+48%
Sin committed ◆ Gluttony + Sloth
The hotel that stopped paying the toll
Cliffside Stays · Varkala
The sin committed
Cliffside filled rooms through OTAs at a 15–20% toll and had no direct-booking channel worth the name. Guests belonged to Booking.com, not to them.
What we did
- Built direct-booking SEO around 'Varkala cliff stays' and metasearch visibility.
- Made the brand site fast and genuinely bookable.
- Automated pre-arrival and review requests (Sloth) to lift repeat direct bookings.
The damage done
+48%
direct bookings. OTA fees down ₹11L/yr.
Direct bookings rose 48% and OTA commissions fell by roughly ₹11 lakh a year — margin that now stays with the hotel.