Let's Start With the Actual Numbers
Not theory. Numbers.
Booking.com charges a commission in the range of 15%-18% on every booking. In practice, most apartment owners and small hotels in Tenerife pay 17-18%. Airbnb hovers around 14-16% (combined host and service fees).
Let's do some simple math:
| Annual revenue through the portal | 17% commission | You give away every year |
|---|---|---|
| €20,000 | €3,400 | every year |
| €50,000 | €8,500 | every year |
| €100,000 | €17,000 | every year |
| €200,000 | €34,000 | every year |
This isn't a one-time fee. It's a subscription for the entire life of your business, one that grows right along with your revenue. The better you do, the more you give away.
"But Booking.com Brings Me Customers"
This is the argument we hear most often. And there's some truth to it — portals do have massive traffic. But there's also a trap in it that catches most property owners.
Booking.com doesn't bring you your customers. It brings you anonymous portal users.
The difference is crucial. A customer from Booking.com:
- Doesn't know your brand, they know the portal
- Will go back to Booking.com next time, not to your website
- You don't have full access to their data (it's the portal's GDPR compliance, not yours)
- If the portal changes its algorithm, your visibility can vanish overnight
A customer who booked directly through your website is your customer for life.
What Does a Model for Your Own Booking Site Look Like?
You don't have to drop Booking.com overnight. A smart strategy looks like this:
Stage 1: Your Own Site With a Booking Engine
You build your own website with a real-time booking system. The customer sees calendar availability, picks a date, and pays by card online. Commission: 0%.
Stage 2: iCal Synchronization With Portals
Your own system syncs two-way with Booking.com and Airbnb, preventing overbooking. You're still visible on the portals, but you actively steer customers to your own website.
Stage 3: Incentives for Direct Bookings
You offer guests from Booking.com a discount on their next direct booking. Legal, effective, simple. Every returning guest = a 17% saving.
Stage 4: SEO and Google Ads
Your website starts appearing organically for searches like "apartment Los Cristianos Tenerife". You pay Google per click, not on the booking value. With a CPC of €0.80 and a 3% conversion rate, the cost of acquiring one customer is around €27. Booking.com takes 17% of a €500 booking — that's €85.
The numbers speak for themselves.
What Does Your Own Booking System Cost?
At WebsiteOK, setting up your own website with a booking engine starts at €700 for the basic package (1-2 apartments, calendar, online payments, CRM). Larger projects (car fleets, hotels, a dozen-plus apartments) are quoted individually.
Annual server maintenance and updates run around €200-400 per year.
Do the math: if you earn €20,000 a year through Booking.com, you're giving away €3,400 in commission. Your own system pays for itself within the first 2-3 months, and from that point on, every direct booking is pure profit.
When Doesn't Your Own Website Make Sense?
Honest answer: if you rent out a single apartment for 30 days a year and have no plans to grow, the setup cost might not be worth the payoff.
But if you have even 2-3 apartments, a car rental business, a tour company, or provide any kind of tourism service, your own system is an investment, not a cost.
One Step You Can Take Today
Work out your own numbers. Take your revenue from the last 12 months through Booking.com and Airbnb, and multiply it by 0.17.
If you don't like the result, book a free 15-minute demo. We'll show you a working booking system and answer any questions about integrating with the portals. No strings attached.
Your profit shouldn't be shared with anyone who doesn't work for your business.