Commissions & fees
How to reduce OTA commission: 9 ways to keep more of every booking
Every booking through an OTA costs you money. These nine tactics move guests to your own channel, step by step.
Updated 30 June 2026 · 7 min read
Key takeaways
- ✓Booking.com charges 10-25% commission; Airbnb around 15.5%. Direct bookings cost only the card processing fee of roughly 1.5% plus 20p per transaction.
- ✓A direct-booking website is the single highest-impact change you can make, because it gives guests a trusted place to book and removes the OTA entirely.
- ✓Small low-cost tactics, such as a room card with a QR code and a post-stay follow-up email, compound over time into a reliable stream of direct repeat business.
- ✓Encouraging guests to search for your property name, and claiming your Google Business Profile, means OTAs lose their grip on guests who already know you.
- ✓You do not need to abandon OTAs immediately. The goal is to shift the balance so direct bookings grow while OTA dependency shrinks.
If you run a B&B, guesthouse or small Airbnb, the platforms have a useful job: they fill empty rooms, especially early on. But that service comes at a price. Booking.com charges 10-25% commission depending on your property type and visibility settings. Airbnb's combined host and guest fees work out to around 15.5% of the booking value. Across a season, that adds up to thousands of pounds leaving your pocket. The good news is that every one of those guests was, at some point, a real person who slept in your bed and ate your breakfast. This guide covers nine practical ways to shift more of those people to a direct channel so you keep the commission yourself.
15%
Booking.com average commission (can reach 25%)
15.5%
Airbnb combined host + guest fee
~1.5% + 20p
Typical card fee for a direct booking
£0
Platform commission on a direct booking
The table below makes the maths concrete. On a £120 room night, the difference between OTA and direct is striking.
| Channel | Commission / fee | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| Booking.com (15%) | £18.00 | £102.00 |
| Airbnb (~15.5%) | £18.60 | £101.40 |
| Direct (card fee only) | ~£2.00 | ~£118.00 |
| Direct (bank transfer / cash) | £0 | £120.00 |
What you keep from a £120 room night
9 ways to reduce OTA commission
1. Build a direct-booking website
This is the foundational move. Without a bookable website of your own, every tactic below has a ceiling: guests who want to book direct have nowhere to go. A direct-booking website on your own domain, with a booking calendar and online payments, gives guests a credible alternative to the OTA. Payments go straight to your bank account. You own the guest relationship from the first click. Many hosts assume building and hosting a site is expensive or complicated, but it does not have to be.
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Build my free preview →2. Capture guest email addresses at check-in
An OTA books the guest; you get the stay. They keep the email address. Politely collect it yourself at check-in, on your welcome card, or through a simple guest registration form. Be clear that you will only use it to send the receipt or to share offers for their next visit. GDPR applies: give guests an easy opt-out. Once you have the address, you have a direct line to a warm contact who already knows your property.
3. Offer a best-rate guarantee or small perk for booking direct
Many OTA contracts include rate-parity clauses that prevent you from advertising a cheaper price elsewhere. Check yours carefully. Where your contract allows it, you can offer the same rate with an added perk: free early check-in, a welcome drink, a later checkout, or a room upgrade if availability allows. These cost you very little but give the guest a reason to bypass the OTA next time. Even a handwritten note in the room saying 'Book direct for a complimentary glass of wine next time' plants the idea.
4. Put a business card or QR code in every room
A small printed card beside the kettle, in the welcome folder, or propped on the dressing table is one of the cheapest marketing tools available. Include your property name, your direct booking website URL, and a QR code that links straight to your availability calendar. Guests notice it while they are relaxed and happy. If they enjoyed the stay, many will bookmark it for their next trip.
5. Send a follow-up message after checkout
Thank guests personally for their stay and mention that they are welcome to book direct next time for the best rate or a small thank-you perk. Include a link to your website. Keep it short and warm, not salesy. Most OTAs send a review request from their platform; your follow-up email from your own address sits alongside it and reinforces your direct channel without competing with a platform's marketing budget.
6. Encourage reviews that mention your property name
When guests leave reviews on Google, TripAdvisor or Booking.com that mention your property name, they create searchable content that helps future guests find you directly. A guest who searches for 'The Old Dairy B&B Dorset' after seeing you on Booking.com is one booking away from going direct. Ask guests to mention the name of the property in their review. It is a small request that pays off in organic search visibility over time.
7. Claim and optimise your Google Business Profile
A verified Google Business Profile puts your property on Google Maps and in the local search panel. When guests search for your name, your own listing appears with your direct booking link, phone number and photos, before the OTA listing. It is free, takes under an hour to set up, and is one of the most effective ways to intercept guests who already know you. Add photos, update your hours, and reply to Google reviews to keep the profile active.
Real impact: shifting 30% of bookings to direct
A 5-room B&B taking £50,000 in annual revenue through Booking.com at 15% commission pays £7,500 a year in fees. Shifting just 30% of that to direct reduces the bill to £5,250 and saves £2,250 without a single extra booking. At 50% direct, the saving exceeds £3,750 per year.
8. Ask repeat guests to book direct next time
Repeat guests are your most valuable segment. They already trust you, they know your property and they are the most likely to respond positively to a direct booking request. When a guest books a second time through an OTA, send a friendly message explaining that you offer direct booking and that it saves you the platform fee. Most guests who like a property are happy to help when it is framed that way. Getting direct bookings from repeat guests is the easiest conversion you will ever make.
9. Avoid paying for optional visibility boosters
Booking.com and Airbnb both offer paid programmes that raise your visibility in return for a higher commission or a fee. Booking.com's Preferred Partner and Genius programmes can push your effective commission above 20%. Airbnb's promotions and discounts can erode your margin further. Review what you have opted into and model whether the extra bookings outweigh the cost. For many properties, the same energy directed at direct channel growth delivers a better return than paying the platform for prominence.
Reducing OTA commission is not a single action: it is a series of small shifts that compound over months. The comparison of booking platform commissions shows how the major OTAs stack up side by side if you want to review your current arrangement before making changes.
Where to start
- 1Check which OTA contracts you are currently on and note your current commission rate and any parity clauses.
- 2Claim your Google Business Profile if you have not already done so.
- 3Order a small run of room cards with your website URL and a QR code.
- 4Start collecting guest email addresses at check-in.
- 5Build or commission a direct-booking website so guests have somewhere credible to go.
The order matters. Steps one to four are near-free and can be done this week. Step five is the multiplier that makes all the others work harder. Without a bookable website, you are directing guests to a dead end.
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See how it works →Frequently asked questions
Can I legally advertise a lower price on my own website than on Booking.com?+
It depends on your contract. Many Booking.com agreements include a rate-parity clause that requires you to match your OTA price on other channels. Check your current contract terms. Even where parity applies, you can offer non-monetary perks (early check-in, a welcome drink) to incentivise direct bookings without technically undercutting the OTA rate.
How much does a direct booking actually cost compared to an OTA booking?+
A direct booking taken online costs roughly 1.5% of the transaction value plus 20p per payment in card processing fees, using a standard provider such as Stripe. Compare that to 15-25% on Booking.com or around 15.5% with Airbnb. On a £120 room night you keep approximately £118 direct versus around £102 through an OTA.
Do I need to leave the OTAs to make this work?+
No. Most hosts find it more practical to keep their OTA listings active while growing their direct channel in parallel. OTAs provide useful exposure to first-time bookers. The goal is to shift returning guests and those who find you by name to your direct channel, reducing your overall commission bill without losing the top-of-funnel benefit the platforms provide.
What is the fastest way to start getting direct bookings?+
Claim your Google Business Profile and add a direct booking link. This intercepts guests who search for your property name and costs nothing. Alongside that, put a room card with your website URL and a QR code in each room so in-stay guests know how to find you next time. Both steps can be done within a day and begin working immediately.
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