The company’s ‘Direct Booking Friction Report 2026’ found that issues ranging from poor search visibility and slower website speeds to pricing inconsistencies and lack of checkout transparency are driving travelers toward third-party platforms instead of hotel websites.
The report evaluated booking journeys across 65 hotel properties in India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Maldives, analyzing factors such as search visibility, pricing parity, booking flow efficiency and checkout experience.
According to the findings, 42% of hotels failed to appear on the first page of search results for unbranded queries, limiting visibility among travelers before the booking process even begins. The study also found that 63% of properties displayed higher prices on their own websites compared to OTAs, potentially pushing customers toward third-party platforms.
Website performance emerged as another key concern. Nearly 72% of hotel websites failed to meet the three-second load benchmark, with average mobile loading times reaching 4.1 seconds. Guests also needed an average of four clicks to complete a reservation, higher than the global benchmark of three clicks, the report said.
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The audit further noted that 44% of hotels disclosed taxes and additional fees only at the final payment stage, which it identified as a major trigger for booking abandonment. Around one in three properties also redirected users to booking engines with different URLs or domains, which the report said could create trust and security concerns during checkout.
Ashish Sikka, Business Head for UNO Platforms at RateGain, said the hospitality industry was facing a widening gap between traveler expectations and the current direct booking experience offered by many hotels. “The direct booking journey has become too fragmented across search, pricing, booking engine and guest experience, while travelers increasingly expect a seamless experience across every touchpoint.”
He also warned that the rapid rise of AI-powered search tools could further impact hotel visibility if brands fail to streamline their digital systems. “What makes this moment urgent is that AI search is changing the rules of visibility faster than most hotels realize,” he said, adding that hotels operating disconnected systems risk becoming “invisible before the booking journey even begins.”
The report highlighted regional differences in digital readiness across APMEA markets. Singapore and Thailand emerged among the strongest-performing markets, recording average website load times of 2.9 seconds and stronger pricing parity practices. The Maldives, meanwhile, registered some of the highest friction scores linked to website speed, OTA bundle dominance and pricing transparency issues.
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