A Data-Driven Look at How External Email Marketing Is Reducing OTA Dependence in the Luxury Hospitality Sector
As the economics of luxury hospitality continue to shift, many resorts are re-evaluating their reliance on online travel agencies (OTAs). With commission rates rising and occupancy volatility increasing, resorts are exploring alternative ways to secure new guests without surrendering 20-30% of each booking to third-party platforms.
This report analyzes 2025 performance data from a range of luxury properties across North America, Mexico and the Caribbean to understand how external email marketing outreach to new, previously unengaged travelers has become an effective acquisition channel — particularly for reducing OTA dependence and improving direct-booking profitability.
This analysis does not focus on traditional “loyalty database” marketing. Instead, it examines the impact of email campaigns that reach entirely new, non-customer audiences with strong travel intent.
1. Background: Rising OTA Costs, Rising Pressure on Profitability
OTAs remain a dominant source of bookings for many resorts, but their financial impact is increasingly difficult to ignore.
2025 OTA Commission Snapshot
- Typical commission range: 20–30%
- Higher for premium placements or “accelerator” visibility
- Larger properties often pay six-figure annual totals
- OTA guests typically have lower long-term value and limited brand loyalty
In a competitive environment with rising labor, insurance, and operating expenses, resorts are beginning to scrutinize every cost center — and OTA commissions are emerging as a top concern.
This has led luxury properties to investigate new direct-acquisition channels that do not rely on past-guest databases.
2. The Emergence of External Targeted Email as a Viable Acquisition Channel
The most significant development observed in the past 18 months is the use of external email marketing lists — composed of high-income, high-intent travelers — to generate new direct bookings at a lower cost than OTAs.
Why this approach is gaining traction:
- Resorts can reach travelers who have never engaged with the property before
- Email allows controlled, measurable, direct-to-consumer communication
- The cost of acquisition is significantly lower than OTA commissions
- Campaigns drive users directly into the resort’s booking engine
- Resorts own the guest relationship from the first interaction
External email outreach essentially creates a new top-of-funnel acquisition layer that resorts previously lacked access to.
3. Performance Benchmarks for Email Campaigns Reaching NEW Travelers
The report analyzed first-touch email performance targeting non-customer audiences across various regions and property types.
2025 Benchmark Metrics
- Open Rates: 18–36%
- Click-Through Rates: 8.1–15.3%
- Average Conversion to Booking: 2.8–5.4%
- Average Cost per Acquired Booking (CPAB): $42–$85
- Average Length of Stay: Comparable to OTA guests
- Room category mix: Often slightly higher than OTA bookings
These numbers indicate that email is functioning as a legitimate acquisition channel, not simply a retention or loyalty tool.
4. Cost Comparison: Email Acquisition vs. OTA Acquisition
A primary focus of this study was determining whether external email campaigns could realistically reduce OTA commission exposure.
Cost of First-Time Guest Acquisition (2025)
- OTA commission cost per booking: $275–$640
- External email marketing cost per booking: $42–$85
- Cost difference: Email acquisition is 5× to 15× less expensive
Importantly, while OTAs charge for every booking, email-based acquisition costs remain constant regardless of room type, length of stay, or seasonal ADR fluctuations.
This creates a compounding benefit:
Every direct booking obtained via email reduces:
- commission payments
- incentive fees
- OTA reliance
- guest anonymity
Even modest shifts — such as diverting 8–12% of first-time bookings from OTAs to direct channels — can create substantial annual savings.
5. What Types of Travelers Respond Best to External Email Outreach?
The study found strong performance among several specific traveler segments.
High-performing segments include:
- Travelers with HHI $150k–$450k
- Couples and families booking 4–7 night stays
- Travelers in cold-weather northern states
- Wellness- and experience-driven travelers
- High-frequency vacationers (3–6 trips per year)
These audiences demonstrated higher-than-expected interest in:
- seasonal packages
- experiential offerings
- culinary events
- spa/wellness programming
- shoulder-season deals
This suggests a strong alignment between luxury resort offerings and the expectations of affluent travelers receiving email outreach.
6. Seasonal and Holiday Performance: Strongest Periods for New-Guest Acquisition
External email campaigns showed the highest conversion rates during peak travel planning periods.
Top Performing Windows
- Late October–early December
- January “reset/escape winter” period
- Spring break planning (mid February–mid March)
- Early summer family planning (late April–May)
Across these windows, campaigns to non-customers generated a 55% increase in first-time bookings YOY, indicating that external email performs particularly well when travelers are in active planning phases.
7. Impact on OTA Dependence
Perhaps the most significant finding of the report is the measurable shift away from OTA reliance when external email campaigns are deployed consistently.
Observed Impact Across Luxury Resorts
- 12–43% reduction in OTA bookings over 6–12 months
- Direct bookings increased proportionally
- OTA spend as a percentage of revenue declined
- Resorts reported more predictable and controllable acquisition costs
- Growing first-party databases further decreased future OTA reliance
Importantly, this shift did not reduce occupancy — it merely redistributed where bookings originated.
8. Long-Term Strategic Implications for Luxury Resorts
The data suggests several industry-wide implications:
1. Resorts are beginning to diversify acquisition channels.
External email is functioning as a scalable new-customer pipeline previously dominated by OTAs.
2. First-time guests acquired through email become second-time guests through the resort’s own channels.
This increases lifetime value and reduces future OTA exposure.
3. Email is emerging as one of the most cost-efficient marketing channels for high-end properties.
Unlike PPC or metasearch, costs do not escalate with demand.
4. Properties with strong branding and unique experiences outperform in email acquisition.
Creative quality and message clarity play a significant role.
Conclusion
The 2025 Luxury Resort Email Marketing Benchmark Report shows a clear evolution in how luxury hospitality brands acquire new guests. External email marketing has matured into a measurable, cost-effective channel that enables resorts to:
- reach new audiences
- generate direct bookings
- reduce OTA commission exposure
- strengthen first-party data assets
- build long-term guest relationships from the very first stay
As the luxury hospitality sector continues to navigate rising costs and changing traveler expectations, email-based new-customer acquisition is becoming a powerful complement — and in some cases, an alternative — to OTA-driven demand.
Americas Great Resorts supported participating resorts by deploying targeted email campaigns to non-customer audiences—specifically, households with strong travel intent and luxury-property affinity. Traffic and booking performance from these campaigns were measured to evaluate new-guest acquisition efficiency and the resulting reduction in OTA reliance.
