Short answer: online travel agents like Booking.com charge UK properties around 15% commission as standard, and often 17% to 22% once visibility programmes and payment fees are added. You won't replace them entirely, and you shouldn't try. But every guest who books direct instead is worth noticeably more, and the way to win those bookings is a website that makes booking direct easy, quick and clearly worth it.
Most independent hotels, B&Bs, pubs with rooms and holiday lets use the big booking sites, and for good reason: they bring guests you'd never reach on your own. The problem is when they become the only way anyone books, even guests who already know you, found you on Google, or have stayed before.
The guest who searched your name and still booked through an agent is the most expensive booking you'll take all year.
What the commission actually costs
Booking.com's base commission for UK properties is around 15% of the booking value, and properties in its visibility programmes or using its payments service often pay 17% to 22% all in, according to this 2026 breakdown. On a £150 room for two nights, that's £45 to £66 that never reaches you.
Why guests book through agents when they could book direct
- Your website is harder to book on than the agent's app.
- They don't trust it. Few reviews, old photos, no clear cancellation policy.
- They can't see availability without emailing or ringing.
- There's no reason to. Same price, fewer perks, more effort.
How to win more direct bookings
- Make booking direct as easy as the agent. Live availability and a booking engine one tap away on every page, on a phone.
- Give a reason to book direct. A small perk like breakfast, late checkout or a better cancellation policy, stated clearly. Check your agreements before changing rates.
- Show what agents can't. Your story, the area, local walks and pubs, the rooms in proper detail.
- Bring your reviews home. Show your best reviews on your own site, with proper schema.
- Win the search for your own name. Make sure your website and Google Business Profile appear above the agents when someone searches for you.
- Be ready for AI search. Google and AI tools increasingly answer "where to stay" questions directly. Here's why that matters for hospitality.
Think of agents as a marketing channel
The healthiest balance for most independents is to let the agents bring you new guests, then make the second and third stay direct. Your website, your follow-up emails and your welcome are where that happens.
We build websites for pubs, B&Bs and restaurants that make booking direct easy, written for you and built to be found in Google and AI search.
