What are booking sites costing you?
Put in how many bookings come through booking sites and what you pay them. See what that costs in a year, and what taking some of those bookings direct would be worth once a booking site and its running costs are paid for.
01 / Bookings today
Rates vary by site, contract and programme. Use the figure from your own statements; 15% is a common starting point.
02 / If some came direct
Repeat guests, people who find you and then book elsewhere, and guests you can reach by email are the usual first wins. Be conservative.
Hosting, a care plan, booking software and any channel manager. Leaving this out makes every direct booking site look like a bargain.
Commission you pay
£0
Nothing you enter is sent anywhere unless you press the button, which copies the figures into the enquiry form for you to check and send.
A better mix, not a walkout
Booking sites bring you guests you wouldn’t otherwise reach, and most businesses should stay on them. The aim is to stop paying commission on guests who already know you: repeat visitors, local referrals, and people who find you and then book through a third party out of habit.
Easier than booking elsewhere
Live availability, the full price before checkout, a deposit or payment taken securely, instant confirmation, and reminders. If booking direct is harder than booking through a third party, guests won’t do it. The holiday cottage and hotel demos show what that looks like.