against the number of annual room nights, that gives the renovation budget that won’t happen, the receptionist position that cannot be created, the marketing investment that gets postponed.
Meanwhile, reception spends hours managing extranets, correcting delayed availability updates, handling rate parity disputes. Revenue management teams juggle between several interfaces. And the loyal customer who returns each year? They still book through an OTA because it’s simpler than your website.
The problem isn’t the visibility that OTAs provide: it remains useful for acquisition. The problem is having no credible alternative to capture the customer once they know you.
This solution belongs to the E-commerce & Booking family.
Challenges holding back your performance
The booking engine provided by the PMS has often aged. Three clicks to select a date, five screens before payment, approximative mobile display.Result: visitors abandon in numbers before confirmation. Some hoteliers have attempted specialised solutions, but integration with the existing PMS becomes a nightmare: delayed availability synchronisation, rates that don’t feed through, rooms sold twice. Others have had a module developed by a local web agency: it works for a while, then the service provider disappears or charges premium rates for each modification.Not to mention PCI-DSS compliance issues on payments, poorly configured gateways, 3D Secure that blocks foreign clients. The website becomes a showcase that redirects to an OTA.
Our Technical Approach
The approach stems from an observation: a customer who arrives on your website has already decided to consider your hotel. One needn’t convince them, but rather ensure they are not lost. The journey is therefore designed to eliminate each friction point identified in hotel analytics: date selection, room choice, payment: three steps, no more. The calendar displays real-time pricing to enable the customer to shift by a day or two if it suits them: behaviour observed extensively on OTAs which must be replicated.
Upselling (breakfast, parking, room upgrades) integrates naturally into the flow without aggressive pop-ups, at the moment when the customer is in purchasing mode. The price comparison tool displayed directly on the engine defuses the reflex to verify prices on an OTA. And all of this must load quickly on mobile, because most hotel traffic comes from smartphones.
3 Step Ultra-Fast Journey
Strict optimisation of the booking funnel (Search -> Selection -> Payment) without distraction.
Flexible Pricing Calendar
Display of the cheapest dates to encourage the user to adjust their stay.
Integrated Upselling
Elegant proposition of relevant extras (Breakfast, Bottle of champagne, Spa).
Secure Payment & Guarantee
Integration of your payment provider for seamless journeys, mobile wallet and card imprint included.
Perfect Mobile-First Design
Flawless ergonomics on smartphones, where most bookings are made.
Direct Booking EnginesnnPrice Comparison
Display proving to the client that the price on your official website is the most advantageous.
Technical Architecture
Search, check availability and price, order: these three steps also structure Marketplace Software and Online Auction Platform.
- 3 Step Ultra-Fast JourneyStrict optimisation of the booking funnel (Search -> Selection -> Payment) without distraction.
- Flexible Pricing CalendarDisplay of the cheapest dates to encourage the user to adjust their stay.
- Integrated UpsellingElegant proposition of relevant extras (Breakfast, Bottle of champagne, Spa).
- Secure Payment & GuaranteeIntegration of your payment provider for seamless journeys, mobile wallet and card imprint included.
- Perfect Mobile-First DesignFlawless ergonomics on smartphones, where most bookings are made.
- Direct Booking EnginesnnPrice ComparisonDisplay proving to the client that the price on your official website is the most advantageous.
Smooth and frictionless integration
Your PMS remains the single source of truth. The engine connects to it to read availability and rates, and writes to it to push reservations: no duplicate data entry, no risk of overbooking. We adapt to the existing APIs of your hotel system and your channel manager. The payment gateway can remain yours if it functions properly, or be replaced if it causes issues.
The design incorporates your existing brand guidelines. Deployment on your current website, without complete redesign.
Direct Booking Engine AuditnnAudit of the existing customer journey
Analysis of current analytics, identification of abandonment points, assessment of PMS and payment integration. Deliverable: a quantified diagnosis on your own data.
Configuration and Integration
Connection to the PMS, configuration of pricing rules and upselling options, implementation of compliant payment gateway. Testing in pre-production environment.
Deployment and training
Implementation on your website, training of reception team on the monitoring interface, configuration of alerts. Active monitoring period after go-live.
Continuous optimisation
Monthly analysis of conversion rates, journey adjustments and upselling offers according to actual data. Quarterly performance review with recommendations.
Measurable results for your organisation
- Share of direct bookings raised against the distribution platforms
- Booking funnel abandonment rate reduced
- Average basket value increased through integrated upselling
- Commission savings, redistributable as margin or direct marketing
- Channel management time reduced for the reception team
- PCI-DSS compliance ensured without technical intervention on the hotel side
Clarifying your decision-making
How do you ensure that availability remains synchronised in real-time with my PMS?
The engine uses your PMS webhooks or real-time interfaces where they exist, otherwise regular polling according to system capacity. Reservations are pushed instantly, which closes the window in which an overbooking can occur.
Will an OTA penalise me if I display lower prices on direct booking?
In France, the law of 6 August 2015 allows you to show a lower price on your own website than on the platforms. Clarendis recommends a modest differential, enough to convert without triggering a conflict with a distribution platform that remains useful for acquisition.