HOSPITALITY owners in York are joining forces with others across the UK today to spread the word about a growing problem in the industry.

#BookDirect is a social media campaign aiming to reduce the amount of hotel, guesthouse or rental bookings made via the online travel agents.

The Hospitality Community is an online Facebook Group for independent hospitality owners whose founder Mark Simpson is encouraging others to help spread the word.

He said every time a guest books through some of the big online agents, the property has to pay up to 30 per cent in commission costs to be listed on their websites.

"Now on a one-off booking, you may think that it’s not a big deal, but when you add it up over the course of all the properties in York, and you base that over a year, the costs rise.”

"What people don’t realise that independent hospitality businesses are having to raise their online costs to offset the money they lose in commission payments to these big businesses. A lot of the time the price you see on these websites are 20 per cent more than if you were to book direct."

The Hospitality Community members are going to join together today to post on their social media channels about the benefits of booking directly and encouraging everyone to join in with the hashtag #BookDirect

Mark said York businesses taking part include No.21 York, Carr House Farm, Darcy's Cottage, the Old Forge and Wood Farm B&B.