How to Build an OTA Distribution Strategy That Works Long-Term

Online Travel Agents (OTAs) can be one of the fastest ways to access global demand, but without a clear strategy, they can also quietly erode margins, brand control, and customer relationships.

A long-term OTA distribution strategy isn’t about saying yes or no to OTAs. It’s about intentional participation: understanding where OTAs add value, pricing for distribution properly, and ensuring OTA sales support, not replace, your direct booking channel.

This guide breaks down how to build an OTA strategy that works for your business today and protects you for the future.

1. Start With the Role OTAs Play in Your Business

Before loading products onto any OTA, be clear on why you’re using them.

OTAs are best suited for:

  • Accessing new international and interstate demand
  • Filling capacity during low or shoulder periods
  • Supporting brand discovery for newer operators
  • Reaching customers who prefer to book through trusted marketplaces

They are less effective when used as:

  • A replacement for a direct booking strategy
  • A default sales channel without margin planning
  • A “set and forget” solution with no performance review

A strong long-term strategy defines OTAs as one part of your distribution mix, not the centre of it.

2. Price for Distribution From the Beginning (Nett Rates Matter)

In Australia, OTA distribution is built on nett rates.

On average, OTAs work on around 25% nett, which covers:

  • Travel agent commissions
  • Inclusion in high-investment marketing campaigns
  • Platform technology, customer acquisition, and support
  • Access to global audiences you wouldn’t reach alone

The key is this:
You should never “lose” 25%, it should already be priced in.

This means:

  • Building your rack rate from your costs plus margin
  • Calculating your nett rate as a distribution-ready price
  • Ensuring your direct channel remains the most profitable sale

When distribution is priced correctly from the start, OTAs become a scalable growth lever, not a margin threat.

Not sure how to calculate a nett rate? You can use our handy nett rate calculator here.

3. Choose the Right OTAs (Not All Exposure Is Equal)

Not every OTA is right for every operator.

A long-term OTA strategy focuses on quality over quantity, selecting platforms that align with:

  • Your target market (FIT, families, luxury, adventure, education)
  • Your operating model (day tours, attractions, timed entry)
  • Your capacity and seasonality
  • Your ability to manage inventory and pricing effectively

Being selective reduces operational complexity and ensures each OTA has a clear purpose in your sales mix.

4. Protect Your Direct Channel (Without Competing on Price)

OTAs should support your direct bookings, not cannibalise them.

Best-practice operators protect their direct channel by:

  • Maintaining rate parity, not discount wars
  • Offering value-adds on direct bookings (flexibility, inclusions, bundles)
  • Using OTAs as a discovery channel, not just a transaction engine
  • Ensuring their website and booking flow convert once demand is created

It’s also common to see that when operators become active on OTAs, direct FIT bookings increase, simply because visibility increases and customers research across multiple channels before booking.

5. Use the “Pay-Per-Booking” Advantage Strategically

One of the most overlooked benefits of OTAs is that:

You only pay when you get a booking.

Unlike paid search, social ads, or traditional marketing, OTA commissions (and other tourism resellers) are performance-based customer acquisition costs.

Used well, this allows operators to:

  • Enter new markets with lower upfront risk
  • Test demand before investing heavily in marketing

Long-term strategies factor OTA commissions into overall cost of acquisition, not just as a line item to be minimised.

6. Centralise Distribution Through the Right Booking System

A sustainable OTA strategy relies on the right technology foundation.

Your booking system should:

  • Support OTA connectivity natively or via channel managers
  • Allow clean nett and retail rate management
  • Control inventory across all channels in real time
  • Reduce manual work and reconciliation errors

Without this, OTA growth can quickly become operationally expensive. We've seen an attraction manually managing up to 13 OTAs via their extranets. Not ideal for anyone as bookings can be missed, need to manually transferred to their non-connected ticketing/booking system, sales cut-off lengthened to allow for the manual process, which can mean lost revenue as travellers tend to book on the day of travel. The list can go on and on... 

7. Review, Refine, and Rebalance Regularly

OTA strategies should evolve as your business grows.

At least annually (and ideally quarterly), review:

  • OTA contribution vs direct bookings
  • Margin by channel
  • Operational effort vs return
  • Market and customer mix changes

As brand strength and direct demand increase, many operators rebalance, using OTAs more strategically rather than less frequently.

If you are an attraction, be sure to monitor your FIT visits to review whether they lift with the increased exposure. If you are a cultural attraction with free entry, review retail and F&B spend alongside you visitation data points. Remember, OTAs today as just as part of a brand and marketing strategy as it is business development and conversion.

Most importantly, while at times it can be difficult to speak to an account manager at an OTA, there are other ways to keep up-to-date on their activities. Make sure you subscribe to their newsletters, tourism trade newsletters and try to attend the events and conferences they speak at. That way you can be proactive with the time-poor account managers in the programs that you wish to gain access to (Klook Kreators! Absolutely. Expedia's Delta Airlines access? Yes please. Viator's travel agent networks? Sign us up!).

 

The Goal: Sustainable Visibility, Protected Margins, Long-Term Growth

A successful OTA distribution strategy doesn’t chase volume at any cost.
It balances reach, revenue, and resilience.

When priced correctly, connected properly, and reviewed regularly, OTAs can:

  • Extend your global footprint
  • Strengthen your overall distribution mix
  • Support long-term growth without sacrificing control

At Bookable Tourism, we help Australian tour operators and attractions:

  • Build distribution-ready pricing (including nett rates)
  • Select and connect the right OTAs
  • Build channel managers, load and map OTAs plus help build internal workflows
  • Align booking systems with long-term sales strategy

Book a 15 minute meeting via the below to review your OTA distribution mix or get started with OTAs.