Free tool
What does commission cost you in a year?
Put in your rooms, price and how full you are. See what booking sites take each year, and what you would keep by moving some of those guests to book with you.
Commission paid a year
£21,353
- Nights sold a year
- 2,373
- Of those, through booking sites
- 1,424
- Booking-site revenue
- £142,350
Kept by moving 10% to direct
£1,851 a year
142 nights, each keeping £13 after the card fee.
Our websites cost £150 to set up and from £29 a month. At these numbers, the first year is covered by about 39 direct nights.
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How the calculator works
It uses five sums, and nothing is sent anywhere: everything is worked out on your device.
- Nights sold = rooms × 365 × how full you are.
- Booking-site nights = nights sold × the share sold through booking sites.
- Commission = booking-site nights × average price × commission rate.
- Kept per night moved = the commission on one night, minus the card fee on that night.
- Kept a year = booking-site nights × the share you move × kept per night.
The starting figures are a ten-room guesthouse from our article How much does Booking.com really cost a small hotel?: 10 rooms at £100, 65% full, 60% of nights through booking sites at15% commission. That comes to £21,353 a year in commission.
What the calculator leaves out
- Commission on VAT and fees. Booking.com charges commission on the total booking, including cleaning and cancellation fees and, in most countries, VAT. If your price excludes these, your real figure is higher.
- Discount programmes. Genius and similar discounts come out of your price. Raise the commission rate to allow for them.
- The cost of winning direct guests. A website, a booking engine and your time all cost something. Set them against what you keep.
Questions owners ask
What commission do booking sites charge hotels?
It depends on the site, your country and your contract. Booking.com sets the percentage in the agreement you sign and shows it in the Finance tab of its Extranet. Put your own rate in the calculator; 15% is only the starting example.
Does this include Genius discounts and Preferred Partner?
No. The calculator uses one commission rate. Genius discounts lower the price the guest pays, and Preferred Partner raises the commission, so if you use them your real cost is higher. Raise the commission figure to allow for them.
Why is there a card fee on direct bookings?
A direct booking is not free. Taking a card payment costs a small percentage, for example 1.5% plus 20p on a standard UK card with Stripe. The calculator takes 2% by default to cover a mix of cards.
How many guests can a small property move to direct booking?
It varies too much for one figure. Repeat guests, people who find you on Google Maps and groups are the easiest to move. One booking-site night in ten is a modest target to start with, and the slider lets you try others.