The OTA leak
OTA commission can take 15–20% of an OTA booking. That is money you could put toward building your own direct-booking channel. Your actual cost depends on your bookings and agreement.
For Sri Lankan hotels, guesthouses & villas
Your hotel is losing money every month — and you can't see where.
OTA commission can take a fifth of an OTA booking. Boosted posts can bring likes, not guests. Enquiries get lost between WhatsApp, Facebook and email. We’re hotel marketing specialists who help you find the leaks and build direct demand — with a connected system and plans from LKR 15,000/month.
Marketing plans start from
LKR 15,000/month
A focused first step toward your own direct-booking channel. Ad spend stays separate.
No lock-in You own every account and lead Starts at LKR 15,000/month
The cost of OTA dependence
15%–20%
Where the money goes
You're probably doing marketing already. So why aren't the rooms filling?
Marketing activity is not the same as bookings. These are three places to check for wasted spend and missed opportunities.
The “boosting” trap
Boosted posts can bring likes and comments without bringing guests. Without enquiry tracking, you cannot tell which offer actually worked.
The lost enquiry
Guests message on WhatsApp, comment on Facebook and email your website. A late or forgotten reply can mean they book the hotel that answers first.
Add it up and the cost can be bigger than you expect. Start with the commission you can estimate.
See your own number in 30 secondsSpecialists, not generalists
HotelBoost is built around the places hotels lose money.
We're not a general agency that treats a hotel like a shop or a restaurant. We focus on direct hotel bookings and reducing reliance on commission and guesswork. A confusing homepage, a slow reply, a boosted post with no clear next step — our system connects the campaign, landing page and follow-up to address those gaps.
Specialist expertise, built only for hotels, with a starting price that fits a small hotel.
The HotelBoost Method
How we turn wasted spend into a clearer path to direct bookings.
Not random posts. A repeatable system built around your hotel:
- 01
Find the leaks
We start with a free audit of your OTA dependence, advertising and booking journey to identify where spend and enquiries may be slipping away.
- 02
Launch a focused campaign
Get your offer onto its own landing page built for enquiries — not a busy homepage. We agree the launch date once your offer, artwork and access are ready.
- 03
Catch campaign leads
Enquiries submitted through your campaign pages land in one hotel portal, with one-tap WhatsApp follow-up so your team can reply while guests are still deciding.
- 04
Keep your offers working
Plan fresh offers on a fortnightly rhythm, review the enquiries they bring, and refine the next campaign. Timing and scope are agreed with your plan.
It's a system, not a guess. Track the enquiry, follow up, and use what you learn.
A focused starting point
Starting at LKR 15,000 — and here's why that's not “cheap.”
Start with a focused scope, not a long list of services you don't need. One system designed for hotels brings your campaign, enquiry page and follow-up together. Choose the support that fits your property and add more when it makes sense.
Not the cheap option. Not the expensive one. The smart first step.
- No lock-in — cancel any month
- You own every account, campaign and lead
- Ad spend stays separate and fully visible
A different way to work
Why switch from what you're doing now?
Stop paying for likes and commission. Start building a direct-booking channel you can measure.
Get your free growth auditWhat hotels often do now
What we do instead
Boost a post and hope
Targeted campaigns with a clear offer and enquiry tracking
Send ad clicks to a busy homepage
A dedicated page built around the promotion
Rely on OTA bookings and commission
Build a direct channel without OTA commission
Campaign enquiries scattered across apps
Campaign-page leads in one portal, with WhatsApp follow-up
No idea which effort actually worked
Fresh offers and clear reporting on campaign enquiries
Use your own numbers
See what OTA commission really costs your property.
Turn an abstract percentage into a monthly figure. Adjust five simple inputs to match your property.
Your figures stay in your browser.
Nothing is submitted until you request an audit.
Commission you pay per month
LKR 413,100
LKR 4,957,200 a year
Kept if 15% of those bookings went direct
LKR 61,965
every month, back in your account
You're losing LKR 413,100 every month to OTA commission.
Our plan to start winning it back is LKR 15,000/month.
That's a fraction of what you already pay the OTAs — which is why our work is designed to pay for itself.
See how much you could take back
An estimate based on your own numbers, not a guarantee. OTA commission in Sri Lanka typically runs 15–20%.
A simple place to begin
Just getting started? Here's where small hotels begin.
You don't need all 22 services. Most small hotels only need three things working well to start winning direct bookings.
Get found on Google
Show up when travellers search for a place to stay in your town.
Google Business Profile + local SEO
A booking-ready page
A simple page built for your offer that works on a phone and collects enquiries.
Landing page + enquiry form
One ad channel that works
Start with the single channel that reaches your guests — usually Facebook or Google — before adding more.
Focused campaign management
One connected team
Find the service that moves your next booking.
Most properties start with two or three services. We connect visibility, demand and conversion instead of treating each channel as a separate task.
0102030405060708
See our hotel marketing agency in Sri Lanka Hotel SEO in Sri Lanka
View serviceGoogle Ads for Sri Lankan hotels
View serviceFacebook and Instagram ads for hotels
View serviceInstagram marketing for hotels and villas
View serviceTikTok marketing for hotels
View serviceLinkedIn marketing for hotels
View serviceSocial media marketing for hotels
View serviceHotel website development
View serviceOur unique approach
Not just ads. A complete enquiry system your hotel owns.
Ad networks only rent you attention. We build what happens after the click: a focused landing page for each promotion, enquiries saved in your own portal, and WhatsApp follow-up while the guest is still deciding.
01 · Guest view
A page built around your offer
Offer artwork, stay dates and guest details collected on one page.
View live example02 · Hotel view
Every enquiry arrives in your portal
- Private hotel login
- One-click WhatsApp follow-up
- All campaign leads together
- Spreadsheet download
From ad click to follow-up, in one connected system.
Campaign landing pages are included according to your marketing plan.
Nine-room guesthouse
Local search and Google Business Profile first, then a booking page that works on a phone.
80-room resort
Search, paid campaigns, source-market planning and video, measured against room nights.
Built around your property
A resort and a guesthouse should not get the same plan.
Budget, team capacity, season and booking value determine where your marketing should begin.
Town-by-town knowledge
Local demand changes across the island.
Season, source market and guest behaviour shift between Colombo, the south coast, the east and hill country. Your plan should shift with them. Direct enquiries don't only come from ads either: a travel agency in Sri Lanka that already sells your area — Vacation Ceylon, for example — can pass guests straight into your own enquiry journey instead of an OTA inbox.
Published pricing
Choose the level of support you need.
Simple monthly plans with no lock-in. Start small, grow when it pays off. Ad spend stays separate and fully visible to you.
Best first step
Essentials
LKR 15,000/month
Small hotels taking their first real marketing step
A low-risk first step — see real activity before you scale.
- Email Marketing Campaign
- Website advertising banner
- Facebook campaign setup and management
- Simple monthly performance report you can actually read
Most popular for small hotels
Starter
LKR 45,000/month
Guesthouses and small boutique hotels ready for steady direct bookings
- Local SEO and Google Business Profile management
- 8 social posts per month
- Google visibility so guests find you when they're choosing where to stay
- Email marketing
- Monthly performance report
Growth
LKR 85,000/month
Boutique hotels and villas ready to scale up
- Everything in Starter
- Google and Meta ads management
- Email marketing
- 4 reels per month
- Review management
- Quarterly content refresh
Scale
LKR 150,000/month
Resorts and larger multi-room properties
- Everything in Growth
- Full SEO content programme
- Video production
- Email marketing
- Dedicated account manager
- Clear monthly reporting your GM or owners can actually read
Not sure which plan fits? Most small hotels start with Essentials or Starter and move up only when the bookings justify it.
The next season is already being planned. Start before your competitors do.
Start with a free auditFind your situation
Which of these sounds like your hotel?
Find the situation closest to yours and see how we'd work with you.
These are examples of how we'd work with different kinds of properties — not client results. We only publish real, named results when they can be verified. What you can trust today: published pricing, no lock-in, and you own every account and lead.
The quiet-midweek guesthouse
Sounds like you if: you fill on weekends but sit half-empty Monday to Thursday, and you've quietly accepted the loss.
How we'd work together: On the Essentials rhythm, we'd launch a fresh midweek offer every two weeks — a "3 nights midweek, pay for 2," a "work-from-the-hills week" — aimed at people who can travel midweek: remote workers, retirees, local couples. A fresh offer in the market every fortnight keeps those quiet nights moving.
You'd expect: a steadier trickle of midweek enquiries in your portal instead of dead weekdays.
The pool-and-restaurant property locals never visit
Sounds like you if: you have a lovely pool and kitchen nearby families would love — but nobody knows they can come for the day.
How we'd work together: Every two weeks, a fresh local offer — "Sunday pool day for two with lunch," then "high-tea afternoon," then "family splash Saturday." Each is a small, easy yes for a nearby family, landing on its own page with its own enquiry form.
You'd expect: near-term local bookings using your pool and kitchen on days they'd otherwise sit idle — plus day guests who come back for a stay.
The recently opened place with no audience yet
Sounds like you if: you opened recently, everything's ready, but you're almost invisible — a few bookings from friends and little else.
How we'd work together: We'd focus the first fortnightly campaigns on getting seen and getting the first guests in — an opening offer, a weekend special, a "first guests" deal — while getting you properly onto Google.
You'd expect: your first real flow of enquiries in one place, and the early guests whose reviews make everything after them work better.
The owner burned by "boosting posts"
Sounds like you if: you've spent money boosting Facebook posts, got likes, and never saw a single booking — and now you're sceptical of all marketing.
How we'd work together: Every fortnightly campaign lands on its own page with its own enquiry form, so for the first time you see exactly which offer brought which enquiry. Small, trackable, fortnightly — proof instead of guesswork.
You'd expect: to finally know what's working, with enquiries you can trace to a specific campaign.
The hotel that's invisible on Google
Sounds like you if: you only show up online when someone types your exact name — anyone searching "hotel in [your town]" finds competitors and OTAs instead.
How we'd work together: We'd build your Local SEO and Google Business Profile so you appear when travellers search your area, keep your social consistent, and use email to bring past guests back.
You'd expect: over 90 days: to move from "invisible unless they know us" toward showing up right when guests are choosing where to stay.
The hotel drowning in scattered enquiries
Sounds like you if: enquiries arrive on WhatsApp, Facebook, email and your website form — and half get answered late or forgotten while the guest books elsewhere.
How we'd work together: Every enquiry flows into one portal with one-tap WhatsApp follow-up, so nothing sits unanswered. Your team stops juggling five inboxes and starts replying fast, while the guest is still deciding.
You'd expect: to convert more of the interest you already get — the same enquiries, far fewer lost.
The OTA-dependent guesthouse ready to go direct
Sounds like you if: most of your bookings come through OTAs, you hand over 15–20% commission every time, and you have almost no direct channel of your own.
How we'd work together: Local SEO and Google visibility make you findable directly; email brings past OTA guests back commission-free; a clean booking path and portal make booking direct easy. This is the plan that starts shifting bookings from OTA to direct.
You'd expect: the beginnings of a direct-booking channel you own — every direct booking keeping the commission that used to leave your account.
The boutique hotel ready to actively drive bookings
Sounds like you if: you're past waiting to be found — you want demand generated now through ads, plus the content and reviews that turn interest into direct bookings.
How we'd work together: Everything in Starter, plus active Google and Meta ads pointed at dedicated landing pages, reels each month, and review management — the full enquiry system at pace, with each campaign on its own page so you see which ad brought which guest.
You'd expect: a steadier flow of enquiries into your portal rather than relying on being found, and a stronger reputation guests check before booking.
The hill-country hotel planning ahead of the season
Sounds like you if: your season is coming and you know guests book Ella, Nuwara Eliya or Kandy weeks in advance — you don't want to start marketing after they've already chosen.
How we'd work together: We'd get you live before the season with seasonal campaigns and landing pages built around your draw — the views, the cool air, the train — timed to when guests actually decide. Every enquiry into your portal with fast WhatsApp follow-up.
You'd expect: to capture early planners while competitors are still asleep, so you head into the season already filling.
The established resort running marketing as a serious channel
Sounds like you if: you're a larger property where marketing is measured against room nights, you have a GM or owners who want clear reporting, and multiple source markets to plan around.
How we'd work together: Everything in Growth, plus a full SEO content programme, video production, email marketing and a dedicated account manager — planned around your seasons and source markets, with reporting your GM or owners can actually read.
You'd expect: marketing that becomes a measured, reportable channel — direct bookings and room nights you can see.
No risk. No lock-in. No surprises.
No contracts — cancel any month.
You own every account — website, ads, and data stay yours.
Ad spend stays separate and fully visible — you always know where your money goes.
Creative
Need more than a monthly plan?
Photography, video, brand design, signage and campaign creative — order exactly what your property needs, one-time, no retainer required.
Property tour film
From LKR 65,000
Menu card design
LKR 12,000
Logo and brand identity
LKR 30,000
Single social media post
LKR 2,500
Useful before you hire anyone
Insights for hotel owners and marketers.
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Paying LKR 60,000+ a month in OTA commission? See how Sri Lankan hotels redirect that money into direct bookings they own — and make marketing pay for itself.
Read articleA clearer starting point
See where your hotel is losing money — free, no obligation.
In one short audit, we'll review your OTA dependence and enquiry journey, estimate costs where your figures allow, and show you the opportunities for direct bookings. No lock-in, no pressure.