Direct booking calculator.
Is it cheaper to win a booking with ads, or to pay a booking site’s commission? Enter your booking value, commission rate, cost per click and website conversion rate to find out, and see the most you can pay per click.
Commission per booking = booking value × commission rate. Ad cost per booking = cost per click ÷ conversion rate. Max CPC = commission per booking × conversion rate. This assumes those guests would otherwise have booked through an OTA: some direct bookings, especially from people searching your name, would happen anyway. Add your management costs on top; ask us for a quote.
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How to compare ads with OTA commission.
Online travel agents charge a commission on each booking: commonly around 15–25% of the booking value for hotels and holiday lets. Advertising has a cost per booking too. The question is simply which is lower for your business.
- Commission per booking = booking value × commission rate. A £600 stay at 18% costs £108 in commission.
- Ad cost per direct booking = cost per click ÷ conversion rate. At £1.20 a click and a 2.5% booking rate, it takes 40 clicks, £48, to win a booking.
- Max CPC = commission per booking × conversion rate. At a 2.5% booking rate, any click under £2.70 makes a direct booking cheaper than commission.
What changes the answer
Your website conversion rate matters most. A slow site or awkward booking engine can double what a direct booking costs, while a quick, mobile-friendly booking flow makes every click worth more. Booking value matters too: commission grows with the price of the stay, so higher-value bookings usually favour direct.
Don’t pay for bookings you’d get anyway
People who search for your property by name are often going to book whichever way is easiest. A brand campaign can stop booking sites and competitors taking those guests, but measure how many would have booked direct regardless: our incrementality calculator and guide to incremental attribution explain how. For more on planning around booking peaks, see our Christmas and January plan: January is one of the busiest booking months.
Want a wider view of costs? See what Google Ads cost in the UK, check your break-even ROAS, or read how we run travel marketing.
Keep calculating.
ROAS calculator
Work out your return on ad spend and your break-even ROAS from your margin, so you know if a campaign is actually profitable.
Open tool →Profit & returnsMER and POAS calculator
See your marketing efficiency ratio, profit on ad spend and break-even MER from your real revenue, and how much more the ad platforms claim than you made.
Open tool →Profit & returnsLTV:CAC ratio calculator
Compare customer lifetime value to acquisition cost and see whether your unit economics are healthy.
Open tool →Direct booking questions.
01How much commission do online travel agents charge?
It varies by platform, property type and contract, but hotels and holiday lets commonly pay around 15–25% of the booking value, and some programmes that boost your visibility cost more. Check your own contracts and enter your actual rate.
02Is a direct booking from ads always cheaper than OTA commission?
No. It depends on your cost per click, how well your website converts and how much a booking is worth. Low-value stays with a poor booking engine can cost more through ads than through commission, which is exactly what this calculator shows.
03What is the most I can pay per click to beat OTA commission?
Multiply the commission on an average booking by your website’s booking conversion rate. With £108 commission and a 2.5% conversion rate, any click under £2.70 makes a direct booking cheaper than paying commission.
04Should I stop listing on booking sites?
Usually not. Booking sites bring guests you wouldn’t reach otherwise, and many people find a property there before booking direct. The aim is usually to win more of your direct demand profitably, especially people already searching for your name, not to leave the platforms altogether.
05Should hotels bid on their own brand name?
Often, yes. Online travel agents and competitors frequently bid on hotel and brand names, so a modest brand campaign can protect direct bookings. Test it, because some of those guests would have booked direct anyway.
Search and paid social built around your booking value, seasons and commission rates. That’s how we run travel marketing.