It’s no secret that Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) play a major role in hotel bookings—but they don’t come without their own set of unique challenges for the modern hotelier. If you're looking to convert OTA guests into loyal, direct-booking customers, it's time to rethink how you engage with them across their journey.
With Ascent360’s latest feature, you can finally connect with OTA guests pre-, during, and post-stay—without risking policy violations or messy manual processes.
Ascent360 is making it easier than ever for hotels and resorts to connect with OTA guests—without the operational headaches or compliance risks. This powerful new capability allows you to engage your guests at every stage of their journey and build long-term relationships, even when the initial booking comes through an OTA.
Say goodbye to outdated guest emails. Ascent360 now automatically manages OTA email expiration based on each OTA’s policy:
Ascent360 automatically removes expired OTA emails in your system, ensuring you’re only sending to valid contacts. This protects your sender reputation, ensures your marketing remains compliant, and helps avoid bounce rates that can negatively impact your deliverability.
Our new feature allows you to easily identify OTA vs. Non-OTA email addresses, segment your guests based on booking source, and send more precise campaigns that are tailored to each guest’s history, loyalty status and booking behavior.
For example, you might want to send welcome offers to direct bookers while sending exclusive post-stay incentives to OTA guests to encourage them to book directly next time. With this new feature, it’s simple to set up automated journeys or ad-hoc campaigns that speak directly to each guest segment.
This feature also opens the door for more nuanced reporting. Want to know how OTA guests are engaging with your campaigns compared to direct bookers? With precise segmentation, you can monitor performance across segments and refine your strategy accordingly.
Just because someone booked through an OTA the first time doesn’t mean you can’t turn them into a loyal guest who books direct. Some proven strategies to turn first-timers into life timers include:
By bridging the communication gap, you're not just improving the guest experience—you're planting the seed for long-term loyalty and future direct bookings.
Many OTAs assign temporary or masked email addresses to protect guest privacy. Using these addresses beyond the allowed period can put your property at risk of policy violations or penalties. Ascent360’s automatic expiration feature ensures you’re always in line with OTA regulations, helping you build and maintain trust with your guests.
Messy, siloed data slows down marketing efforts and increases the risk of sending irrelevant or noncompliant emails and texts. Say goodbye to guesswork and manual data hygiene with Ascent360’s automatic expiration and smart filtering. Spend less time on painstaking administrative tasks and more time driving direct revenue to your property.
Not all guests are the same—so your messaging shouldn’t be either. With OTA vs. non-OTA segmentation, you can effortlessly tailor your campaigns based on how guests first found you. Whether it’s a one-time OTA booker or a loyal direct guest, Ascent360 helps you deliver messaging that feels relevant, timely, and ultra personal.
The result? Higher open rates, more meaningful engagement, and increased conversions. Because when guests feel valued, they’re far more likely to come back—this time, by booking direct.
Ready to transform OTA bookers into loyal guests? Request a custom demo of Ascent360 today.