Restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels share a margin problem: a lot of their bookings flow through third-party platforms that take a cut of every cover or stay and own the guest relationship. The hospitality businesses that protect their margins do it by owning two things — how guests find them, and how guests book — so more of each guest stays theirs.
You can't always avoid the platforms, but you can stop them from being the only way guests reach you.
Be the obvious choice in local search
Most guests decide where to eat or stay from a phone, through Google and maps, often minutes before. A complete Google Business Profile with current hours, great photos, a menu or rooms, and a steady flow of recent reviews is what wins that moment — before they ever open a booking app.
Make direct booking the easiest option
If your own site makes reserving harder than the third-party app, guests will use the app and you'll pay for it. A clean, mobile-first reservation or booking option on your own profile and site — with instant confirmation — keeps the booking, the data, and the margin with you.
Turn first visits into regulars
Repeat guests are the cheapest revenue you have. A simple way to capture contact details and a light follow-up — a thank-you, a reason to return — quietly builds a base of regulars who don't need a platform to find you again. Reviews keep the top of the funnel full while you do.
Search your restaurant or hotel on your phone and try to book directly. If the smoothest path is a third-party app, you're paying a tax you could keep — and the fix is mostly mechanical.