Direct bookings, not OTA commissions. The honest hospitality playbook for East Africa.
We work with beachfront lodges in Nungwi, Stone Town boutique hotels, safari operators in Arusha and Dar restaurants. Every retainer is built around the same question: how do we win the booking before Booking.com does?
01.1 / The problem
You pay 15-22% commission and still do not own the guest relationship.
The OTAs send the booking but keep the email address. The guest experience starts with a third-party confirmation. The review lives on a platform you do not control. And the only way to "increase visibility" inside the OTA is to pay more or discount harder. Meanwhile, the direct-booking website is a 2014 brochure nobody updates.
01.2 / What good looks like
A property that wins its own bookings.
A direct-booking site that converts. A Google Business Profile that owns the local search. An Instagram presence the buyer recognises before they ever land on the site. WhatsApp Business set up to answer the high-value question fast. And an honest model of what each OTA booking actually costs you against the marketing that replaces it.
01.3/The playbook
What a disciplined engagement looks like.
Not every retainer runs the same. But the spine below is what we keep coming back to in this sector.
- Audit OTA commission against current direct-booking revenue - the real cost on the table
- Direct-booking website built around dates, room types, real photography and "why book direct"
- Google Business Profile fully optimised - photos, posts, Q&A, reviews, the lot
- Instagram presence on a real content cadence, not random sunsets
- WhatsApp Business with a fast, recognisable reply pattern in the buyer's language
- Seasonal planning across high, shoulder and low - because hospitality demand is not linear
- Honest measurement: direct bookings, ADR on direct, save per direct vs OTA
01.4/Services that win here
The disciplines that earn the result.
The same seven services we offer across the firm. Here is the order and the weighting that works for this sector.
01
Website Design & Development
A direct-booking site that converts on a phone, not a brochure.
04
Google Business Profile
Half the win. The map pack is where high-intent guests look.
06
Social Media Management
Instagram is the showcase. Consistent presence matters more than chasing trends.
05
Content & Blog Writing
Local guides, area pages, and "why direct" content that ranks and converts.
03
Search Engine Optimization
Brand search, destination search, and the long tail of property questions.
01.5/Further reading
Pieces from the WebAxis blog that go deeper on this sector.
BLOG
Zanzibar properties - winning direct bookings back from the OTAs
A practical guide for Zanzibar and coastal hospitality owners. How to model the cost of OTAs, what a direct-booking site actually needs, and the realistic share you can win back.
BLOG
WhatsApp Business is your front desk - how to set it up so it actually closes
A practical guide to setting up WhatsApp Business for East African SMEs - the catalog, the auto-replies, the templates, and the discipline that turns inbound messages into bookings.
BLOG
Eight Google Business Profile mistakes we see in almost every East African SME
A field-tested list of the most common Google Business Profile mistakes we audit across Tanzanian, Kenyan, Ugandan and Rwandan businesses - and the cheap fixes that move local-pack rankings inside 30 days.
01.6/Sector questions
What people ask before they engage us.
Anything not answered here? Send it on WhatsApp - replies inside business hours.
- Year one, a well-executed direct-booking shift usually moves 20-30% of bookings to direct. Properties with a recognisable brand and strong photography can push toward 50%. Use our OTA calculator at /tools/ota-calculator to see what that means in real money for your situation.
01.7/Adjacent sectors
Where we have a related playbook.
06
Brand · Shopify · SocialRetail & E-commerce
We work with D2C brands in fashion, beauty, lifestyle and food across East Africa. Every engagement starts with the same three pillars: a recognisable visual identity, a Shopify storefront that actually converts on a mid-range Android, and steady social where your buyers spend their time.
02
Lead-gen · Listings · Local SEOReal Estate & Property
We work with sales agencies in Masaki and Mbezi Beach, off-plan developers in Kigali and Nairobi, and short-let operators in Zanzibar. Every retainer is built around two numbers: cost per qualified lead and time to first reply.
Want a sharper playbook for your tourism & hospitality business?
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