30 August 2026
The visibility gap nobody measures: direct bookings vs OTAs
Operators obsess over commission rates but rarely measure the share of AI answers that mention them at all. That number sets the ceiling on everything else.
Commission is a negotiated percentage. Visibility is whether the journey starts with you at all. If an assistant names four properties in your area and yours is not among them, the traveller never reaches a comparison — the commission debate happens after you have already been excluded.
Measuring this share is simple: keep a dated log of the questions travellers would realistically ask, run them on the platforms your guests use, and record mentions, recommendations and citations. Re-run the same questions monthly and you have a trend you can act on.
Properties that track this number make better decisions about where content effort goes. Those that do not are negotiating from behind a curtain.
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