A direct booking request.
Guests who find you on Google, come back for a second stay or hear about you from a friend can ask for their dates on your own site, or tap WhatsApp or call.
Free calculator · Guesthouses and B&Bs · South Africa
Booking.com commission calculator.
Put in your rooms, rates and occupancy to see roughly what Booking.com and Airbnb commission costs you in a year, and how many direct bookings would pay for a website of your own.
§ 01 — Calculator
Put in your numbers.
About 301 bookings a year come through Booking.com and Airbnb, and they cost about R108,405 in commission. If 10% of those guests booked direct instead, you'd keep about R10,841 a year.
- Commission paid in a year
- R108,405
- Commission on an average booking
- R360
- Direct bookings that would pay for a R4,950 website
- 14
- Kept in a year if 10% of those bookings came direct
- R10,841
An estimate, not a quote. A website won't move every booking to direct, and your Booking.com and Airbnb listings carry on. These figures show what you'd keep if some of your guests book direct.
§ 02 — A worked example
A 5-room guesthouse, step by step.
5 rooms at R1,200 a night, 55% full across the year, with 60% of bookings coming through Booking.com or Airbnb at 15% commission, and guests staying 2 nights on average.
5 rooms × 365 nights × 55% occupancy
1,003.75 room nights1,003.75 room nights × R1,200
R1,204,500 in room income60% of that comes through Booking.com and Airbnb
R722,70015% commission on R722,700
R108,405 a yearCommission on one booking: R1,200 × 2 nights × 15%
R360R4,950 website ÷ R360 per booking, rounded up
14 direct bookingsIf 10% of the year's 301 bookings came direct: 10% of R108,405
R10,841 kept
§ 03 — How they charge
What Booking.com and Airbnb take.
Booking.com
- Commission is a set percentage of the total booking amount: the room rate plus extra fees such as cleaning fees. It's charged once the guest checks out, and on non-refundable bookings whether or not the guest stays.
- There's no single published rate. Booking.com says yours depends on your country, your property type and the accommodation agreement you signed. You'll find it in that agreement, or on the Finance tab under Reservation statements.
- The Preferred Partner Programme and Visibility Booster add a percentage on top of your base commission.
- It doesn't charge commission on local taxes such as city tax, but in most countries it does charge commission on VAT.
Airbnb
- Airbnb is moving all hosts to a single, host-only service fee. It's already mandatory for most hosts, including traditional hospitality listings and hosts who use property management software.
- Under the host-only fee, most hosts pay 15.5% and the rest typically pay 14% to 16%.
- Under the older split fee, which is being phased out, most hosts pay 3% and guests pay 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal on top.
The calculator starts at 15%, close to Airbnb's usual 15.5%. Change it to the rate on your own statement.
Checked in November 2026 on Booking.com's partner help pages, Understanding your commission and Understanding the Preferred Partner Programme, and Airbnb's help centre, Airbnb service fees.
§ 04 — How a website helps
Somewhere for guests to book you direct.
Or the button you already use.
If you take bookings through NightsBridge or another booking system, your site can carry that booking button instead.
Your listings carry on.
Your Booking.com and Airbnb listings stay as they are and keep bringing guests. The website is for the guests who'd rather book with you.
R4,950 once-off includes up to five pages, your .co.za domain and the first year of hosting. I make you a free preview first. If you like it, you pay half to start and the rest once you're happy with it. After the first year, you can keep it hosted with me for R249 a month.
Everything that's included →§ 05 — Questions
Straight answers.
How much commission does Booking.com take?
Booking.com doesn't publish one rate for everyone. Its partner help pages say the percentage depends on your country, your property type and the accommodation agreement you signed, and you'll find it in that agreement or on the Finance tab under Reservation statements. The Preferred Partner Programme and Visibility Booster add a percentage on top of your base commission. It's charged on the total booking amount, including extra fees such as cleaning fees, and in most countries on VAT too.
How much does Airbnb charge hosts?
Airbnb is moving all hosts to a single, host-only service fee. Most hosts pay 15.5% and the rest typically pay 14% to 16%. Under the older split fee, which is being phased out, most hosts pay 3% and guests pay 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal on top.
How does the calculator work it out?
Yearly commission is rooms × 365 nights × occupancy × average nightly rate × the share of bookings that come through Booking.com and Airbnb × your commission rate. Commission on an average booking is nightly rate × average stay × commission rate. It's an estimate: your reservation statements show what you actually paid.
Will a website stop me paying commission?
Not on its own, and you wouldn't want it to: your Booking.com and Airbnb listings carry on as before and keep bringing guests. A website gives the guests who'd happily book you direct somewhere to do it, with a direct booking request or the booking button you already use, such as NightsBridge. Each of those bookings is one you don't pay commission on.
What does a website cost?
R4,950 once-off, fixed. That includes up to five pages, your .co.za domain and the first year of hosting. I make you a free preview first. If you like it, you pay half to start and the rest once you're happy with it. After the first year, you can keep it hosted with me for R249 a month.
§ 06 — Start
See your website
before you pay.
Tell me about your guesthouse in a short form. I'll email you a free preview of your website, usually the same day.