Does your own booking engine pay off compared to portals?

Usually after just a handful of direct bookings per year. A booking engine with a flat monthly price costs the same regardless of revenue, while portal commission grows with every euro you earn. At 30,000 euro of portal revenue and 15 percent commission that is 4,500 euro a year — enough to run your own booking flow for many years.

Should I switch the portals off completely?

No. Portals are good at reach, especially for new listings and gaps in the low season. A mix works best: portals bring new guests, while your own booking page captures returning guests and everyone who searches for your property by name — exactly where the commission is avoidable.

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What do Booking.com & Airbnb really cost you?

Q: How much commission does Booking.com charge?

The usual rate is 15 percent of the booking value, and depending on country, contract and extra programmes 17 to 20 percent. Joining the preferred partner programme adds roughly 2 percentage points. Commission is charged on the total including the cleaning fee, in many countries plus VAT on the commission itself.

Q: How much commission does Airbnb charge?

With the split fee, hosts usually pay around 3 percent and guests roughly 14 percent on top. With the host-only fee, the host carries around 14 to 16 percent alone, depending on the listing and cancellation policy. Even the guest share matters to you: it makes your listing more expensive and indirectly caps the price you can achieve.

Enter your figures and see instantly how much commission adds up over a year — and what every extra percentage point of direct bookings keeps in your pocket.

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Your figures

Annual rental revenue

€

Share coming through portals 70 %

Average commission 15 %

Of that, shifted to direct bookings 10 pts

Number of properties used to compare against your own booking engine

units

Your commission

—

Commission per year

Per month—

Revenue via portals—

Of which stays with you—

Shifting 10 percentage points to direct bookings saves you — per year.

—

Guide figures without warranty. Commissions and extra programmes differ by portal, country and contract.

What the portals actually charge

Common rates as of July 2026 — individual contracts vary, and VAT on the commission may apply depending on the country.

Portal	Who pays	Typical rate
Booking.com	Host	15 %, around 17 % with the preferred partner programme
Airbnb (split fee)	Host + guest	approx. 3 % host, approx. 14 % guest
Airbnb (host-only fee)	Host alone	approx. 14–16 %
Vrbo	Host	Per-booking commission or annual subscription
Your own booking page	—	No commission, just a fixed monthly fee

The difference is structural: commission grows with your success, a flat fee does not. Raise your prices or improve occupancy and the portal automatically takes more — with your own booking flow the amount stays the same.

Why commission is only half the story

The guest belongs to the portal. Email addresses and phone numbers are often anonymised — a returning guest you cannot reach directly books through the portal again next time, and you pay again.
Rate parity and visibility. Climbing the ranking means paying surcharges or granting discounts — both eat into your margin on top of the commission.
The portal’s cancellation rules apply, not necessarily your own.

The flip side: portals are good at reach, especially for new listings and low-season gaps. So the sensible move is almost never “switch the portals off”, but to capture the bookings that want to come to you anyway — returning guests, referrals and everyone who googles your name directly.

How to win direct bookings back

Be bookable on your own website. Anyone who has to fill in an enquiry form and wait for a reply books on the portal instead — there it takes two minutes.
Show the final price immediately. Tourist tax, cleaning fee and surcharges belong in the displayed price, not in the small print.
Communicate a direct-booking benefit — a small discount or extra costs less than 15 % commission.
Follow up after the stay. Anyone who booked directly once has your address — use it.

The guide covers this in detail: More direct bookings for your holiday rental.

Frequently asked questions

How much commission does Booking.com charge?

The usual rate is 15 % of the booking value, and 17–20 % depending on country and contract. The preferred partner programme adds roughly 2 percentage points. It is charged on the total including the cleaning fee, in many countries plus VAT on the commission.

How much commission does Airbnb charge?

With the split fee, hosts usually pay around 3 % and guests about 14 % on top. With the host-only fee the host carries roughly 14–16 % alone. The guest share matters to you too: it makes your listing pricier in comparison and caps what you can charge.

Does your own booking engine pay off?

Usually after only a few direct bookings a year — the calculator above shows it for your figures. The reason is structural: a flat fee versus commission that grows with you.

Do I lose visibility by pushing direct bookings?

No, as long as you keep the portals running. This is not about giving up reach — it is about not paying twice for demand you already have.

Commission-free bookings on your own website

SmooBoost connects to Smoobu via API key and makes your properties bookable in your website’s design — with the final price visible at a glance. First property €9/month, no commission per booking.

Try it free for 7 days See the live demo

No credit card required — the trial ends automatically.