Most owners start on Airbnb or Booking.com. It's an excellent way to gain visibility quickly. But with fees that often amount to 15% or more of each stay, one question always comes up eventually: how do you take back control of your margins?
The answer fits in two words: direct booking.
The short answer
Direct booking doesn't replace the platforms; it complements them. It lowers fees on part of your stays, gives you a direct relationship with your guests and limits your dependence on a single channel. To launch it, you need a booking engine with online payment, synced with your calendar, and a way to bring your past guests back.
1. Take back part of your margin
Since October 27, 2025, Airbnb has applied host-only service fees to hosts connected to management software, at 15.5% in the general case. Booking.com charges a commission whose rate varies by property. On a €100 night, that's often €15 or more that never reaches you.
With direct booking, you remove the platform commission; what remains are payment fees and, where applicable, your tool's fees. Even if you offer guests a small discount to book direct, it can still pay off: run the numbers with your own figures.
2. Build your own customer relationship
On the platforms, the relationship goes through their messaging, and guests' contact details stay limited. With your own booking channel, you build your customer list, in compliance with the GDPR (informing guests and letting them opt out of your messages).
Send a promo code to past guests a few months after their stay to encourage them to come back, booking direct this time.
3. Reduce your dependence on a single platform
Having your listing suspended or demoted overnight, after a platform decision or a disputed review, is every host's nightmare. Depending on a single channel is a risk. A direct booking channel lets you keep receiving bookings whatever happens on a platform.
4. Look more professional
A booking channel in your own name changes how guests see you. It reassures them, makes you look like a hospitality professional and lets you showcase services the platforms barely show (local partnerships, breakfasts, bike rentals).
5. How to do it without being a tech expert
You no longer need to code or pay a web agency several thousand euros.
The mistake to avoid: creating a brochure website with no synced booking engine. If your site doesn't let people book and pay online with an up-to-date calendar, many visitors will leave to book elsewhere.
The Boostinghost solution: BHGuest, the direct booking app built into the PMS, with Stripe payment, promo codes and automatic emails. During payment, the dates are held temporarily; once the booking is confirmed, availability is updated on Airbnb, Booking.com and the other connected platforms. BHGuest bookings carry a 3% Boostinghost service fee, plus Stripe fees.
Frequently asked questions
Is direct booking really commission-free?
There is no platform commission, but payment fees remain and, depending on the tool, service fees. With BHGuest, count on a 3% Boostinghost service fee on top of Stripe fees.
How do you attract direct bookings?
Through past guests (promo codes, loyalty), your social networks, your local partners and word of mouth. A direct channel is built gradually; it doesn't replace the platforms' visibility.
Can you offer a lower price for direct bookings?
That depends on each platform's terms, which change. Check the current rate parity rules before showing different prices, or offer perks (promo code, a free service) rather than a lower public price.
Key takeaways
Direct booking lowers fees on part of your stays and your dependence on the platforms. Launch it with an engine synced to your calendar, bring past guests back and calculate the real gain, payment fees included.
Sources
- https://www.airbnb.fr/help/article/1857
- https://hello.pricelabs.co/fr/blog/changement-frais-service-airbnb/
- https://www.boostinghost.fr/en/pricing.html
- https://www.cnil.fr/fr/la-prospection-commerciale-par-courrier-electronique
