Understanding our commission

We’ve collected all of the information you need in one article to help you understand how our commission works, including when it’s collected, when it isn’t and how you can check the commission details of both monthly invoices and individual reservations.

What’s in this article

The commission-based model

Booking.com works on a commission-based business model, meaning you pay us a set percentage of each reservation you receive through our platform. We’ve structured our commission with a few details in mind:

• Our commission structure is based on the idea that the price you set is the price guests should pay 
• We strive for simplicity in pricing to make it easy for you to price your property competitively and attract more guests
• The commission percentage varies per country and can also vary depending on your property type or location. Please start your registration process to find out how much applies to you.

How we determine commission eligibility

You pay commission when:

• You have a confirmed stay – your guest has checked out and paid
• You charge guests for non-refundable bookings, regardless of whether the guest stayed at your property or not
• You charge guests for partially refundable and non-refundable bookings
• You charge guests for no-shows or cancellations
• You charge guests who cancel after the free cancellation period has ended

You don’t have to pay commission when:

• You choose to waive the cancellation fee for non-refundable bookings
• You mark a guest as a no-show and choose to waive the cancellation fee
• You’ve marked a guest's credit card as invalid because you were unable to charge the guest

Paying commission on overbookings

Commission is charged for an overbooking because the room was made available on Booking.com. In addition to charging you commission, we ask that you cover relocation costs for the guest.

Exceptions: If you’ve been live on Booking.com for fewer than 30 days, or you’ve had fewer than five overbookings in 12 months, no commission will be charged on overbookings.

How we calculate monthly commission invoices

Your monthly commission invoice is based on the total number of eligible reservations from the previous month. During the first week of each month, invoices are issued for all reservations with check-out dates from the previous month. For example, if a guest arrives on 31 January and checks out on 1 February, the commission for this reservation would be included in your March invoice.

You can mark no-shows, modify reservation dates and change prices starting at 00:00 on the check-in date, until either the 2nd or 5th of the following month, depending on your property’s location. Your invoice is generated one day later, either on the third or the sixth of the month. 

We expect partners to verify reservations before the invoice is issued. By conducting your own review, you can ensure that you only pay for reservations that have been verified.

For example, if a guest completes a stay in July, you have until either the 2nd or the 5th of August to complete the reconciliation process. The invoice then generates on either August 3rd or 6th, depending on your country/territory.

Viewing your invoices

You can view your full list of invoices, as well as a history of invoices you’ve received from us, by following these steps:

1. Log in to the extranet
2. Click on Finance and then click Invoices
3. Under the Filter by year drop-down menu choose a specific year of invoices to view
4. Click PDF for each monthly invoice under the Actions column

Viewing commission information for individual reservations

You can see reservation-level details like how much commission is due or how much has already been paid for any particular invoice by viewing your Reservation statements in the extranet.

1. Log in to the extranet
2. Click on the Finance tab and select Reservation statements
3. Choose a Period from the drop-down menu to see all the reservation details that have been included in a particular monthly invoice, including how much commission you owe

You can download .xls or .csv versions of your reservation statements from this page if you want to save them or upload them for use in your own accounting software.

For more information about Reservation Statement, please read the following article. 

If the commission percentage stated on the Reservation statement is more than the percentage listed on your contract, you may be participating in one of our marketing programmes like Genius, Preferred Partner or Visibility Booster. To check on your participation and the total commission percentage for these programmes, log on to the extranet and visit each programme’s section in the Opportunities tab. You can also contact the Partner Services team for more assistance by sending a message from your Inbox.

Commission invoices and VAT/GST charges

Depending on your local tax legislation, we may include VAT/GST on your commission invoice. The commission we charge you is calculated based on your total reservation cost. In cases where we don’t charge VAT/GST, you may be required to calculate and report it directly to your local tax authority.

If you have additional questions about VAT/GST, we recommend that you consult your accountant or a local tax authority.

Contacting us with questions about your invoices

If you have a question or concern about your invoices, please contact us directly from your Inbox. 

As well as your monthly commission invoice, you may also be issued other types of invoices and documents. Please check to see what type of invoices you have been issued by following these steps:

1. Log in to the extranet
2. From the Finance tab, select Invoices
3. Check the Document name column to see what type of invoices you have been issued

Common additional invoice types include:

• Incorrect no-show – reservations on this invoice were originally marked as a no-show and were not included in your commission invoice. Guests later confirmed with us that they stayed according to their original reservation. Since the commission for these reservations was not included in your commission invoice, a separate invoice was issued for payment.
• Customer complaint costs – this type of invoice is issued in situations such as relocation costs due to overbooking or incorrect charges to the guest. In these instances, you should have already received a separate communication from our customer service team.

Debit note: These can be issued for different reasons, but you may encounter them if an invoice needs to be corrected. If we discover an incorrect VAT amount, or find incorrect reservations included in an invoice, we’ll send you a debit note. To check on the details, download the PDF version of the note, which will contain additional details specific to a prior invoice.

Disputing a commission

After a guest checks out, you have up to 48 hours after the end of the check-out month to modify your property’s reservations in the extranet and make sure you will get a correct invoice. For more information and steps, please view the following article.

How to pay your invoices

For more information on how to pay your invoices, please check the following article.