Commission is invisible until you add it up. It comes off each booking quietly, feels like a cost of doing business, and by the end of a season it is often the largest line in a holiday let's accounts.
Here is the arithmetic, using example figures you would replace with your own.
The worked example
Take a cottage let for thirty weeks a year at an average weekly rate. If a platform takes a percentage of each booking, the annual commission is that percentage multiplied by the total rental income. Write your own numbers in: thirty weeks, your average rate, your platform's percentage. The figure is usually the equivalent of several weeks of bookings given away every year.
Now consider shifting even a quarter of those bookings to your own website. That is a quarter of the commission returned, with no extra cleaning, no extra wear and no extra marketing spend, because those guests already found you.
Why guests book on platforms anyway
Guests use platforms because they work. Availability is visible, questions are answered, payment is secure and there is a complaints process. An owner's website that shows a gallery and a contact form cannot compete with that, even when the same property is cheaper direct.
What has to be true for direct booking
Availability must be visible or confirmable immediately. Questions must be answered quickly, including in the evening. Payment must feel safe. Cancellation terms must be clear. And there should be a genuine reason to book direct, such as a better rate, a welcome hamper or flexible check-in.
Answering the questions that decide it
Guests ask about beds, pets, parking, Wi-Fi, the local area and check-in before they commit, as covered in guest questions before booking a holiday rental. Unanswered, those questions send them back to the platform, the pattern described in direct booking questions that send guests to the OTAs.
Guest: Is the cottage available the last week of July, and is it cheaper to book direct? Assistant: The availability calendar shows that week as open. Booking direct includes the rate shown on the booking page, which is lower than the platform rate, plus a welcome hamper and flexible arrival times. Would you like to leave your dates and contact details so the owner can confirm and send a booking link?
Trust signals
Guests booking direct worry about paying a stranger. Clear terms, a proper booking confirmation, reviews on your own site and a visible cancellation policy do more for conversion than design.
Repeat guests are the real prize
A guest who books direct once will usually book direct again. Capturing their details, with permission, turns one saved commission into several. Car rental operators use the same logic, as described in how car rental companies win direct bookings with a chatbot.
Owners using agencies
Owners letting through an agency face a parallel calculation, covered in holiday let owners and the questions before they instruct.
Working out your own numbers
Put your bookings, rate and commission percentage into the same structure used by the chatbot ROI calculator and compare the saving against a plan on the pricing page. For most owners, a handful of direct bookings covers it for the year.
Getting started
Show availability, publish a direct-booking benefit and answer guest questions at any hour. SpideyChat for hotels and holiday lets answers from your own pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site.