Unmasking Your Most Valuable Guest: The OTA Share Shifter
Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie
Let me paint a familiar picture... You’ve got a guest who stays like clockwork. Same room, same service requests, quarterly like a metronome. You might even know what newspaper he reads and how he likes his eggs.
But here’s the kicker... you’ve never seen his name in your loyalty program. Because he books through an OTA. Every. Single. Time.
At Laasie, we call this guest the Masked Loyalist. He’s your best kind of traveler—predictable, profitable, repeat business and you’re paying a 18%+ commission every time he shows up.
Why? Because your tech stack doesn’t recognize him across channels. Let’s change that.
Who Is the OTA Loyalist?
This guest isn’t a points-chaser. He’s a convenience-chaser.
He may book on Booking.com or Expedia because that’s what he knows. He might be traveling for work and defaulting to company tools. He’s not loyal to the OTA, he’s loyal to your property. He just doesn’t know you want a direct relationship with him.
And let’s be real: you don’t want to pitch him the same old “book direct and save” banner. That feels transactional. This isn’t about discounts... it’s about recognition.
That’s where the Laasie Loyalty Platform comes in.
The Opportunity Behind the Mask
Let’s say this OTA Loyalist has stayed at your property four times this year, each time through a different OTA account. Because the booking data is fragmented, your CRM sees him as four unique guests... He’s hidden in plain sight.
Now imagine this: your CRM identifies his stay pattern and flags him as a recurring guest. You merge those identities into one rich guest profile using first-party and third-party data.
Suddenly you’re not dealing with “Booking.com Guest #4891223.” You’re dealing with your best future member.
Unified Guest Identity
The first move is connecting the dots. With Laasie’s integrations across PMS, CRM, and booking channels, we help hotels consolidate guest identities by:
Matching stay dates, room types, and payment profiles
Stitching together loyalty signals (repeat preferences, selected rewards, ancillary spend)
Something to consider: Enriching OTA reservations with first-party interactions (Wi-Fi logins, spa usage, email opens)
That turns anonymous OTA stays into actionable guest records. It also unlocks targeting windows that would otherwise go dark.
Predictive Targeting
Now that we know this guest tends to book every 90 days and loves Room 314, it’s time to act. Using your CRM + Laasie, you can deploy personalized direct booking offers at just the right moment before the OTA gets the first click.
Example:
“Your favorite view is waiting. Book direct this week and enjoy an exclusive welcome gift + a complimentary room upgrade.”
This isn't a generic promotion. It’s relationship marketing.
It says:
“We know you.”
“We saved your spot.”
“You’re not just another traveler.”
That’s powerful.
Offer What the OTAs Can’t
Let’s be clear: you’re not going to out-advertise the OTAs. But you can out-delight them.
That means offering direct booking perks that OTAs can’t touch:
Complimentary upgrades
Partner merchant rewards
Local experience rewards
Early check-in or guaranteed late checkout
Spa or F&B credits
VIP welcome amenities tied to previous stays
With Laasie, these perks aren’t just static benefits. They’re dynamically matched to the guest based on stay behavior, spend history, and profile preferences.
So while the OTA shows “10% off,” your website says:
“Welcome back! Select your complimentary perk for your next stay: A local vineyard tasting OR A 30-minute massage + Room 314 reserved, just for you”
Now who’s got the competitive edge?
This Isn’t Just a Loyalty Play... It’s a Margin Play
Let’s do the math.
If a guest books four stays a year at $842.58 per stay through an OTA, that’s over $500 in commission out the door.
Convert just one of those to a direct booking and you’ve nearly paid for your CRM or CDP license. Convert two, and you’re printing profit.
And when you combine that with Laasie, you get:
Direct bookings
Personalized marketing
Higher ancillary spend
Repeat behavior across multiple properties
All while giving the guest something OTAs never will: a sense of being seen.
Smart CRM Tactics to Activate OTA Loyalists
Here’s your blueprint:
1. Segment by OTA frequency
Use your CRM to flag anyone who books 2+ times a year via OTAs. These are your “Redirect Ready” guests.
2. Merge guest profiles
Link email addresses, check-in behavior, Wi-Fi logins, and ancillary spend to build a single source of truth.
3. Time your outreach
Set a predictive window (e.g., 70 days since last check-in) and trigger a reward-forward email before the OTA ad shows up.
4. Personalize the perks with Laasie
Don’t send 10% off. Send a room upgrade with the exact room they’ve stayed in before, plus a custom reward.
5. Frame it as VIP treatment
Avoid “book direct” banners. Use phrases like “exclusive return guest experience” or “members-only recognition.”
The Future of Loyalty Is Identity Driven
This use case isn’t about “winning guests back.” It’s about realizing you had them all along. You just needed the tools to see them, the right moment to speak to them, and the platform to reward them instantly.
Laasie does that in one connected loop:
Recognize → Reward → Retain → Repeat
And the payoff? Lower OTA commissions. Higher guest lifetime value. And more of your best guests actually booking with you.
Final Word from the CRO’s Desk
If you’ve got high-value guests hiding in OTA transactions, you’re leaving serious revenue on the table. Let’s stop seeing them as anonymous clicks and start treating them like the VIPs they already are.
Use your tech to recognize them. Use your brand to elevate them. And use Laasie to make that shift feel effortless—for both you and your guest.
Want help building your OTA Share Shift strategy? Let’s talk. I’m Ellis Connolly, CRO at Laasie, and I’ll show you how to make your best guests book like it.