"Online travel agencies are now the main battlefield where guests first discover hotels, especially for small and independent properties without big-brand marketing. This article explains how OTA campaigns act as a 'visibility accelerator' to boost traffic, conversions, base occupancy, and long-term ranking without upfront ad spend. You’ll see how low-season campaigns, country-specific deals, and events like Black Friday can help you compete with chains and grow RevPAR sustainably. Finally, we show how a daily revenue-management approach lets you focus on guest experience while experts handle yield: We yield, you chill."

Why Is Joining OTA Campaigns and Promotions So Important for Small–Medium Hotels and Independent Hotels?

A Revenue Management perspective for hotel operators in a highly competitive market

 

In an era where most travelers start their accommodation search on OTAs as the first step, being on a “visible front page” is the core driver of room sales for every type of hotel. This is especially true for small–medium hotels and independent hotels that do not have chain-level brand awareness or centralized marketing support. Joining OTA campaigns and promotions is not only about offering discounts, but it is a powerful “visibility accelerator” that helps generate measurable bookings and sustainable revenue growth.

 

OTAs Are the Main Competitive Battlefield for Modern Hotels

Traveler behavior has clearly changed—around 70–90% of guests start their accommodation search on OTAs, whether they complete the booking there or not. OTAs are therefore not just a “distribution channel” but the primary “decision point” that determines which hotels get the first chance to appear in front of potential customers.

 

For small–medium hotels without large advertising budgets or a chain-level marketing team, the competition for visibility is the most critical factor. Simply moving up to the higher rows on the listing page can multiply click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate several times.

 

This is why OTA campaigns have become a “gateway” that gives hotels a chance to compete on a more level playing field with big hotel brands almost instantly.

 

OTA Campaigns = a Spotlight Stage Where the Algorithm Pushes You to Page One

When a hotel joins an OTA campaign, the algorithm tends to increase the weighting of that property automatically, for example:

• Appearing higher in search results
• Reaching top positions in the destination ranking
• Being featured in recommended deals (Featured Deals). The result is an immediate increase in impressions and visibility. Most importantly, joining campaigns is not about offering “unfair discounts” but about investing in visibility without any upfront cost and paying only when an actual booking is made. From a Revenue Management perspective, this is one of the highest-ROI marketing levers available to independent hotels.

 

A Powerful Booking Booster in Low Season with Real Cost Control

Low-demand periods are often the most challenging times for small–medium hotels, because fixed costs remain the same whether you have guests or not.

OTA campaigns help hotels in several dimensions, such as:

• Generating a rapid spike in traffic
• Increasing conversions on dates with low demand
• Strengthening base occupancy. When base occupancy increases, hotels can manage future pricing more effectively. For example, on dates where demand is expected to be high, they can safely yield rates upwards without excessive risk. In addition, having more guests during low season generates fresh reviews, and these reviews act as critical “fuel” that pushes the hotel’s ranking higher over the long term.

 

OTA Campaigns Help Independent Hotels Compete Effectively with Large Chains

Hotel chains have many powerful tools, such as:

• Dedicated marketing teams
• Loyalty programs
• Large advertising budgets. Independent hotels usually do not have these resources. OTA campaigns therefore become a more “fair playing field” where the algorithm focuses more on performance than on brand size. Independent hotels can also be pushed to the first page if their conversion is strong and they participate in campaigns consistently. This creates a real opportunity for small–medium hotels to compete without being at a disadvantage in the OTA ecosystem.

 

Increase Performance Score and Ranking Without Additional Advertising Spend

More than 90% of OTAs use performance scores as a key factor in determining ranking, and the algorithm itself selects which hotels to feature and recommend. When a hotel participates in campaigns and its conversion improves, the system increases its scores, for example:

• Higher visibility scores
• Better property performance metrics
• Higher organic ranking. The result is that the hotel is recommended more frequently on the first pages without paying for extra ads. This is a low-cost way to increase visibility that many hotels still do not fully utilize to its maximum potential.

 

Open the Door to International Guests at a Much Lower Cost Than Traditional Advertising

Country-specific OTA campaigns—such as those targeted at Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, or European markets—act as powerful “international market access tools” that allow independent hotels to reach guests who have never heard of the property before.

If a hotel were to run its own digital ads, it would need:
✔ A high advertising budget
✔ Strong digital marketing knowledge
✔ Deep audience analysis and segmentation

However, OTAs already have these capabilities built in. Joining OTA campaigns therefore becomes the lowest-cost way to reach international markets, while creating opportunities for repeat stays and international reviews that significantly enhance the hotel’s credibility in the future.

 

Building Base Demand So You Can Yield Peak-Season Rates More Effectively

One of the most important principles in Revenue Management is “Occupancy first = pricing power later”. Once a hotel has established strong base demand via OTA campaigns, future price management becomes much easier. For example:

• On high-demand dates, the hotel can confidently set higher room rates
• RevPAR grows in a more structured and sustainable way
• The weighted average rate increases
• Total revenue rises in a sustainable manner. This is the approach that THRev.co uses to drive growth for hotels in our portfolio, and it has been proven to work across various price segments and hotel types.

 

Black Friday Is Near — Do Not Miss the Best Golden Opportunity of the Year

Black Friday is the period when OTAs worldwide launch their most powerful campaigns of the year, both in terms of visibility and conversion. THRev.co strongly encourages hotels that have not yet joined the Black Friday Campaign to enroll as soon as possible, because…

This is when global travelers are highly willing to spend.

OTAs will push your hotel deals to prominent positions on the first pages.

Conversion rates are significantly higher than during normal periods.

It helps boost end-of-year bookings and sustain demand into the high season. Missing this window = missing the highest visibility level of the entire year.

 

If you want to increase visibility, drive more bookings, and manage your pricing strategy accurately throughout the year,
THRev.co is ready to manage your OTA strategy and Revenue Management for your hotel on a daily basis.

 

We yield, you chill.
Let the experts handle revenue so that you can focus fully on what matters most—delivering the best possible guest experience.

 

THRev.co (@THA City Loft)
📍 2 Soi Ekkamai 6, Sukhumvit 63 Road, Phra Khanong Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110