The 3 Most Common OTA Payment Mistakes Hotels Make (and How to Fix Them)

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda are a vital part of hotel distribution strategies. They fill rooms, expand reach, and drive bookings from markets hotels might not otherwise capture. But with that reach comes a frustrating truth: OTA payments are rarely as clean and accurate as they should be.

For owners, general managers, and revenue managers, even small mistakes in OTA payments can quietly chip away at profit margins. In fact, hotels lose thousands of dollars each year simply because these errors go unnoticed.

Here are the three most common OTA payment mistakes we see—and how you can fix them.

1. Missed or Expired Virtual Credit Cards

The problem: OTAs frequently use Virtual Credit Cards (VCCs) to pay hotels. Each card has specific activation and expiration dates. If a hotel misses the charging window—or doesn’t realize a card has expired—that revenue may never hit the property’s account.

The fix: Build a system to track VCC activation and expiration timelines. Double-check each reservation against the OTA’s reporting. For multi-property operators, this gets complicated fast, which is why outsourcing audits to specialists can save time and recover dollars you didn’t know were lost.

2. Incorrect Commission Deductions

The problem: Commission structures vary across OTAs and sometimes even within the same OTA, depending on promotions or special rates. Hotels often discover that the commission deducted is higher than what was agreed upon, but by then the payment is already processed.

The fix: Reconcile OTA commission deductions against your contract terms every month. If the numbers don’t match, dispute them quickly before they’re buried in the next cycle. Many hotels simply don’t have the bandwidth for this, which is why commissions remain one of the top sources of uncollected revenue.

3. Rate Discrepancies Between Bookings and Payments

The problem: The guest books one rate, but the payment attached to the VCC shows another. Sometimes it’s a discount the OTA applied, sometimes a currency conversion, and sometimes just a flat-out error. These discrepancies are often overlooked in daily operations.

The fix: Audit OTA reservations against your PMS or CRS records to make sure the paid amount matches the booked amount. Even small differences add up quickly across hundreds of bookings.

Why These Mistakes Matter

Individually, these errors might look minor. But across multiple bookings, days, and properties, they can easily total thousands of dollars per year, per hotel. In an industry where margins are already squeezed by rising costs, leaving money on the table isn’t an option.

How SOARR Helps

At SOARR Services, we specialize in finding and fixing these exact issues. Our auditing process uncovers missed VCCs, overcharged commissions, and rate discrepancies, then works with OTAs to recover what hotels are rightfully owed. On average, hotels see $6,200 recovered per property—without lifting a finger.

No extra workload for your staff. No upfront cost. Just money back where it belongs: in your hotel’s bank account.

Final Thought: OTA partnerships are here to stay, but the payment challenges don’t have to be. By recognizing these common mistakes—and letting experts audit your OTA revenue—you can protect your margins and maximize your profits.