Direct bookings: the guest pays you, and the platform commission stays with you
Booking platforms bring new guests. Regular guests and those who come on a recommendation can book direct with you. Here is what changes then, what commission costs you and what you need.
Platforms are good for the first guest
A guest finds you on a booking platform before they know your property exists. You pay commission for that, and it makes sense. But why pay it for guests who come back every summer, or who came because a friend recommended your place? Those guests already know who they are looking for.
So direct bookings do not mean leaving the platforms. The platforms stay for new guests, and your site is where the people who already know you come back.
What commission costs you
Enter your average nightly rate, the nights you sell a year and your commission rate. The result is the platform commission only, without VAT on the commission and without payment fees.
What commission costs you
Example figures. Change them to match your place.
The big platforms’ base commission for private accommodation is usually around 15% and varies by country, programme and fee model. Check your own rate in your platform’s partner area.
Direct or through a platform: what is different
A comparison for hosts, as of November 2026.
| Direct booking | Platform booking | |
|---|---|---|
| Who collects the payment | The guest pays into your Stripe account | Depends on the platform and payment method; when payment runs through the platform, the platform collects |
| When the money arrives | Straight away in Stripe, in your bank usually within 3 business days | The platform pays out only after the guest checks in or out, so weeks or months after the booking |
| Platform commission | None | Usually around 15%, more with visibility programmes, plus VAT on the commission |
| Payment fee | Stripe: cards from 1.5% + €0.25, SEPA €0.35 | Depends on the platform and payment method; check your terms |
| Our monthly fee | Yes, agreed on a call | No |
| Guest data | Yours; you are the data controller | The platform decides what you get and how you may use it |
| Cancellation terms | You set them | You choose from the platform’s policies |
| New guests | Fewer; they come through recommendations and search | Yes, that is the platforms’ main strength |
Sources: Stripe’s and the major platforms’ help pages and Stripe’s pricing, November 2026.
Can you offer a better price direct?
Under EU rules, yes. In May 2024 the European Commission designated the largest accommodation booking platform a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Article 5(3) of the act bans price parity clauses. In its factsheet the Commission says accommodation providers can now freely set their prices and conditions on and off the platform, including on their own sales channel.
Two caveats:
- some national proceedings against platforms are still ongoing;
- some host associations say a lower price off the platform can still affect your ranking in search results.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (DMA), EUR-Lex; European Commission factsheet on price parity and the DMA.
Where direct bookings come from
- Regular guests. People who come back and want the same week next year.
- Recommendations. Friends and family of your guests who get the link to your site.
- Searches for your property’s name. A guest who has heard of your place types its name into Google.
- Google Business Profile. Photos, reviews and a link to your site on Google Maps.
How to get each of these going, step by step, is in the guide how to get more direct bookings.
What you need for direct bookings
- A site where guests see free dates without hunting
- An enquiry sent in two taps, in the guest’s language
- Card or SEPA payment into your own account
- A quick reply to enquiries, ideally the same day
We build this as a made-to-measure site with an admin behind it, for every kind of accommodation: villas and holiday homes, holiday apartments, rooms, guesthouses and small hotels. How guests pay is described on the payments and payouts page.
Questions
Do I have to leave the booking platforms?
No. The platforms are good for new guests and many hosts keep them. Guests who first came through a platform can come back direct whenever they decide to; we never contact platform guests on your behalf.
Can I offer platform guests a direct booking?
Carefully. A guest can always come back direct on their own. But most platforms’ terms restrict using booking contact details for marketing the guest did not ask for, and some forbid arranging or taking payment off the platform for bookings that came through it. Check your own terms with the platform.
What does platform commission really cost?
The big platforms’ base commission is usually around 15% and varies by country, programme and fee model. VAT on the commission may come on top. A worked example with sources is in the guide booking platform commission: what the host keeps.
What do I keep on a direct booking?
The booking amount minus Stripe’s fee (cards from 1.5% + €0.25, SEPA €0.35 per payment) and our monthly fee. The calculator above shows platform commission only; it is an illustration, not a quote or an earnings estimate.
When do I get the money?
On a direct booking you see the payment in your Stripe account straight away, and in your bank account usually after 3 business days (only the very first payout to a new Stripe account takes roughly 7 to 14 days). Platforms that collect payment for you pay out only after the guest checks in or out.
How long until direct bookings start?
It depends on how many regular guests you have and where you share the link to your site. Usually guests who already know you come back first, while new direct bookings come more slowly, through recommendations and searches for your property’s name. We do not promise numbers.
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