Guides / Hotels
OTA commission calculator: how much does Booking.com really take?
The commission is only the start. What you keep from an OTA booking against a direct one, and what that gap is worth a year.
Skip the reading. The tool does this maths for you, free, as you type.
Compare a booking on both channelsAn OTA booking arrives with the commission already gone, then the card fee comes off, then the OTA's own discount programme you opted into two years ago. A direct booking has its own small cost: the booking engine, the share of your ads, the email you answered. The honest comparison is net against net.
The formula
OTA net = rate × nights × (1 − commission) × (1 − card fee). Direct net = rate × nights × (1 − card fee) − cost of a direct booking. The difference, times the OTA bookings you take in a month, is what the channel costs you.
What a good number looks like
A fair fee for a guest you would not otherwise have met.
Normal for the big OTAs. Worth moving repeat guests to direct.
A stacked discount or a premium placement is eating the room. Switch something off.
What to do about it
- Never try to leave the OTAs. Try to move a quarter of the repeat guests to direct: that is where the money is.
- Put a reason to book direct on the confirmation letter, not on the website.
- Check the extranet quarterly for programmes you no longer need.
Now do it with your numbers.
Free, no account, saved on your device. The verdict comes back while you type.
Compare a booking on both channels