How Much Does Booking.com Charge Hosts?

Key Takeaways

• Booking.com primarily charges owners with commission fees and cancellation fees.
• Commission rates on Booking.com vary between 10% to 25%, depending on property type, location, performance, and negotiated terms.
• Hosts can reduce fees by limiting add-on charges and promoting direct bookings through their own websites.

Any vacation rental platform you list on will take a cut, and Booking.com is no exception. For STR owners, Booking.com broadens the revenue stream—but at what cost?

Dive into this guide to discover the fees and commissions associated with Booking.com and understand how much listing on Booking.com will cost you and your vacation rental business.

What Are Booking.com Charges for Owners?

Booking.com charges ultimately fall into three categories: commission fees, cancellation fees, and additional costs for using the platform. 

As a commission-based platform, Booking.com charges a fixed percentage booking fee for each reservation subtotal that is paid to the platform. Think of it as a finder’s fee for each booking.

Cancellation fees refer to the commission a host owes on cancellation fees they charge their guests. On Booking.com, hosts may have to pay a commission even if the guest never completes their stay. More on that later!

Additional costs include payment processing fees (such as for credit card payments), administrative fees, and fees related to improving your listing’s visibility to guests on the platform.

How Much Commission Does Booking.com Charge Owners?

Booking.com’s commission percentage varies between 10% to 25%. On average, the booking fee amounts to about 15% of the booking subtotal.

Commission fees are calculated based on the nightly rate and any additional charges at the time of booking, like cleaning fees and service charges. Keep in mind that while Booking.com doesn’t charge commission on local taxes—like city tax—it does charge commission on  Value Added Tax (VAT) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) in most countries.

Commission rates vary based on a property’s: 

• Type: Different types of properties have different rates. For example, luxury hotels, full-service properties, and unique or boutique accommodations tend to incur higher commission rates than vacation rentals, hostels, and budget accommodations.
• Location: Properties in high-demand tourist areas might pay higher commissions than those in less popular locations.
• Performance: Properties with higher booking volumes and better reviews may be eligible for lower commission rates as an incentive from Booking.com.
• Terms: Some long-term partnerships or large property management companies negotiate their commission structures directly with Booking.com.
• Market program participation: Properties that join Booking.com’s marketing programs, such as the Genius or Preferred Partner programs, may experience different commission rates based on their participation level and the increased exposure they receive.​  

Commission fees are billed monthly. Booking.com issues a monthly commission invoice that shows all commission fees owed for the previous month. You can view and download commission invoices from the Booking.com Extranet or Pulse app. 

Hotel Commission Fees

While commission rates for non-hotel short-term rentals (STR) can be as low as 10%, hotel commission fees start at 15%. That price can increase to 18% if the hotel uses Booking.com’s member service. Ultimately, hotel commissions on Booking.com can go up to 25% or even more if the hotel opts for Booking.com’s Visibility Booster.

Booking.com Cancellation Fees for Hosts

Any property owner who lists on Booking.com should be aware that if a guest cancels their booking or doesn’t complete their stay, the host will still be charged the typical commission rate on canceled reservations.

You’ll have to pay commission when:

• You charge a guest for a partially refundable or non-refundable booking that they canceled or didn’t show up for.
• You charge guests who cancel after the free cancellation period ends.

You don’t have to pay commission when:

• You choose to waive the cancellation fee for non-refundable bookings.
• You choose to waive the cancellation fee and mark a guest as a no-show when they don’t arrive for their booking.
• You mark a credit card as invalid because you weren’t able to successfully charge the guest

Put simply: If you charge a guest a cancellation fee, you’ll have to pay Booking.com a commission fee.

Booking.com offers a Cancellation Fee Exceptions Tool to help you automatically accept free cancellation requests made within a timeframe you choose. 

How to Use the Cancellation Fee Exceptions Tool

You always have the power to deny or accept a guest’s cancellation request, but Booking.com’s Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool expedites the process and helps you avoid paying commission on cancellation fees.

The Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool will automatically accept cancellation requests—without any fees—if a guest requests it within the timeframe you set, such as within 24 hours of booking.

If you haven’t set up the Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool, or if a guest asks Booking.com directly to cancel a stay after your set time period, Booking.com will contact you to ask if you want to waive the cancellation fee. 

How to Mark Guests as No-Show in the Extranet

If you can’t charge a no-show guest, you can still waive their no-show fee by marking them as a no-show in the Booking.com Extranet. By doing so, you won’t be charged commission on that reservation.

To mark a guest as no-show in the Extranet:

1. Go to Extranet > Reservations.
2. Find the guest’s reservation number and open the reservation details page. 
3. Click the button “Mark as No-Show” from the list.
4. Both you and your guest will receive confirmation emails that the reservation has been canceled due to a no-show status. 
5. Make sure you report any no-shows in time—the button is only available from midnight of the check-in date until 48 hours after the planned check-out date.

Optimize Your Cancellation Policy to Reduce Booking.com Fees

You’ll pay a higher commission on Booking.com if you offer a more flexible cancellation policy. Flexible cancellation policies increase the risk of cancellations, which could lead to lost revenue for both the host and Booking.com. 

Booking.com may adjust the commission rate to account for this potential volatility and make sure that they still receive adequate compensation for facilitating bookings​. One way for hosts to mitigate this is to instate a non-refundable booking policy. 

Keep in mind, though, that non-refundable booking policies can potentially deter bookings or impact guest satisfaction. It’s possible that paying a higher commission for more guest flexibility will actually help maximize your revenue in the long-run.

Additional Booking.com Fees for Hosts

Beyond commission fees, Booking.com sometimes charges extra fees which can be considered host fees or host-only fees. These can include fees for optional services offered by Booking.com, such as upgraded marketing or listing features. 

Additional fees to be aware of include:

• Listing enhancement fees: These fees cover charges for premium listing placements and better listing visibility. Booking.com’s programs to enhance visibility include Visibility Booster, the Genius program, and the Preferred Partner Program. 
• Payment processing fees: Fees for handling credit card payments or other payment methods.
• Overbooking commission: Booking.com will charge commission for an overbooking, or double booking, since the room was made available on the platform. Hosts also have to cover relocation costs for the guest if the property is double-booked. 

How to Avoid Problems with Non-Payment and False Credit Cards

The best way to avoid problems with non-payment and fake credit card information is to require prepayment. You can prevent the hassle of encountering credit card issues after the guest’s stay by charging guests as soon as they book. While a prepayment policy could be a turnoff for some guests, most won’t mind.

You can set up a prepayment policy through the Booking.com Extranet if you accept credit cards or bank transfer payments.

Here’s how:

1. Log in to the Booking.com Extranet
2. From the ‘Property’ tab and click ‘Policies’
3. Click ‘Edit’ under ‘Cancellation and prepayment policies’ 
4. Update your existing policy or create a new policy

Fees that Booking.com Hosts Can Charge Guests

Property owners can charge fees to guests to cover additional services and potential damages. These fees help to manage costs, mitigate risks, and make sure the property stays in good condition.

Hosts can charge guests:

• Cleaning fees: You can set your own fee to cover the cost of cleaning services. 
• Damage deposits: Damage deposits cover potential damage to the property during a guest's stay, and are usually refunded after check-out if no damage is found.

How Booking.com Pays Hosts

The way you receive payouts as a host depends on how you accept payments from guests.

Property owners on Booking.com have two payment options: They can have guests pay them directly, or they can opt into Payments by Booking.com, which is the platform’s proprietary payment system. 

If you use Payments by Booking.com, you can get paid out by virtual credit card (VCC) or by bank transfer. The cost of receiving a payout via VCC replaces the fee you’d pay to your credit card company for charging guests directly. 

The bank transfer fee depends on your property’s location and ranges from 1 to 3.1%. The fee covers payment processing, chargeback, fraud risk, and SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) costs.

You can choose to get paid daily, weekly or monthly. It’s easy to update your payment frequency settings from the the Booking.com Extranet or Pulse app:

1. Click the ‘Finance’ tab
2. Click ‘Finance Settings’ or ‘Getting Paid’
3. Click ‘Payout Timing’ or ‘Payout Settings’
4. Choose your preferred payout schedule

The Finance tab mentioned above provides an overview of all your financial transactions, including payouts, invoices, and payment methods. It’s a good idea to check this tab periodically to make sure all information is current and accurate.

How to Reduce Your Booking.com Fees

One of the easiest ways to reduce the fees you pay to Booking.com is to limit the number of add-on fees you charge guests. Booking.com charges you, the host, a commission on any add-on fees the guest pays when they book, like cleaning fees and resort fees. The same goes for non-refundable reservations and cancellation fees. You’ll ultimately pay a lower commission to Booking.com by reducing or eliminating some of these guest fees.

Listing your property on multiple platforms can reduce your reliance on Booking.com and help you reach a broader audience. This strategy can enable you to leverage the strengths of different platforms and balance out the costs associated with Booking.com's commission fees. We’ve weighed the pros and cons of various booking platforms in our articles on Booking.com vs Airbnb and Airbnb vs Vrbo.

Another tip is to skip the online travel agencies (OTA) altogether and promote direct bookings. Having guests book directly through your own website rather than an online travel agency will reduce the fees you pay for Booking.com. While these OTAs do provide valuable exposure, a direct booking website can be a complementary platform that you increasingly funnel reservations through as your business grows and you get repeat customers.