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Ever Found Your Hotel Cheaper Than Your Own Rate?

You’re on top of your pricing and it looks good. But then a guest calls and says:
“I found your hotel online for £30 less…”

Meet revenue leakage – when your rooms are being sold cheaper than your intended rate—usually through channels you don’t fully control. And it’s more common than most hotels realise.

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How does it happen?

In most cases, it’s not Booking.com or Expedia trying to undercut you directly, but what’s happening behind the scenes.

1. Your Rates Are Being Resold

You give discounted rates to a wholesaler (for packages, specific markets, etc.). They then pass those rates on… and somewhere down the chain, they end up being sold publicly. Suddenly, your “private” rate isn’t private anymore.

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2. “Partner Offers” Appear

You might see labels like:

• “Partner Offer”
• “Private deal”

These often come from third-party distributors feeding inventory into OTAs. And the problem is you can’t easily see who’s responsible.

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3. Your Own Rates Are Undercutting You

If you’re using static wholesale rates, this can happen without anyone doing anything wrong.

Demand goes up → your BAR increases → your static rate stays low → you get undercut.

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4. Working With Too Many Partners

We would always counsel to spread your risk and work with a diverse range of (the right) partners. But it can also have a downside in that you have less control, more redistribution and more leakage.

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Why It’s a Bigger Problem Than It Looks

The £20–£30 on a booking is the canaray in the coalmine. What you are seeing is part of a chain reaction where the cheaper rates win visibility on OTAs and potential guests stop trusting your direct price. This in turn leads to more bookings shifting to lower-margin channels, and before long, you’re reacting to the market instead of controlling it.

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How to Spot Revenue Leakage

You can do a quick check for yourself to find out if this is affecting your business.

First, search your hotel on different OTAs (incognito mode helps). Then, compare mobile vs desktop prices. Look out for “partner offers” or unexplained discounts

If you see consistent undercutting, it’s almost always coming from your distribution setup.

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What You Can Do About It

You don’t need to overhaul everything—but a few small changes can help you take back a bit of control.

Be More Selective With Partners

Not every partner adds value. Fewer, better-controlled relationships usually win.

Tighten Up Your Rates

If a rate is meant to be private, make sure it really is. If it’s visible, it can leak.

Move Away From Static Pricing

Where possible, align rates with demand. Static contracts are often the root of the problem.

Push Back When You See Issues

Raise it with OTAs and wholesalers. It’s not always quick, but it’s worth doing.

Keep an Eye on It

This isn’t a one-off fix. Regular checks help you stay in control.

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Final Thought

Revenue leakage isn’t just a pricing issue—it’s a distribution problem.

And the hotels that get on top of it don’t just protect their rates…
they take back control of their entire commercial strategy.

If you’ve ever seen your hotel cheaper somewhere else and wondered “how is that even possible?” — now you know.

And more importantly, you know what to do about it.