Booking.com and similar platforms bring visibility and reservations, but take a 15–25% commission on each one. For a small hotel that is thousands of euros a year. This piece breaks down the maths: how much you really pay the OTA channels, what it costs to have your own direct channel, and at what occupancy it starts to pay off.
The commission — how much you actually pay
The standard commission of the big OTA platforms in Bulgaria is around 15%, but the real rate is often higher: visibility-boost programmes push it to 18–25%, and promotional and "genius" discounts also come out of your pocket. Add payment-processing costs when the payment goes through the platform.
Rule of thumb: assume an effective commission of 18–22% on OTA revenue, not the headline 15%.
What a direct channel costs
A direct channel means: a hotel website with real photos, rates and availability, a way to book (an enquiry form or a booking engine), an optimised Google Business Profile and a small budget for ads/SEO on brand and local queries.
- Site with booking functionality: one-off — see hotel website pricing
- Booking engine (optional): €0–50/month depending on the option
- Google Business Profile: free, but needs upkeep
- Ads on brand queries + local SEO: €50–200/month, optional
Direct bookings carry no commission (or the engine takes 0–2%), so every reservation shifted away from an OTA is almost pure profit once the fixed costs are covered.
A worked example for a small hotel
A hotel with 10 rooms, 60% average annual occupancy, an average nightly rate of €80:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Room-nights per year (10 × 365 × 60%) | ≈ 2,190 |
| Revenue | ≈ €175,000 |
| If 80% goes through OTAs at 20% commission | ≈ €28,000 commission/year |
| If you shift 25% of revenue to direct | you save ≈ €7,000/year |
Even with more modest numbers, the yearly saving usually exceeds the cost of the site. From the second year on, the direct channel is almost pure saving.
The hybrid strategy
The goal is not to leave Booking, but to reduce dependence. The model that works:
- The OTA channels bring new guests and visibility in new markets — you keep them.
- Your own site takes the returning guests, the long stays, the low season and corporate enquiries.
- Watch rate parity — most OTA contracts require the site rate to be no lower than theirs. So you add value for a direct booking, not a lower price (see below).
How to shift bookings to direct
- Added value for a direct booking: free breakfast, late checkout, a transfer, a bottle of wine — something the OTA does not offer, without breaking rate parity.
- Google Business Profile with a booking button that goes to your site, not to an OTA.
- A post-stay email with a discount code for a direct booking next time.
- A QR code in the room and at reception linking to the site for the next visit.
- Ads on brand queries ("[hotel name]") — otherwise the OTAs pay for them and pick up a guest who is already looking for you.
Summary
For a 10-room hotel, OTA commissions are really €25,000–30,000/year. A direct-booking website usually pays for itself in under a year and then saves money every year. Don't leave the platforms — reduce their share and win back the relationship with the guest.
Contact us for a hotel website with direct bookings — or just for a review of your current channel.
