An OTA (Online Travel Agency) is an online distribution channel that sells hotel inventory in exchange for commission, typically 15-25%. Major OTAs include Booking.com, Expedia, MakeMyTrip, Agoda, Goibibo, and Agoda.
OTAs are excellent for net-new traveler discovery — they invest billions in search marketing your individual hotel cannot match. They are bad for repeat-guest economics — every repeat booking through the same OTA is a permanent commission tax on the relationship.
The right strategy is to use OTAs as an acquisition channel and then convert OTA-acquired guests to direct on the second stay. See our booking engine vs OTA guide for the framework.