1. Commission rates

Booking.com charges a commission of 10-25% of the booking subtotal. The global average is approximately 15%.

1.1 What commission is calculated on

• Included: nightly room rate plus any fees added at booking time (cleaning fees, service charges, pet fees, extra guest fees).
• Excluded: local/city taxes and resort fees.

Commission is charged even on cancellations and no-shows unless you mark the guest as a no-show in the Extranet within 48 hours of planned check-out.

1.2 What determines your rate

The exact rate is set during registration and depends on your country, property type, cancellation policy, and participation in marketing programmes. Rates are negotiable, especially for properties with strong performance.

2. Payment processing

If you use Payments by Booking.com, an additional processing fee of 1.1-3.1% applies on each payout (varies by country and payout currency). This covers payment processing, chargeback protection, fraud risk, and network fees.

About 59% of Booking.com bookings now use this system. The alternative is collecting payment directly from the guest (at check-in or via bank transfer), which avoids the processing fee but adds operational complexity.

2.1 How hosts get paid

Payout options via Payments by Booking.com:

• Daily: processed 1 day after guest check-out.
• Weekly: every Thursday for the prior week's check-outs.
• Monthly: by the 15th of the following month.

Bank processing adds a few additional days after Booking.com initiates the transfer.

3. Visibility programmes and their costs

3.1 Preferred Partner

Adds approximately 3% extra commission (total ~18%) in exchange for +65% page views and +40% bookings. Must be in the top 30% of partners with a 70%+ performance score and 7.0+ review score. Displays a thumbs-up badge.

3.2 Preferred Plus

Top 10% of Preferred Partners. Adds approximately 8% extra commission (total ~23%). +60% visibility above standard Preferred. Requires 80%+ performance score and 8.0+ reviews.

3.3 Genius Programme

Host funds a 10-20% discount to frequent travellers. No extra commission. +70% search views, +45% bookings. For the full breakdown, see our guide to the Booking.com Genius programme.

3.4 Visibility Booster

A pay-per-booking tool that lets you temporarily increase commission for selected dates to rank higher. No charge unless a booking is made. Best for filling last-minute vacancies or low-season periods.

4. How Booking.com compares to Airbnb and Vrbo

Booking.com: 10-25% commission (avg 15%) plus 1.1-3.1% payment processing. No guest platform fee. On a $100 booking, the host nets approximately $82-85.

Airbnb: flat 15.5% host-only fee. Payment processing included. No guest fee. On a $100 booking, the host nets approximately $84.50. For the full breakdown, see our guide to Airbnb hosting fees.

Vrbo: 8% in the US/Canada (5% commission + 3% processing). 12-15% in Europe and Australia. A separate traveller fee is charged to the guest. On a $100 booking (US), the host nets approximately $92. See our guide to Expedia vs Booking.com.

4.1 The real comparison

Base rates are similar between Booking.com and Airbnb (~15%). The difference comes from add-on programmes. Preferred Partner + Genius can push Booking.com's effective cost to 25%+ per booking. Airbnb's 15.5% is fixed regardless of visibility programmes.

Most professional hosts list on all three platforms and use a channel manager to synchronise. Management fees are a deductible expense. For more on what that costs, see our guide to property management fees.