Booking.com commission calculated per night

A 120 euro booking via Booking.com costs you 18 euros at 15 percent commission, and already 24 euros at 20 percent. That seems small per night, but over a year it adds up to one of your biggest fixed costs.

The problem

Booking.com brings guests you wouldn't have reached yourself. You pay for that, and in itself that's logical. The problem starts once you no longer know exactly how much you're paying and what you're paying on.

Most owners of small accommodations know their commission percentage approximately, but rarely to the euro. Yet the difference between 15 and 22 percent over a year is easily thousands of euros. And that percentage isn't fixed: it rises as soon as you participate in extra visibility programs.

In the Netherlands, the base commission typically sits around 15 percent of the amount the guest pays, including VAT. Often added to that:

• Preferred Partner program: a few percentage points extra commission in exchange for a higher position in search results.
• Genius discounts: you give the guest 10 to 20 percent off, yet still pay commission on the original amount.
• Visibility Booster: a temporary commission increase to reach the top on busy dates.

Stack those up, and you're paying effectively 20 to 25 percent. On a 120 euro booking that's 24 to 30 euros not reaching you. And commission is only part of the story: in the total Booking.com costs calculated you'll also see hidden items like payment fees, no-shows, and the time you lose managing it all.

Calculation example

Grab your own numbers. Say you have 6 rooms, do 60 bookings per month via Booking.com, with an average booking value of 120 euros and a commission of 15 percent.

A B&B with 6 rooms, 60 bookings per month via Booking.com:

At 20 percent commission this becomes 17,280 euros per year. So a 5 percentage point difference costs you over 4,300 euros.

See what's happening? The commission per night is manageable, but over a year you pay the equivalent of a significant portion of your fixed costs to a platform. And it repeats every year.

For comparison, here's how the amounts add up at different percentages on those same 60 bookings of 120 euros:

Step-by-step plan

Before you change anything, you want to know exactly where you stand. Four steps.

1. Look up your actual percentage. Log into the Booking.com extranet, go to Finances and check your last invoice. There you'll find the amount you paid and the booking value it was calculated on. Divide one by the other and you have your effective commission, including all surcharges.
2. Calculate your annual amount. Multiply your average commission per booking by the number of bookings per year. This is your starting point.
3. Determine your direct margin. A direct booking isn't free: you pay for a booking module and a payment provider. Count on 1.5 to 3 percent for payment processing plus a fixed monthly amount for software. What you save on commission minus those costs is your profit per direct booking.
4. Choose a realistic shift target. Nobody goes from 80 percent platform to 80 percent direct. But shifting 15 to 25 percent of your bookings to direct is achievable for most accommodations within a year.

What a shift delivers

Back to the example: 60 bookings per month, 120 euros, 15 percent commission. Say you shift 20 percent of those bookings to your own site. That's 12 bookings per month, 144 per year.

• Commission saved: 144 bookings x 18 euros = 2,592 euros per year.
• Cost of direct handling: roughly 2.5 percent payment fees on 144 x 120 euros = 432 euros, plus say 240 euros software per year = 672 euros.
• Net benefit: around 1,920 euros per year, year after year.

And that's at a cautious 20 percent. Shift a third and the benefit climbs toward 3,000 euros. The nice part is the benefit keeps returning, while the investment in your own booking system is one-time. Want to tackle this not as loose savings but as a structural step? The step-by-step plan to become less dependent on Booking.com helps you map out the shift over a year.

What to do with the saved commission

That 1,920 euros per year from the example is no abstract number. It's money you're currently handing over that you'll use yourself. A few concrete destinations, in order of return:

• Pay for your own booking system. A decent booking module plus payment provider costs roughly 240 to 600 euros per year. The saved commission covers that comfortably, so the shift pays for itself.
• Give the guest a reason to book direct. Set aside 5 euros per direct booking for a welcome drink or late checkout. At 144 direct bookings that's 720 euros, and it increases your repeat bookings.
• Visibility of your own site. Investing part of it in better photos or a faster site pays back as more guests find you directly.

The common thread: every euro of OTA commission you win back, you can reinvest in direct bookings that save again next year. The full roadmap for that approach is in the hub on direct bookings.

Common mistakes

• Underestimating the percentage. Many owners calculate with base commission and forget Genius and Preferred. Always work with your real, effective percentage.
• Not making direct booking attractive. If your own site has exactly the same price and terms as Booking, the guest has no reason to switch. Give a small benefit: free cancellation, a drink on arrival, or a couple euros off.
• Treating commission as lost. The platform delivers reach. The goal isn't to scrap Booking, but to get guests you met via Booking to come back directly next time.
• Not having a working booking button. A direct booking discount is pointless if the guest can't book and pay instantly on your own site.

What you can do now

You now know your real commission and what a shift delivers. The next step is an own site where guests book as easily as on the platform.

First choose the system that fits you in booking module comparison: the options weighed, and check whether you need a channel manager for that. Want to run the numbers for your own situation right away? Use the savings calculator. And if you'd rather have someone set it up for you, look at marketing for hotels.