The verdict in three sentences
For a business hotel with 60 to 200 rooms, a brochure site at 1,200,000 to 2,500,000 FCFA (2,000 to 4,000 USD) in Cotonou presents the property but leaves bookings to OTAs, which take 15 to 22% commission. A custom site at 4,000,000 to 8,000,000 FCFA (6,500 to 13,000 USD), or 20,000 to 50,000 USD in Dubai or London, with a direct booking engine, meeting room pages, MICE RFP forms and online payment usually pays for itself within a few months. The main lever is not design: it is the share of room nights you move from platforms to your own site.
Brochure site, custom site or OTA status quo
| Criterion | Brochure site | Custom direct booking site | Everything via OTAs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront budget | 1,200,000 to 2,500,000 FCFA | 4,000,000 to 8,000,000 FCFA | 0 FCFA |
| Recurring cost | 40,000 to 80,000 FCFA per month | 150,000 to 350,000 FCFA per month (engine, maintenance) | 15 to 22% of each booking |
| Timeline | 3 to 5 weeks | 8 to 12 weeks | Immediate |
| Room booking | Link to an OTA or form | Integrated engine, real-time availability | On the platform |
| Meeting rooms | Photo gallery | Page per room, capacities, layouts, MICE RFP | Rarely offered |
| Payment | At the property | Card, Mobile Money, corporate transfer | Handled by the OTA |
| Languages | French | French and English | Multilingual |
| Guest data | None | Usable guest and corporate database | Kept by the OTA |
The business segment is ideal for direct booking: NGOs, institutions, port and logistics companies and conference organisers come back regularly. Once they know your site and negotiated rates, they have no reason to go through a platform. The same holds for business hotels in Dubai or London serving corporate accounts.
The meetings and MICE module
Conference rooms often generate 20 to 35% of a business hotel's revenue, yet they are poorly sold online. Here is what a custom site should include.
| Element | Indicative budget (Cotonou) | Expected impact |
|---|---|---|
| Page per room (theatre, classroom, U-shape, cocktail capacity) | 400,000 to 800,000 FCFA | Fewer back-and-forths, faster quotes |
| MICE RFP form (dates, attendees, catering, equipment) | 500,000 to 900,000 FCFA | Complete requests from first contact |
| Day delegate packages displayed | 200,000 to 400,000 FCFA | Reference price, e.g. 25,000 to 45,000 FCFA per attendee |
| Lightweight virtual tour | 300,000 to 700,000 FCFA | Reassures remote organisers |
| WhatsApp button to the sales team | 100,000 to 200,000 FCFA | Response in under 2 hours |
| Online deposit payment | 400,000 to 800,000 FCFA | Faster confirmation, fewer cancellations |
For payment, combine bank cards for international guests, Mobile Money (MTN MoMo, Moov Money) for Beninese and regional guests, and bank transfer for companies and organisations that require a pro forma invoice.
Timeline and launch
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Allow 8 to 12 weeks. The longest tasks are connecting the booking engine to your property management system and producing quality photos of rooms and meeting spaces. At launch, offer a website-only perk (free breakfast, late checkout, corporate rate) to give guests a clear reason to book direct.
Mini case study
Mr Houngbédji runs a 120-room business hotel in Cotonou with 65% occupancy and an average rate of 70,000 FCFA per night, about 2 billion FCFA of room revenue a year. 35% of room nights come through OTAs at 18% commission, close to 125,000,000 FCFA (about 205,000 USD) in annual commissions. He invests 6,000,000 FCFA in a custom site plus 250,000 FCFA per month for the engine and maintenance (3,000,000 FCFA per year). If he shifts 10 points of room night share from OTAs to his site, he saves about 36,000,000 FCFA in commissions per year. The first-year investment of 9,000,000 FCFA is covered in roughly 3 months, not counting meeting requests captured directly.
FAQ
Should we leave the OTAs? No: they remain useful for leisure and transient international guests. A realistic goal is to move from 35% to 20 or 25% OTA room nights within 12 to 18 months.
Is the booking engine billed separately? Often yes, as a subscription of 100,000 to 250,000 FCFA (160 to 400 USD) per month or a 2 to 4% commission, far below the 15 to 22% charged by OTAs.
Can we show the same price as on OTAs? Rate parity clauses have been relaxed in many countries, but check your contracts. In any case, you can offer non-price perks, which work very well with business travellers.
Does the site need to be bilingual? Yes for a business hotel in Cotonou: 30 to 40% of meeting clients come from international organisations or neighbouring English-speaking countries such as Nigeria and Ghana.
What SEO budget should we plan? Allow 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA (250 to 500 USD) per month for 6 months to rank on queries such as conference hotel Cotonou or meeting room Cotonou.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of rooms, meeting spaces and current OTA booking share: we will price a custom site between 4,000,000 and 8,000,000 FCFA (or 20,000 to 50,000 USD for Dubai and London), delivered in 8 to 12 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
