Free tool
What do OTAs really cost you compared with your website?
The commission is easy to see, the cost of direct much less so. Compare the two channels on every €100 you take, and find out how much you can spend to get a guest to book with you.
Free, no email. Your numbers stay in your browser: we don't receive them and we don't store them.
How to read it
OTAs bring guests who would never find you on their own, and the commission is the price of that service. Direct looks free, but it isn't: the booking engine, advertising and cards all cost money, only it arrives as an invoice instead of being deducted from the rate.
Once both are brought back to "what every €100 taken costs", the channels can really be compared. The most useful number is the other one: the most you can spend to win a booking on your website and still break even with the OTA. Below that figure, every euro of advertising for direct pays off.
Direct isn't built on advertising alone. It also depends on guests who write for a quote and get a clear reply straight away: for that part there is the lost enquiries calculator.
Why is the commission calculated on VAT-inclusive revenue?
Because that is how OTAs charge it: the percentage applies to the price the guest pays, VAT included. That is why revenue goes in with VAT too.
Shouldn't the channel manager count as a direct cost?
No. The channel manager mostly serves to sell on OTAs, and you would pay for it even without a website. If your booking engine comes in the same subscription, put only the website part under direct.
Don't OTAs also bring guests who later book direct?
Yes, and it is one of the reasons not to switch them off. A guest found on Booking.com who books on your website the following year is a good deal. This calculation doesn't say to drop OTAs: it says what they cost, so you can decide how much to invest in direct.
Is the saving from shifting 10 points guaranteed?
No: it is calculated with the same advertising. Shifting revenue to your website usually takes some investment. The number tells you how far that investment pays for itself.
Do you see the numbers I enter?
No. Your browser does the maths and nothing is sent. The link you can copy holds the numbers after the # sign, a part of the address browsers never send to the server.
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