The verdict in three sentences
For a 120-room business hotel, a website with a direct booking engine costs between 3,000,000 and 7,000,000 FCFA (about EUR 4,600 to 10,700), plus a subscription of 60,000 to 150,000 FCFA a month. Each point of direct share won back from OTAs saves 15 to 18% commission on the room night. Moving from 12% to 30% direct bookings in 12 months pays for the project several times over. The figures below use Yaoundé as the reference market; the same model applies in Miami with budgets in USD that are typically three to five times higher.
What OTAs really cost you
A business hotel's clientele mixes corporate executives, international organisation delegations, government missions and seminar participants. Many still book via Booking.com or Expedia, although they would have booked direct if the hotel's site made it simple, with a clear rate and an accepted payment method.
Take a 120-room hotel at 65% occupancy and an average rate of 55,000 FCFA per night: about 28,470 room nights a year, or 1.57 billion FCFA of room revenue. If 50% go through OTAs at 16% commission, the hotel pays out nearly 125 million FCFA a year.
| Hotel website item | 2026 range (FCFA) | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Website design and development | 1,800,000 - 4,000,000 | 15 to 25 pages, FR/EN, mobile first |
| Photo and video shoot | 400,000 - 1,000,000 | Rooms, meeting rooms, restaurant |
| Corporate and seminar offer pages | 300,000 - 800,000 | Negotiated rates, event quote form |
| Booking engine and PMS integration | 300,000 - 700,000 | Availability and rate sync |
| Card and mobile money payment | 200,000 - 500,000 | Visa, Mastercard, MTN MoMo, Orange Money |
| Total project | 3,000,000 - 7,000,000 | Delivered in 6 to 10 weeks |
| Booking engine subscription | 60,000 - 150,000 / month | Depending on rooms and channels |
Expected gains over 12 months
The realistic goal for a business hotel starting from a brochure site without booking is to move from 12% to 30% direct bookings. The table uses the same example of 28,470 room nights a year at 55,000 FCFA.
| Metric | Before | After 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Direct booking share | 12% | 30% |
| OTA share | 50% | 35% |
| Annual OTA commissions (16%) | 125,000,000 FCFA | 87,700,000 FCFA |
| Commission savings | 0 | about 37,300,000 FCFA |
| Active corporate accounts | 15 | 35 to 45 |
| Seminar requests via the website | 2 / month | 8 to 12 / month |
The rest of the clientele comes through travel agencies, negotiated corporate accounts and walk-ins. Commission savings alone represent five to ten times the cost of the website in year one.
What makes a business traveller book direct
Three levers matter more than design. First, a displayed best rate guarantee with a concrete perk: breakfast included, premium wifi or late checkout. Second, a corporate area where executive assistants book at the negotiated rate without calling. Third, suitable payment: international cards for foreign delegations, MTN MoMo and Orange Money for local guests, and a downloadable pro forma invoice for government bodies.
Seminar pages must show the capacity of each room (theatre, U-shape, banquet), day delegate packages per person (for example 25,000 to 45,000 FCFA) and a quote form that alerts the sales team within an hour.
Mini case study
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Mr Ngono, general manager of a 120-room hotel, invests 5,200,000 FCFA in his new website and 110,000 FCFA a month for the booking engine, 6,520,000 FCFA in year one. Within 12 months, direct share rises from 12% to 27%. On 28,000 room nights at 55,000 FCFA, 15 points of share moved from OTAs to direct represent 4,200 room nights, or 231,000,000 FCFA of revenue on which the hotel no longer pays 16% commission: about 37,000,000 FCFA saved. Payback is reached in just over two months.
FAQ
Should we leave Booking.com to sell direct?
No, OTAs remain useful for foreign guests discovering the hotel. The goal is to rebalance, for example from 50% to 35% OTA share, not to drop the channel.
Which booking engine should we choose?
Choose an engine connected to your PMS and a channel manager to avoid overbooking. Subscriptions range from 60,000 to 150,000 FCFA a month for an 80 to 150 room hotel.
Can we accept MTN MoMo and Orange Money for bookings?
Yes, through a local payment aggregator, with a commission of around 1.5 to 3% per transaction. That is far below the 15 to 18% taken by OTAs.
How long does it take to launch the site?
Plan 6 to 10 weeks, including 1 to 2 weeks for the photo shoot and engine setup. Aim to launch before a peak period, such as the conference season.
How do we bring corporate clients to the site?
Send your first 30 accounts a negotiated rate code valid online only. A Google Ads campaign of 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA a month on local hotel searches completes the setup.
Let's scope your project. We price your hotel website with booking engine, corporate offers, seminars and mobile money payment, an indicative budget of 3,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA and launch in 6 to 10 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.
