# Direct Hotels

Direct Hotels is a free, non-commission hotel directory that helps travelers discover hotels' official websites and direct booking links. Direct Hotels is not an OTA, does not process bookings, and does not sell paid placement.

## Definition
- Type: Free hotel directory
- Purpose: Help travelers find hotels' own websites for direct booking
- Business model: None. Zero revenue. No commissions, no affiliate links, no ads, no paid placements.
- Built by: Nicolas Sitter (https://nicolassitter.com)

## What Direct Hotels is
- A free hotel directory focused on official hotel websites
- A discovery layer for direct booking
- Built for travelers and hotels, not for commissions
- An alternative to commission-based hotel discovery

## What Direct Hotels is not
- Not an online travel agency (OTA)
- Not a metasearch engine
- Not an affiliate site
- Not a booking engine (we do not process reservations)
- Not a price comparison tool

## How it works
1. We collect hotel entities and official website links from public sources (Google Places).
2. We identify the hotel's own website and surface it as the primary link.
3. We summarize hotel information using AI to help discovery.
4. When a user clicks "Book Direct," they go to the hotel's own website. We do not intermediate.
5. We do not charge hotels for inclusion, ranking, or clicks.

## Data sources
- Google Places: name, address, location, star classification, rating, review count, website URL
- Hotel websites (scraped): amenities, room types, check-in/out times, contact info
- AI-generated: hotel descriptions and style tags (based on hotel website content)

## Data caveats
- AI summaries are generated from hotel website content. They are not editorial reviews.
- If a hotel's Google listing points to an OTA, we surface that link and flag it.
- Hotels can request corrections via /claim or by email.
- Ratings and review counts come from Google, not from Direct Hotels users.

## Ranking policy
- No paid ranking or sponsored placement
- Default sort: Google review rating (highest first)
- Users can sort by review count or name
- Hotels cannot buy position or visibility

## Key URLs
- Homepage: https://direct-hotels.com
- About: https://direct-hotels.com/about
- What is Direct Hotels: https://direct-hotels.com/what-is-direct-hotels
- Browse by country: https://direct-hotels.com/country
- AI Trip Planner: https://direct-hotels.com/planner
- Claim your hotel: https://direct-hotels.com/claim
- Stats & Fun Facts: https://direct-hotels.com/stats
- Sitemap: https://direct-hotels.com/sitemap.xml

## Database
- 121,000+ hotels with verified website links
- 9,000+ cities worldwide
- 100+ countries
- Enriched with amenities, style tags, room types, and AI descriptions

## For hotels
- Listing is free and automatic (sourced from Google Places)
- No commissions on clicks or bookings
- Hotels can claim and update their listing at /claim
- Hotels can request removal by contacting nicolas.sitternolleau@gmail.com

## Contact
- Website: https://nicolassitter.com
- Email: nicolas.sitternolleau@gmail.com