What OTAs really cost
OTA Commission Calculator: What Booking Sites Really Cost Your Hotel
Multiply your monthly revenue from booking sites by your commission rate. At $100,000 a month and 20%, booking sites cost you $20,000. The same bookings made direct through MarginStay would usually cost 8% to 12%, or $8,000 to $12,000, so you would keep $8,000 to $12,000 more each month.
Our savings calculator on the homepage does this sum for you. This guide shows the formula behind it, which commission rate to enter so the answer matches your statements, three worked examples and what the calculator leaves out.
How do you calculate what booking sites cost a hotel?
Two lines. What booking sites cost you is your revenue from them multiplied by your commission rate. What you would save is that revenue multiplied by the gap between the booking-site rate and the cost of a direct booking. The calculator uses 8% for a direct booking through MarginStay, the low end of the 8% to 12% it usually costs, and below we also show 12%.
| Line | Formula | $100,000 a month at 20% |
|---|---|---|
| Booking sites cost | Revenue x rate | $20,000 |
| Direct at 8%* | Revenue x 8% | $8,000 |
| Saved a month | The difference | $12,000 |
| Saved a year | x 12 | $144,000 |
*8% is the low end of the 8% to 12% a direct booking through MarginStay usually costs, and the best case. At 12%, the same hotel saves $8,000 a month, or $96,000 a year.
The calculator accepts $10,000 to $500,000 a month of booking-site revenue and a commission rate of 15% to 35%. It starts at $100,000 and 20%.
Which commission rate should you enter?
Your effective rate, meaning what booking sites really took, not the rate in your contract. Three things push it above the contract rate.
- What commission is charged on. Booking.com says commission is a set percentage of the total booking amount, including the room rate and any additional fees you charge, such as cleaning or service fees and fees for no-shows or cancellations. It does not charge commission on local taxes such as city tax (Partner Hub).
- Paid programs. The same page says that if the rate on your reservation statement is higher than the rate in your contract, you may be in a program such as Preferred Partner or Visibility Booster, which add a percentage on top of your base commission.
- Discounts you fund. Booking.com says the standard Genius discount, 10% on your least expensive and most popular room type, is funded by the property, not by Booking.com (Genius page). It never appears on the invoice, but you receive less.
So add it up from one month's statements: commission paid, plus discounts you funded, divided by what those bookings would have earned at full price. Here is an illustrative month:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bookings at full price | $100,000 |
| Genius discount on $30,000 of them (10%) | $3,000 |
| What guests paid | $97,000 |
| Commission at 15% of $97,000 | $14,550 |
| Total cost (commission plus discount) | $17,550 |
| Effective rate to enter | About 18% |
Illustrative. Excludes taxes. Your contract rate and programs will differ.
Do the same for Expedia from your Expedia statements. Neither company publishes a rate card. For a ballpark, BookingWhizz's guide puts Booking.com at 15% to 17% for most independent properties and Expedia Group at 18% to 22%. Our guides to how much Expedia charges hotels and the real cost of an OTA booking explain each cost in detail.
What does commission cost hotels of different sizes?
Three illustrative hotels, each moving all of its booking-site revenue to direct bookings, at 8% and at 12%:
| Booking-site revenue a month | Effective rate | Booking sites cost a year | Saved a year at 8% | Saved a year at 12% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | 18% | $54,000 | $30,000 | $18,000 |
| $100,000 | 20% | $240,000 | $144,000 | $96,000 |
| $250,000 | 25% | $750,000 | $510,000 | $390,000 |
Illustrative. Revenue before taxes. Assumes every booking moves, which no hotel achieves; see below.
What does the calculator leave out?
- Only a share of bookings will move. Booking sites reach travelers who would never find you, so no hotel moves everything. Our comparison of direct booking vs OTA: what each booking really costs works out what moving 5, 10 or 20 points of bookings to direct is worth for a 60-room hotel.
- Cancellations. Cloudbeds' 2026 report found 21.8% of OTA bookings were cancelled, against 10.6% of direct bookings (Cloudbeds' announcement). The calculator counts revenue, not rooms you had to sell twice. See why OTA bookings cancel more often.
- Your exact direct cost. The 8% is our best case. Your figure depends on your hotel, and we work it out with you on a call.
- Repeat stays. A guest who books direct can come back with no commission at all. The calculator does not count that.
Ready to try yours? Open the calculator, enter your monthly booking-site revenue and the effective rate you worked out above.
MarginStay helps independent hotels bring in direct bookings, so we have a stake in this topic. Booking.com facts come from its Partner Hub, read on October 5, 2026. All examples are illustrative, and the 8% direct cost is the low end of our usual 8% to 12% range.
Commission calculator: quick answers
How do I calculate what OTA commission costs my hotel?
Multiply your monthly revenue from booking sites by your effective commission rate. At $100,000 a month and 20%, booking sites cost $20,000 a month, or $240,000 a year. Use the rate you actually paid, including paid programs and discounts you fund, rather than the rate in your contract.
What commission rate should I use for Booking.com?
Use your effective rate: commission paid plus discounts you funded, such as Genius, divided by what those bookings would have earned at full price. Booking.com charges commission on the room rate plus fees you charge, and programs such as Preferred Partner and Visibility Booster add a percentage on top of your base rate.
Does Booking.com charge commission on taxes?
Booking.com says it does not charge commission on local taxes, such as city tax. Its General Delivery Terms count VAT, GST or similar sales taxes in the room price used to work out commission. Check your own agreement and statements, and ask your accountant how this applies to the taxes your hotel charges.
How much can a hotel save by moving bookings to direct?
It depends on the share that moves. Each $100,000 of booking-site revenue at 20% costs $20,000. Made direct through MarginStay at the usual 8% to 12%, the same bookings would cost $8,000 to $12,000. Most hotels move a share at a time, so start with 5 or 10 points of bookings.
See your own numbers
Enter your booking-site revenue and effective commission rate in our calculator, then talk to us about moving a share of those bookings to your own website.