What does Booking.com actually cost you?

Find your own number first

There is no point reading an average when you have a real figure. Your commission is written into the accommodation agreement you signed when you joined, and it is on every monthly invoice under the finance section of their extranet.

Terms can vary by agreement and service. Include additional fees and promotional programmes so the comparison reflects what you actually pay.

Once you have your own number the rest is simple multiplication, and it is usually more uncomfortable than people expect.

What hides inside the number

Check which charges form the commission base under your agreement, including extras. Use your invoices to confirm the total.

Review cancellations and no-shows separately. Commission treatment depends on the terms, collection and how the booking is recorded.

And it is charged on the returning guest. The people who came last year, liked it, and book again through the same site are a fresh cost every time. That is the part that stings, because you already had that guest.

A worked example, with numbers you should replace

Take a guesthouse with four units, an average rate of 24.000 kr a night and sixty per cent occupancy across the year. That is roughly 876 nights sold and just under 21 million kr in revenue.

Say half of that comes through booking sites and the commission is fifteen per cent. That is about 1.58 million kr in commission in a single year. These numbers are an example to show the method, not a forecast about your business. Put your own in.

For comparison, a 199.000 kr website, 4.900 kr monthly hosting and 19.900 kr monthly booking software total 496.600 kr in year one, ex VAT. In this example, around 32% of commission-bearing revenue would need to move to direct bookings to cover that cost. Imagery, custom work, payment fees and marketing can add costs. This is an illustration, not a quote or return guarantee.

This is why I ask you to go and get your own figure. My example proves nothing about you. Yours does.

The booking sites are still not the enemy

I tell nobody to leave Booking.com and I would not do it myself. They bring guests who would never have found you, particularly people abroad searching for the first time, and that introduction is a real service that the commission pays for.

When your own website is also an option, returning guests can choose to book directly. You then manage the request and communication in your own system.

The right balance is simple: keep the booking sites as a marketing channel for new guests, and make your own website the cheaper route for everybody else. It is the ratio that should move, not the listing that should disappear.

What it takes for guests to book direct

The price has to be on the site. A guest who sees a price on a booking site and no price on yours goes back there, because there they know what they are paying.

The guest needs to understand how booking works and when it is confirmed. With SNDR Bókun they send a request and you respond, so that process needs to be clear.

It has to work on a phone, because that is where people book. A site you have to pinch and zoom is a site guests close.

SNDR takes no commission on the booking. You collect payment directly, and payment fees may apply under your own agreement. Include those when estimating savings.

Sources and dates

• Check Booking.com’s guidance and your own agreement for commission and the charges it applies to: Booking.com for Partners, Understanding our commission ↗
• That a higher rate comes with the preferred partner programme is stated in their own description of it: Booking.com for Partners, Preferred Partner Programme ↗
• The worked example is an example and nothing more. Its numbers were chosen to show the method and do not describe any particular business.
• The prices compared against the commission are my own and match the price list at /verd. I do not publish other studios’ prices.