How Hotels Near Religious & Spiritual Destinations Can Increase Direct Hotel Bookings

Are you losing most of your pilgrim bookings to OTAs even though your hotel sits next to a temple? You're not alone. India recorded that Maha Kumbh 2025 attracted over 660 million devotees and generated over Rs 3 lakh crore in revenue, which suggests that the volume of pilgrims in India is vast. Yet, many hotels near sacred sites still struggle to capture even a small share as direct bookings. When OTAs take 20 to 30% commission, your margin drops, your guest data disappears, and you lose the ability to plan arrival and darshan schedules for your guests. This blog provides exact details on how you can convert visitors to Religious and Spiritual Destinations into direct bookers, with examples and city-level details of Ayodhya, Vrindavan, Rameshwaram, and Ujjain.

Why Direct Bookings Matter?

Shraddha Joshi, Head of Growth and Marketing at Dhan, explains why religious tourism represents a massive growth opportunity. She also highlights the kinds of services pilgrims receive in exchange for a gigantic sum of money.

Also shared key data from the Ministry of Tourism, she noted that religious tourism attracted 1,439 million visitors in 2022, generating ₹1.34 lakh crore in revenue that year. The sector is projected to reach $59 billion in revenue by 2028 and create 140 million temporary and permanent jobs by 2030. This shows that there are endless opportunities for hotels near pilgrimages. All they have to do is improve the guest experience and enjoy the benefits. So what's stopping them? It's actually the commission they have to pay to get even one customer, and on top of that, OTAs don’t allow you to access guest data, which further prevents you from offering personalized offers. Considering all these factors, we think we need to move away from the OTAs' trap, as they charge high commissions on each booking, which could be used to offer add-ons like complimentary breakfast and other benefits, thereby building a better relationship with our clients and bringing repeat business.

13 Ways to Increase Direct Bookings for Pilgrim Hotels