Levels Targets Hotel Direct Bookings From Kilkenny Base

By Marcus Bennett

Levels, a Kilkenny hotel-data platform launched by Shane Doherty and Micheál Dunne, is already working with 21 hotels and has secured investment from Enterprise Ireland.

Doherty, from Glenmore, officially launched the venture with Dunne at the River Court Hotel in Kilkenny. The business seeks to give independent hotels greater control over pricing and reduce their reliance on online booking platforms. Its data analytics are intended to maximize revenue and attract more direct bookings.

The pitch depends on one operating variable: how much revenue a hotel keeps after distribution costs. That figure remains unknown because the announcement gives no hotel-level results.

Why are online booking platforms the target?

Levels is moving against a channel that dominates global hotel distribution, with paid intermediaries sitting between independent hotels and potential guests who have not yet reserved. Doherty said online travel agencies “account for around 63 per cent of hotel bookings globally,” according to his own estimate of the size of the global market. Booking.com, one of the platforms cited, charges commissions of between 15 and 25 per cent.

A commission of 15 to 25 per cent can reduce the revenue retained from each online booking before other operating costs. That pressure transmits directly into property margins and makes distribution a material operating issue for independent hotels.

The stated mechanism is better pricing and more direct bookings. Yet the announcement does not show how rates, occupancy, or commission exposure changed at any participating property. Nor does it establish whether its pricing tools merely recommend rates or connect automatically to booking channels.

What does Levels replace, and who pays?

Levels uses data analytics to help hotels maximize revenue and attract more direct bookings. The announcement does not describe a replacement for property-management systems, booking engines, or front-desk operations. Nor does it identify a new guest checkout process or an automated service.

Most importantly, the announcement does not state whether hotels pay a subscription, transaction fee, performance fee, or another charge. That omission prevents a clean calculation of operator savings from the commission data. Avoiding an OTA commission of 15 to 25 per cent does not equal net margin improvement if the technology cost is high or if bookings merely move between intermediaries. The savings claim remains unquantified across the 21 participating hotels.

What does the 21-hotel base prove?

Levels already works with 21 hotels, giving the platform a measurable commercial base. The announcement names none of those properties or reports their performance against a pre-launch baseline. It provides no room count, average room rate, occupancy level, direct-booking share, or gross-margin figure.

Without those baselines, neither the revenue effect nor the labor effect can be measured. The announcement also does not claim labor savings, identify staff deployment, or quantify the time required to use the platform. Revenue management and labor productivity are separate economics, and only the former appears in the pitch. For operators, the relevant question is not whether 21 hotels participate, but whether the service produces durable savings after its own fees and implementation costs.

Who is behind the venture?

Shane Doherty, an entrepreneur from Glenmore, launched Levels with business partner Micheál Dunne. The official launch occurred at the River Court Hotel in Kilkenny. Enterprise Ireland has invested in the business, although the announcement discloses no amount, instrument, ownership percentage, or commercial conditions.

The launch venue does not establish that River Court owns the platform or participates as a customer. The announcement also gives no revenue, booking volume, or profitability for Levels. Doherty discussed the business and its international ambition with KCLR News’ Martin Quilty, while confirming that Levels will maintain its core operational base in Kilkenny. The announcement provides no country targets, customer pipeline, or expansion budget. International ambition therefore remains a plan rather than a timetable.

Can the model prove its economics?

Levels enters the market with a clear proposition: independent hotels can use data analytics to improve pricing, increase direct bookings, and reduce reliance on online travel agencies. The surrounding economics are equally clear, based on the founder’s market figures and Booking.com’s stated commission range. The founder estimates that OTAs account for around 63 per cent of global bookings, while Booking.com charges 15 to 25 per cent in commission.

What is missing is proof at property level. Neither the 21-hotel deployment nor Enterprise Ireland backing provides published results on rates, occupancy, commissions, labor, or margin. Hotel operators should treat the platform as a revenue-management experiment until disclosed fees and verified savings make the return calculable. If Levels can document gains across its 21 hotels, preserve the Kilkenny base, and earn international adoption, its direct-booking proposition could become a meaningful route to lower distribution costs. The next test is whether Levels can disclose property-level gains in rates, occupancy, and commission savings while converting its 21-hotel base into international demand.