Guide · Marketing

More direct bookings for your holiday rental: 7 levers that actually work

Updated 9 September 2026 · Approx. 7 min read

Around 15 per cent commission per booking is common, and depending on country and contract 17 to 20 per cent (as of July 2026): on €30,000 of annual revenue that is €4,500 or more going straight to the portals. Your own rate stands in your contract with the portal, and the commission calculator turns your annual revenue, portal share and commission rate into a figure for the year. Most hosts cannot do without Booking.com and Airbnb entirely (and do not need to). But every percentage point you shift towards direct bookings stays with you. The seven levers below work independently of each other; what to tackle first stands at the end under “Where to start?”.

1. A website that builds trust

Your website is your home online: your rules apply here, and nobody takes a commission. To turn visitors into bookings it does not need to be a design masterpiece, but it does need: good photos (usually the money that pays itself back fastest), fast loading on mobile, clear information on location, amenities and prices, and a face. Guests book direct because they trust you, not a portal.

2. Be instantly bookable, not just “on request”

The most common direct-booking killer is the contact form: “Send an enquiry, we will get back to you.” Someone searching usually has several properties open side by side. Anyone who has to wait for a reply email books elsewhere (usually on the portal, where it works instantly). Your website needs a live calendar with real prices and instant booking. If you already work with Smoobu you have the foundation: we measured Smoobu's interface on 9 September 2026 and it hands out a price, a minimum stay and the availability for each day. A booking engine like BineBoost turns that into a booking on your website, in your design and without commission. Which system fits you depends on your setup, and the comparison of booking engines puts the usual options side by side.

3. The direct-booker advantage

Give guests a reason to book direct: a slightly better rate, a later check-out, a bottle of wine or a more flexible cancellation policy. Important: whether a lower direct price is open to you is decided by your own contracts with the portals and by the country where you let, and not by a general rule. Read the current terms before you advertise one, and have your own booking, deposit and cancellation terms checked by a lawyer before you put them on the page; the tax side belongs with your tax adviser. A note like “best price direct with your host” is a common way to say it on the website.

4. Look after your Google Business Profile

Free and often left unused: a complete Google Business Profile (photos, availability, link to your website, reviews) puts you into local search and onto Google Maps, often the first point of contact when someone knows your name from a portal and searches for you “direct”. Actively ask happy guests for a Google review; a QR code in the apartment lowers the barrier.

5. Turn portal guests into repeat guests

The portals bring you the first contact. The rebooking can be yours. During the stay you are free to talk to your guests: a business card with a QR code to your website, a friendly “next time feel free to book direct, it pays off for both of us”, a small returning-guest perk. The common practice is to stick to the portals' communication rules before arrival. What is allowed after the stay is set by your portal contracts and by the data protection law of your country, and that is worth a lawyer's look if you are unsure.

6. Bring reviews onto your own website

Direct bookers do not automatically see your Booking.com reviews. The common route is to ask guests for a short statement for your own site, or to quote the best portal reviews with attribution. What you may take from a portal is set by its terms of use, so read them and have them checked if you are unsure. Three genuine, specific voices (“the sauna after a day on the slopes”) carry more weight than an anonymous star rating.

7. Become visible for the right searches

Instead of fighting the portals over “holiday apartment Tyrol” (where they are hard to beat), go for specific searches: your town plus a distinguishing feature (“holiday apartment Oetz with sauna”, “apartment Ötztal dogs allowed”). Answer the questions guests really ask on your website: how to get there, the ski bus, the bakery, the dog-friendly lake. That is honest SEO, and it helps your guests along the way.

Where to start?

1. Today: complete your Google Business Profile (30 minutes).
2. This week: make your website instantly bookable (calendar, prices, booking without detours).
3. This month: define your direct-booker advantage and make it visible in the apartment (QR card).
4. Ongoing: ask for a review after every stay.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get more direct bookings for my holiday rental?

Start with the Google Business Profile, because it is the quickest to finish and it catches the people who already know your name from a portal. Then make your website bookable on the spot, because that is the lever with the biggest effect over a year. Both stand in the list above under Where to start, with the order and the effort. Then define your direct-booker advantage. Trust, reviews and repeat guests grow slowly, so start on them now, but do not expect them to show up this month.

What commission does Airbnb charge a host?

That depends on which fee model your listing runs on. With the split fee, hosts usually pay around 3 per cent and guests about 14 per cent on top; with the host-only fee the host carries around 14 to 16 per cent alone (as of July 2026). The only rate that counts is the one in your own account. Look it up, put it into the commission calculator and you know what a year of it costs.

What percentage is Booking.com commission?

Around 15 per cent of the booking value is common, and depending on country and contract 17 to 20 per cent (as of July 2026). The preferred partner programme adds roughly 2 percentage points. On €30,000 of annual revenue that is €4,500 or more. The rate that binds you is the one in your own contract, and rates differ from host to host, so the figure a neighbour quotes is not automatically yours. Look your own rate up and put it into the commission calculator to see what a year of it costs.

Can I be cheaper on my own website than on the portals?

That depends on your own contracts, not on a general rule. The terms differ by portal and by country, so read your current ones before you advertise a lower price, ask in writing if anything is unclear, and have the answer checked by a lawyer if real money hangs on it. A common way around the question: keep the same price and give direct bookers something extra instead, such as a later check-out or a more flexible cancellation.

Is a contact form enough for direct bookings?

For most guests, no. Whoever can take the booking right away gets it, and that is usually the portal. A form still earns its place as a second path for the requests that need a person: long stays, a dog, an early arrival, a group across two apartments. It becomes the main path only if your lettings are genuinely negotiated one by one, and even then a live calendar with real prices saves both sides the first round of emails.