The net rate is what lands in the hotel's account once an OTA has taken its commission. If a guest pays 100 for a room booked through a platform charging 18%, the hotel's net rate on that stay is 82. It is the number that matters for revenue, as opposed to the headline rate the guest sees.
On a direct booking there is no commission to subtract, so the net rate and the rate the guest pays are the same. That gap — between the gross rate and the net rate on an OTA booking — is exactly the value a direct channel recovers.
Why it matters for direct booking
Comparing net rates is how an owner sees the real cost of each channel. A direct booking's net rate is the full rate; an OTA booking's net rate is the rate minus commission. Shifting bookings to the channel with the higher net rate is the whole point of a direct booking website.