What platforms cost you.
Enter units, rate, occupancy and commission. You see what booking platforms cost you per year and what moving bookings to your own channel is worth. The calculation runs in your browser only.
The presets are example values, not industry averages.
Rooms, apartments or flats
Gross price including VAT
Share of nights booked per year
As per contract; Airbnb host-only fee is 15.5 % for most hosts
Part of platform bookings that could book direct, e.g. returning guests
Payment fees and advertising, as a share of revenue
Commissions per year: 107,222 €. Extra revenue per year: 17,156 €.
- Commissions per year
- 107,222 €
- Average commission per booked night: 14.40 €
- Extra revenue per year
- 17,156 €
- Over five years: 85,778 €
Method: units × 365 × occupancy × rate gives revenue. The platform share times the commission rate gives commissions. Extra revenue is the shifted revenue times the commission rate minus the cost per direct booking. VAT and commission on gross amounts are simplified.
Review the result with usHow the calculation works: it multiplies units, average rate, occupancy and nights per year into gross revenue, applies your commission rate to the platform share, and compares the result with the same year at a higher direct share. Background reading (German): what Booking.com really costs and Airbnb fees for hosts.
Questions about the calculator
Which commission rate should I enter?
Use the rate from your own invoices. For hotels on Booking.com it is usually between 15 and 18 per cent of the gross amount, higher with visibility programmes. Hosts on Airbnb who work with a channel manager normally pay the host-only fee, which Airbnb states as 15.5 per cent for most hosts. If you sell through several platforms, start with the channel that brings the most nights.
What does the direct share mean?
It is the part of your bookings that comes through your own website instead of a platform. Every point you move saves the commission on those nights and gives you the guest data, the payment terms and the cancellation rules. The calculator shows what a shift of a few points is worth per year.
Is a realistic direct share included?
No. The calculator does not predict anything; it works with the numbers you enter. What is achievable depends on your house, your location, repeat guests and how visible you are outside the platforms. We look at that together with your channel data in a first call.
Are the numbers sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is transmitted, stored or logged, and we never see your figures unless you tell us.
Does the result include the cost of a direct booking?
Partly. Direct bookings are not free either: payment fees of roughly one to two per cent, the running cost of the website and your own time. The calculator shows gross savings, so subtract those costs when you compare. A first call gives you the net figure for your case.
Next step
And now with real numbers?
In a first call we work with your commission invoices and channel data and tell you which direct share is realistic.