What a booking site actually costs you

A booking platform can be very good at introducing a guest to a property they have never heard of. It can also be an expensive way for a returning guest to book the place they had already decided to visit.

Those are two different jobs. A sensible direct-booking plan separates them before anybody quotes for a new website.

Ask which guests discovered the property through the platform and which already knew it. Then find out whether the second group had a practical reason to avoid booking direct.

Start with statements, not an industry average

Do not begin with a commission percentage from an article. Begin with the amount that actually left your business.

Take the last twelve months and record, by platform:

gross booking value;
commission actually charged;
payment, promotion or programme fees;
taxes charged on those fees;
refunds, cancellations and adjustments; and
the final amount received.

Contracts, programmes and tax treatment vary. Your own statements are the source. If a tax entry is unclear, ask your accountant to explain that entry rather than applying somebody else’s calculation to your property.

For completed stays, calculate an effective platform cost:

Fees attributable to those stays ÷ their booking value × 100.

Match the fees and booking value to the same stays. Keep cancellation costs and other adjustments separate so they are not counted twice. Ask your accountant to confirm the treatment of taxes before treating every deduction as an avoidable cost.

For example, Airbnb explains the items that affect a host payout. Use the records for your own platform and account when making the comparison.

Identify guests who already knew the property

Choose a recent period with enough completed stays to review. Record how you know each guest found you, leaving unknown sources unclassified. Mark bookings where the guest:

had stayed before;
came through a previous guest or a known referral;
contacted you on Instagram, WhatsApp or the phone before booking elsewhere;
searched for the property’s name rather than a general destination; or
was already attending a wedding, event or retreat connected to you.

Prior awareness does not mean a guest would have booked direct. This list helps you decide whom to ask.

Ask returning guests why they used the platform. Possible obstacles include unclear direct prices, unavailable dates, uncertain payment steps or unanswered calls. They may also prefer the platform’s terms or familiar checkout. Use their answers to identify the obstacle before proposing a design change.

Put a value on the addressable part

Use three numbers you can defend:

completed booking value from guests who were already aware of you;
the effective platform cost on those bookings; and
the share you could reasonably make direct after fixing the actual obstacle.

Be conservative with the third number. If there is no evidence, use a low case, a middle case and a zero case. A proposal should still make sense when the optimistic case is removed.

Then compare the annual avoidable cost with the full cost of the direct channel: design and build, booking or payment software, support, content updates, payment fees, staff time and any work needed to keep availability accurate.

Include the assumptions beside the estimate so you can revisit it after a trial.

What the platform is still earning

A platform may be providing discovery, reviews, payment handling, cancellation rules, customer support and a familiar place to compare options. Those things have value. A direct channel needs clear information and a trustworthy booking process of its own.

You can improve the direct route while continuing to use platforms. Compare the results before changing a channel that brings new guests.

What a useful direct route must do

A visitor should be able to answer, on a phone and without hunting:

Is this right for the dates and group I have in mind?
What will it cost and what is included?
Is the information current?
What happens if plans change?
Who receives my details and payment?
What is the next step and when will somebody reply?

Sometimes the answer is a live booking engine. Sometimes it is a carefully structured enquiry that your team can answer quickly. Adding a booking engine to a property that cannot keep availability current can create a worse problem than the one it replaced.

The right route depends on how the business actually operates. Our Hospitality page covers the website and enquiry options for a property.

The test before a rebuild

Before signing anything, run four checks:

Search for the property by name on a phone. Is the official route obvious?
Try to find the current offer, terms and next step without using prior knowledge.
Send a test enquiry after hours. Confirm where it goes and when it is seen.
Ask a returning guest to book the way they naturally would, while you watch without helping.

If the direct route fails one of those checks, there is a specific problem to solve. If it passes all four and guests still prefer the platform, a new site may not be the answer.

That is a useful result too. The aim is not to prove that you need a booking site. It is to compare the current costs with a realistic estimate of what a change could save.