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OTA (online travel agency)

An OTA is a third-party site that sells your rooms for a commission — Booking.com, Agoda, Airbnb, Expedia.

Worked example

  1. A ₱3,800 room sold through an OTA at 18% commission nets ₱3,116.
  2. Over 200 room-nights a year that is ₱136,800 of commission.
  3. The same 200 nights sold direct would fund a lot of the marketing that might have made them direct.

Why it matters

OTAs bring demand you would not otherwise reach, at a commission usually between 15 and 25 per cent. That is the trade, and it is a reasonable one for filling shoulder season.

It becomes a problem when it is your only channel, because then your margin and your guest relationship both belong to somebody else.

The strategic question is not whether to use OTAs but what share is healthy. Many Philippine operators land around a third — enough to fill shoulder season, not enough that the platform owns the relationship.

In MangoHost

OTA bookings are entered as bookings with their own source, so you can see exactly what share of your revenue carries a commission. Automatic sync with the OTAs is not built.

Bookings & calendar →

Related terms

  • Channel managerA channel manager keeps your availability and rates in sync, two ways, between your own system and the OTAs.
  • Direct bookingA direct booking comes to you without an intermediary — your own site, a phone call, Messenger, or a returning guest.
  • Rate parityRate parity is the practice — often a contractual requirement — of not undercutting an OTA's price on your own channels.

MangoHost gives Philippine properties these numbers without a month-end spreadsheet. Book a 30-minute walkthrough and see them on your own rooms.