# Solutions The solution to the challenges facing the short-term rental industry lies in direct bookings—where guests can book directly with property owners or managers, eliminating the need for costly intermediaries like OTAs. As long as platforms control the terms and conditions of bookings, travelers will continue to face inflated prices, while vacation rental operators earn less profit and have less control over their bookings. Direct bookings offer a better alternative for both travelers and operators by removing the middleman and lowering costs. In recent years, the desire for direct bookings has surged. Between 2016 and 2021, direct bookings increased from just 2.29% of all short-term rental bookings to 21.75%, a staggering +900% rise. This growth reflects the rising demand from travelers to book directly with operators, avoiding high OTA fees. This trend aligns with innovations in web3 technology, which shares a core principle of decentralization and ownership. We believe the "book direct" movement is inherently a web3 movement, and Dtravel is leading the charge by making direct bookings more accessible and beneficial for travelers and short-term rental operators alike. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.dtravel.com/papers/dtravel-litepaper/solutions.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.