Numbers first, decision second
A dedicated booking website isn't a magic solution for everyone. If your apartment is only rented out for a few weeks a year, the investment might not make sense.
But if the property generates regular income through Booking.com and Airbnb, it's worth calculating the commissions. Often, only the numbers reveal how much money is slipping away to middlemen.
That's why I built a Booking.com and Airbnb commission calculator. Its purpose is simple: to show owners whether a direct booking system makes economic sense.
What do you need to calculate?
For an initial analysis, a few figures are enough:
- number of apartments,
- average nightly rate,
- number of bookings per month,
- average length of stay,
- OTA commission percentage,
- location.
Based on this, you can estimate how much money you're handing over to the platforms each year.
An example with simple numbers
Let's assume:
- 2 apartments,
- 100 euros a night,
- 8 bookings a month,
- an average stay of 5 nights,
- a 17% commission.
Monthly turnover comes to around 4,000 euros. A 17% commission comes to 680 euros a month. That's 8,160 euros a year.
That's not a small advertising fee. It's a budget you could use to build your own website, booking system, SEO and automation.
Will everything shift to direct bookings?
No. And there's no point pretending it will.
A sensible strategy assumes that, in the first stage, some bookings will still come through OTA platforms. The goal isn't to remove Booking overnight. The goal is to gradually grow the share of direct bookings.
If you shift 30-50% of bookings to your own website in the first year, the savings can already be very substantial.
How do you move guests to your own website?
The most effective methods are simple:
- a card in the apartment with your website address,
- a discount for returning guests,
- an automatic email after the stay,
- SEO for local search terms,
- a Google Ads campaign for the property's name,
- a better price direct than through the platform.
A guest who already knows the apartment is more likely to book directly. You just need to give them an easy path.
When doesn't a direct booking system pay off?
It doesn't pay off if:
- you have one apartment and few bookings,
- you don't have time to grow a direct channel,
- you don't want to build the property's brand,
- you treat renting it out as a very occasional side activity,
- you don't plan to use guest data.
In that case, it's better to stick with simple tools and platforms, and revisit the decision later.
When does it pay off a lot?
A direct booking system usually makes sense when:
- you have 2 or more apartments,
- you charge a high nightly rate,
- guests come back,
- you're paying several thousand euros in commissions a year,
- you want to become less dependent on a single channel,
- you plan to keep growing the rental business for years to come.
In that case, the website isn't a cost. It's a way of winning back your margin.
The calculator is the start of a conversation
The calculator won't replace an individual analysis, but it does a good job of showing the scale of the problem. If the result stings, that's a sign it's worth talking about a direct booking system.
What matters most is an honest approach: not selling a website to everyone, just checking whether the investment makes sense.
That's exactly why the numbers are the best place to start. They don't promise miracles. They show you what depending on the platforms is really costing you.
