I Saved a Hotel €400 in One Month — Here’s How

€400.

That’s how much one hotel was unknowingly losing — every single month.

And the reason?

Not bad service. Not overspending.

Just… commissions.

When I audited their OTA invoices, I found it all:

• No-shows still charged,

• Cancellations never updated,

• Modified bookings billed twice.

Every month, those little errors slipped through.

And the OTAs? They billed — automatically, efficiently, relentlessly.

The Hidden Leak You Don’t See

Let’s do the math.

€400 lost per month = €4,800 per year.

That’s a salary.

A training budget.

A new marketing campaign.

Gone — just because nobody checked the reconciliation.

This isn’t about blaming OTAs.

They do their job — they invoice what the system tells them to.

But as a hotelier, your job is to verify.

The Routine That Saves Thousands

Operational excellence isn’t just about guest service.

It’s also about vigilance.

Here’s what every hotel should do every week:

✅ Compare every OTA reservation with your PMS.

✅ Check all cancellations and date modifications.

✅ Validate all no-shows before paying any commission.

Five minutes per booking.

One hour per week.

Thousands saved per year.

The Bigger Picture

Efficiency isn’t always about new software or fancy dashboards.

Sometimes, it’s about discipline — the quiet routines that protect your margins.

The best hotels don’t just create experiences.

They protect their profitability with the same care they give their guests.

Operational excellence starts there — in the details that nobody sees but that change everything.