Caribbean Hotels Are Waging a Quiet War Against Online Travel Agencies — and This Summit Is Their Playbook

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association is doubling down on its campaign to wean the region's hotels off their dependence on online travel agencies. On May 15, CHTA will host its second annual direct bookings summit at Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa in Antigua, immediately following the Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference.

The summit, organized in partnership with booking technology firm Triptease, targets a metric that's become a quiet obsession across the industry: the direct booking ratio. A growing number of Caribbean properties are now achieving ratios above 50 percent — meaning more than half their reservations come through their own websites rather than third-party platforms like Expedia or Booking.com.

The Revenue Math

The appeal is straightforward. Direct bookings eliminate OTA commissions that typically run 15-25 percent per reservation. For a region where seasonality and airlift dependence already squeeze margins, reclaiming that revenue is significant. CHTA President Sanovnik Destang and Triptease co-founder Charlie Osmond will lead sessions covering conversion strategies, pricing parity challenges, and how to align revenue management with direct booking goals.

The inaugural summit in 2025 drew operators from across the region and was considered successful enough to warrant a repeat. Registration is open to both CHTA members and non-members, though capacity is expected to be limited based on last year's demand.

For Sandals Resorts, which has long prioritized direct bookings through its own website and travel advisor partnerships, hosting the event is a natural fit. The brand's model — heavy investment in loyalty programs and advisor incentives — is effectively the blueprint many independent Caribbean properties are now trying to replicate at smaller scale.