This insight summarises Why We've Been Looking at the Hotel Brands vs. OTAs War All Wrong, by Rafat Ali, founder and CEO of Skift, published on Skift on 3 November 2026.
The missing party. The fight is usually framed as brands such as Hilton and Marriott wanting direct bookings while Booking.com and Expedia want reservations through their platforms. Ali argues this leaves out the hotel owner, "a party with a very different balance sheet," who bears the cost of both relationships.
Owners can pay twice. The owner "pays the brand for access to its commercial system and may also pay an OTA." In Skift's hypothetical, a $200 room sold through an OTA at a 15% commission carries a $30 acquisition charge, while the royalty is still calculated on the full $200. As the article puts it, "an OTA commission comes out of the owner's margin without reducing the royalty base."
Fees follow revenue. Hilton reported $815 million in third-quarter franchise and licensing revenue, across 8,683 franchised and licensed properties. That income tracks revenue moving through the network, while owner economics depend on what remains after acquisition costs. Hilton's RISE cuts, launched in June 2025, took 30 basis points off loyalty costs system-wide, plus 50 for hotels meeting a quality threshold. They reduced system fees, not royalty rates.
AI's open question. Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said AI should eventually bring more direct business at lower cost, while OTAs remain important for part of the business. Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR Hotels, which owns and operates 150 hotels, has long argued that owners should move away from OTAs, describing hotel ownership as "a business of buying reservations." The owner's test for any new channel is whether it improves margin after every fee, and the data needed to judge AI-routed bookings "doesn't exist yet."
Scope of this summary. The full article is behind Skift's paywall. This overview draws on the publicly visible summary, key points and opening.
AIHA practical takeaway. Report channel results net of commission, royalty, loyalty and system fees, not as gross revenue. Track AI-referred bookings as a separate source now, so owners can judge the channel on margin once volumes are meaningful. Ask brand partners how AI-routed reservations will be attributed and charged before treating them as direct.
Related AIHA insights: Mapping the AI-Driven Hotel Distribution Ecosystem and Personal AI assistants could be re-shopping 'landmine' for hotels.