Know exactly what you're paying
Commission is usually 15–20% per booking, often more if you buy into visibility programmes — and that's before the indirect cost of OTAs bidding on your own hotel name in search. The first step is seeing the annual number for your property. The math is worth doing precisely, because the monthly deduction hides how big the yearly number is:
$150 a night × 10 OTA nights a month = $1,500 of OTA-sold revenue.
At 15% commission, that's $225 gone every month — about $2,700 a year.
At 20 OTA nights a month, the same property is giving up around $5,400 a year.
Shift just a third of those nights to direct and you keep roughly $900–1,800 of it — every year, at the same occupancy.
You usually can't negotiate it — so shift volume
For most independents the commission rate is fixed. The lever you do control is the mix: the more of your bookings that come through a channel you own, the lower your blended commission. The goal isn't zero OTAs — it's a healthy direct share.
Build the channel you own
A direct booking website is the foundation. It lets guests book with you at your rates, with no per-booking commission, and gives you somewhere to send the demand you already create through your name, your social, and your past guests.
Win the guests already looking for you
Many OTA bookings are often guests who already knew your name and just needed somewhere to book. Rank #1 for your hotel's name and make booking direct effortless, and you convert that demand without paying for it twice.
Keep repeat guests direct
A returning guest who books through the OTA again costs you commission every time. Capture guest details on direct bookings and make rebooking easy, and your best guests become a commission-free channel.
Key takeaways
- Commission is ~15–20% per booking and rarely negotiable.
- Lower your bill by growing the share of bookings you take direct.
- A direct booking website is the channel you own.
- Convert the guests already searching your name.
- Keep repeat guests booking direct, not through the OTA.
Related questions
- Can I negotiate a lower OTA commission rate?
- Most independent hotels can't move the rate much. The reliable way to reduce what you pay overall is to shift more bookings to direct channels you own.
- Is a direct booking website cheaper than OTA commission?
- A direct booking website has no per-booking commission — plans are flat — so once it's taking bookings, the revenue you'd have paid in commission stays with you. The commission calculator shows the difference for your numbers.
- Will reducing OTA reliance hurt my occupancy?
- It shouldn't — the aim is to add a direct channel and shift suitable bookings to it, not to drop OTAs. You keep OTA reach while paying commission on fewer of the bookings you could have won direct.
More guides
- How to get more direct bookings
- How to beat OTAs on your own hotel name
- Rate parity, explained
- Card payment or request-to-book?
- How WhatsApp booking works for hotels
- Will guests trust booking directly?
- Channel manager or booking website: which do you need?
- How to set room rates for your property
- How to write a hotel cancellation policy
- How to get repeat guests for your hotel
- How to write room descriptions that convert
- How to get your hotel on Google
- What a hotel booking website really costs