Why Are Hotels Suddenly Rooting for Direct Bookings Over Third-Party Platforms?
There was a time when hotel owners bowed to online booking platforms, accepting their hefty commission fees as the price for visibility. Now, those golden handcuffs look more like costume jewellery. Once forced to guarantee the lowest prices on third-party sites thanks to a masterpiece of contractual fine print, hotels have started to wriggle free. The European Union showed up with a shiny new Digital Markets Directive in 2022, spoiling the party for platform monopolies.
So, what does freedom look like? It wears the face of direct hotel bookings—now making a comeback with all the fanfare of a retro trend that suddenly makes sense again.
Market factors fueling this reversal:
- Commission rates on third-party platforms ranged from 10% to a borderline offensive 25%;
- Hotels could not offer lower prices on their websites until recent regulation;
- The EU directive finally said no to restrictive pricing agreements;
- Online marketing firms like Nelios tracked this shift in real-time.
Of course, this all seems shockingly logical—why pay an online middleman when a guest can hand cash (digitally, not literally) right to the source? The answer, it seemed, was paperwork and clauses. Now, it’s a direct route with no detours through the maze of online fees.
Are Greek Hotels Winning With Direct Bookings—Or Is This Another Marketing Mirage?
Nelios threw cold water on any doubts by publishing numbers that can’t be ignored: a startling 18.3% jump in direct hotel bookings for Greece’s top destinations during Easter 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This wasn’t a flash in the pan. The overlap of Catholic and Orthodox Easter in 2025 created a perfect booking storm, with beds filled by Greeks and international pilgrims alike. The occupancy rates soared, and not every island was prepared for the influx.
A closer look at the stats and players:
- Data from Nelios shows two out of three Greek destinations seeing double-digit growth in direct hotel bookings;
- Crete emerged as the darling of the season, described as “the absolute star of booking momentum” (readers curious about Crete Easter bookings can find more here);
- Meanwhile, old favorites Mykonos and Santorini seemed to lose their sparkle—perhaps weary of their own fame.
For hotels, the answer was simple. No more hiding behind tired excuses of system limitations and online injustice. They invested in upgraded, user-friendly websites that offered special deals and last-minute incentives to anyone bold enough to book directly. Market sources almost sounded surprised as they explained the pattern: guests find attractive offers on hotel sites, leaving third-party commission structures in the dust.
Notable effects for the 2025 Easter holiday:
- Travel dates examined included any booking that touched Holy Saturday;
- Many destinations celebrated increased demand, except those rare gems that proved even overexposure can lead to burnout;
- The environmentally minded may note that direct engagement with hotels gives them more control over eco-friendly lodging options—assuming the hotels are updating not just their websites but also their recycling programs.
Greek hoteliers may not be environmental superheroes yet, but every commission saved is another euro not funneled into an algorithm in Silicon Valley. Will direct hotel bookings keep climbing, or will online platforms cook up new tricks? Next Easter may have the answer, but for now, it seems the direct path is the greener one—if only by a slim margin measured in euros.
