Many hotels can improve profitability without increasing occupancy at all. The gain comes from better systems that help them keep more of the revenue from the bookings they already generate.
Across the hospitality industry, many hotels are heavily reliant on online travel agencies such as Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb. These platforms provide visibility, and that visibility comes at a cost. OTA commissions can take a significant percentage of the booking value, often reaching 15 to 25% or more depending on the platform, property type and commercial agreement.
For hotels already facing rising employment costs, energy costs, business rates and margin pressure, giving away that level of revenue can feel like handing an entire floor of the hotel to the booking agent before the guest has even arrived.
There is a clear way to recover much of that lost revenue.
SOTpay has identified a major opportunity for hotels to recover direct bookings by understanding how guests really behave before they book. Through tracked, tested and validated guest journey behaviour at The Empress Building, a boutique hotel in Mexborough, SOTpay found that many guests first discover a hotel through an OTA, then visit the hotel's own website to check location, reviews, rooms, facilities and trust signals before making a final decision.
Too often, if the hotel website does not give the guest a compelling reason to book direct, the guest returns to the OTA to complete the booking.
That is the leakage point, and it is exactly where Chloe by SOTpay has been designed to help.
Chloe by SOTpay is the Securafone AI Booking Concierge for hotels.
Chloe answers booking calls, supports guests through the reservation journey and helps hotels convert more direct bookings while securely collecting payment through Securafone.
Chloe is built to turn a booking enquiry into a confirmed, verified and secure direct booking. She answers the call, supports the guest and collects payment, rather than simply picking up the phone.
Through Securafone, Chloe can support a more automated hotel experience, including booking calls, secure payment collection, guest confirmations, pre-authorisation, card-on-file capability, calendar or PMS workflow updates and digital room key delivery.
For hotels, this means fewer missed calls, less manual administration, stronger payment security and more opportunity to win bookings back from OTAs.
The modern hotel booking journey is rarely linear.
A guest may begin by searching on Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb or another OTA. They find a property that looks suitable. Then, before committing, they visit the hotel's own website for reassurance: to check the location, see the rooms, read the reviews, understand the facilities and decide whether the hotel feels right.
At this moment, the hotel has a major opportunity. The guest is already interested, already on the hotel's own website, and already close to making a booking decision.
If the website acts only as a brochure rather than a conversion tool, the guest often returns to the OTA to book. That means the hotel may win the guest while losing a significant percentage of the margin.
SOTpay calls this the direct booking recovery opportunity.
SOTpay has tracked, tested and validated this guest behaviour at The Empress Rooms, a boutique hotel in Mexborough.
The data showed that guests were discovering the property through OTA channels, then visiting the hotel website to validate the property before deciding where to book.
By introducing a stronger direct-booking journey and supporting guests through Securafone, SOTpay identified conversion potential of up to 40% from OTA-influenced website visitors into direct booking opportunities.
The lesson for hotels is clear: many guests who book through OTAs are not necessarily lost to the hotel. They may already be visiting the hotel's website before they book. The question is whether the hotel gives them a good enough reason to book direct.
Hotels do not always need complicated technology changes to begin improving direct booking performance. A relatively small change can make a significant commercial difference.
SOTpay advises hotels to use a clear, persuasive direct-booking call to action on the hotel website, especially when a guest is already showing booking intent.
Examples include:
These prompts give the guest a reason to contact the hotel before returning to the OTA. The hook might be priority room allocation, a complimentary drink on arrival, a better guest experience, secure payment options, or the reassurance of speaking directly with the hotel's booking concierge.
Once the guest calls, Chloe can support the journey.
Chloe by SOTpay helps hotels capture demand at the point of intent. The journey can work like this:
This creates a more complete automated hotel booking experience. It helps the hotel move from website visit to phone enquiry, from phone enquiry to secure payment, and from secure payment to confirmed direct booking.
One of the biggest challenges with telephone bookings is payment security.
Many hotels still rely on outdated manual processes where staff take card details over the phone or enter payment information into separate systems. This can increase PCI DSS exposure, create operational risk and slow down the booking journey.
Chloe by SOTpay is different because secure payment is built into the Securafone journey. Guests can complete payment using modern digital payment methods, including:
This helps hotels move away from risky manual card handling and towards a cleaner, more secure and more guest-friendly payment experience. For the guest, the process feels familiar and convenient. For the hotel, the payment journey is more controlled, more secure and more efficient.
Hotels are under pressure from every direction:
Chloe by SOTpay has been created for this environment. It helps hotels answer more booking calls, support guests more effectively and turn more OTA-influenced website visitors into direct bookings.
For hotels without a traditional 24/7 reception desk, Chloe can extend front-desk coverage. For boutique and independent hotels, she can help create a more professional and automated booking experience. For larger hotel groups, she can support a scalable direct booking and secure payment strategy across multiple properties.
Chloe can support the complete hotel booking journey.
Call answered. Chloe answers booking enquiries and helps capture demand that might otherwise be missed.
Guest supported. Chloe guides the guest through the reservation journey, helping with booking details, dates, room requirements and next steps.
Payment secured. The guest completes payment through Securafone using card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Pay by Bank, with 3D Secure verification where applicable.
Booking confirmed. The hotel can send confirmation by email or SMS, giving the guest immediate reassurance.
Pre-authorisation supported. Where required, the hotel can support pre-authorisation and card-on-file workflows.
Digital room key issued. Where the hotel's systems support it, guests can receive digital room key access for a more automated arrival experience.
Calendar or PMS workflow updated. The booking workflow can update the hotel calendar or PMS-connected process, depending on the hotel's system configuration.
This is the future of telephone booking: completing the full commercial journey, from the first call through to a confirmed, paid stay.
Some AI tools answer calls. Some booking systems manage reservations. Some payment systems collect payments. Chloe by SOTpay brings the commercial journey together through Securafone.
The difference is the combination of:
That combination is what makes Chloe powerful. She answers the phone and then helps hotels convert that call into a secure, confirmed direct booking.
Many hotels spend heavily on marketing, OTA visibility and paid advertising to attract guests.
If those guests are already visiting the hotel website before returning to the OTA, the real opportunity is conversion: better systems, better direct-booking journeys and keeping more of the booking value.
A hotel that improves direct booking conversion can lift profitability without increasing occupancy at all. It improves margin by converting more of the demand it already has. That is the real power of Chloe by SOTpay.
Guests want speed, confidence and convenience. Hotels want direct bookings, secure payments and less administration. Chloe supports both sides.
For guests, Chloe provides a simple booking journey with modern payment options, quick confirmation and a smoother arrival experience. For hotels, Chloe helps reduce missed calls, improve direct booking recovery, protect payment security and create a more automated reservation process.
In a market where every booking matters and every percentage point of margin counts, that is a serious commercial advantage.
You can read on how hotels and venues are protecting their margins with smarter payment technology.
Chloe by SOTpay is the Securafone AI Booking Concierge helping hotels answer more calls, convert more direct bookings and securely collect payment.
Successfully implemented at The Empress Rooms boutique hotel in Mexborough, Chloe shows how hotels can use AI, secure payments and direct booking recovery to improve margin without relying solely on more occupancy.
If your hotel is losing margin to OTAs, missing booking calls or still relying on manual telephone payment processes, now is the time to see what Chloe can do.
Book a demo with SOTpay and discover how Chloe by SOTpay can help your hotel win back direct bookings with secure payment built in.
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