Say you ran a 12-room B&B in Friesland: what would we do?
Sample scenario, not a real client. The profiles and numbers are realistically chosen based on what we see in the market, but fictional.
A Frisian B&B with 12 rooms and revenue of around 280,000 euros a year. Running well, loyal guests, a great location. And yet: nearly three-quarters of bookings go through Booking.com and other OTAs (Online Travel Agencies, the big booking sites like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb). This scenario is more common than you'd think. Here's what we'd do if this were our B&B.
The situation
Say it's a B&B in a Frisian village, 20 minutes from Leeuwarden. Twelve rooms, open from April, high season is July and August. The average daily rate (ADR: the average revenue per rented room per night) is 110 euros including breakfast. Occupancy rate averages 59 percent across the year, and 88 percent during high season.
Revenue breakdown:
- Total room revenue per year: approximately 280,000 euros
- Channel split: 72 percent OTA (Booking.com, Expedia), 23 percent phone and email direct, 5 percent own website
That means roughly 201,600 euros of the 280,000 euros comes in through OTAs. The B&B pays commission on that revenue. Booking.com charges 15 percent standard, though that can climb to 20 percent depending on settings and the visibility programs you're enrolled in.
At 15 percent commission on 201,600 euros, that's 30,240 euros a year in commission. On average 2,520 euros per month, though the weekly amount during high season is much higher.
That amount isn't the problem on its own: OTAs are a storefront, and that storefront has value. The problem is that there's barely any owned channel built up to catch that traffic.
The diagnosis
Looking at this B&B on day one, four things stand out immediately.
1. The Google Business Profile is half filled out
Google Business Profile (GBP) is your free listing in Google and Maps, the map result that shows up when someone searches "B&B Friesland" or "stay in [village name]." In this scenario there are 24 reviews averaging 3.9 stars. No replies to reviews. Hours not updated since the winter closure. No photos of the rooms this season. No direct booking link.
A profile with 3.9 stars and no responses reads as neglected, even though the guests who do come are enthusiastic. That's fixable.
2. No mailing list
No email addresses have been collected from previous guests. That means every guest who comes through Booking.com books through Booking.com again next time, and you pay commission on it again. You're building Booking.com's relationship with your guest, not your own.
3. The booking module on the owner's own site is outdated
The website does have a booking button, but it links out to an external form that doesn't work on mobile and shows no live availability calendar. Guests who want to book directly drop off here. They go to Booking.com because it's easier.
4. No price incentive on the owner's own site
Since September 2024, the EU rate parity clause for hotels and accommodations has been banned. That clause used to require that you not be cheaper on your own site than on Booking.com. That's now allowed. But the B&B isn't using that room to maneuver. There's no visible reason for a visitor to book direct.
The 90-day plan
Here's what we'd do, in order of impact and feasibility.
Week 1-2: Google Business Profile and reviews
This is the fastest achievable result and costs almost nothing.
- Fill out GBP completely: correct the hours, upload at least 10 new photos (rooms, breakfast room, garden, surroundings), add a booking link that goes straight to the owner's own site.
- Write replies to all 24 existing reviews. Respond to negative reviews calmly and professionally, without getting defensive. This shows you're engaged.
- Set up a review request: after every checkout, send a personal email with a direct link to the Google review form. Goal: go from 24 to at least 40 reviews within 60 days, averaging above 4.2.
A better GBP profile improves your visibility in Google Maps and local search results, with no ad budget required.
Week 3-4: Build a mailing list
- Opt-in at check-in or checkout: ask guests if they want to receive your newsletter. Not pushy, but concrete: "I'll send you a heads-up if we have an early-booking discount or something special happening in the area."
- Opt-in on the website: a simple form at the top of the page, or a pop-up after 30 seconds. Incentive: a small discount or early-booking rate that only applies to direct guests.
- Clean up existing contacts: merge every email address you have from previous direct bookings into one list. That's your starting capital.
The goal isn't a big list, it's a usable one. A hundred addresses of people who've already stayed with you is worth more than a thousand addresses of people who don't know you.
Week 5-8: Replace the booking module and set a price incentive
- Connect a new booking module that works on mobile, shows real-time availability, and enables direct payment. There are options already suited to small properties that require little technical knowledge.
- Make the direct price visible: add a label on the owner's own site like "Book direct: 5 euro discount per room per night" or an early-booking discount of 8 percent that only applies here. This is now allowed, and it gives guests a concrete reason not to go through Booking.com.
- Strip friction from the booking path: no more than two clicks between the homepage and the confirmation screen. Every extra step costs you bookings.
Week 9-12: Review automation
- Automatic review request: an email goes out automatically 24 hours after every checkout. No more manual work.
- Set up reputation monitoring: get notified the moment a new review appears, so you can respond within 48 hours.
- Evaluate GBP stats: how many people click through to your website from Google Maps? That number should be up after 8 weeks.
The model
What does a shift actually deliver? Here's a concrete breakdown based on the situation described above.
| Item | Current situation | After the shift |
|---|---|---|
| Total room revenue per year | 280,000 euros | 280,000 euros |
| Share via OTA (Booking.com, etc.) | 72 percent (201,600 euros) | 57 percent (159,600 euros) |
| Share direct | 28 percent (78,400 euros) | 43 percent (120,400 euros) |
| OTA commission (15 percent) | 30,240 euros per year | 23,940 euros per year |
| Commission savings per year | 6,300 euros | |
| Direct channel costs (module, email, discount) | 0 euros | approximately 1,500 euros per year |
| Net savings per year | approximately 4,800 euros |
This model assumes a shift of 15 percentage points: from 72 to 57 percent OTA. That's conservative. B&Bs that consistently work on direct channels often reach 50 to 60 percent OTA after two years, sometimes lower.
A shift of 25 percentage points delivers roughly 10,500 euros less commission at the same revenue, minus the cost of the direct channel: net around 9,000 euros a year.
Those aren't the kind of numbers that keep you up at night, but they're not nothing either. It's the difference between a loss and a profit on a season, or the budget for a new kitchen.
Risks and alternatives
Volume dip in month 1
If you scale back your Booking.com visibility or lower the direct price, it's possible you'll see slightly fewer bookings in the first weeks. OTA algorithms respond to your behavior: less participation in programs means less visibility. That's temporary, and it's part of the transition. Use your mailing list and Google profile during that period to keep volume steady.
What if reviews lag?
Reviews are the threshold that keeps many guests from booking direct. If your GBP profile stays under 4.0, that threshold is higher. The approach above is aimed at improving that quickly, but it requires consistency. Send that review request after every checkout, no exceptions.
Booking module set up incorrectly
A new booking module that shows the wrong prices, has payment issues, or doesn't sync with your OTA calendar is more damaging than no module at all. Take the time for the technical integration, and test on multiple devices before you go live.
Alternative: start with just GBP and reviews
If investing in a new booking module feels too big right now, it's also worthwhile to start with just steps 1 and 2. Better visibility and more reviews cost almost nothing and build trust with guests, no matter which channel they find you through.
What this would mean for you
This scenario is a thought model, not a guarantee. But it's based on patterns we see at comparable B&Bs: high OTA dependence, a Google profile that isn't maintained, and a website that's technically behind what guests expect.
The steps above aren't rocket science. They're concrete actions you can carry out over three months, one at a time, without disrupting your daily operation.
If your B&B fits this profile: run your own numbers through the savings calculator and join the waitlist for the launch. No sales pitch, no standard package. You see upfront what's in it for you.
Want to read more about how we approach this? Check the approach for B&Bs or read how we increase direct bookings in the knowledge base. Want to run the numbers yourself? Use the savings calculator to see your current commission costs.