How a guest house can stop paying 15–30% commission to middlemen

Industry data for 2025 paints a stark picture: independent accommodation receives on average 63.4% of bookings through middleman platforms, with real commissions reaching 15–30% of every booking. Europe's dependence on them has historically been the highest in the world. Every tenth euro your guest house earns can drain away to a middleman — for a guest who may already have known you.

Why a direct booking is worth more

• No commission — the full amount stays with you.
• SiteMinder's analysis of 125 million bookings: a direct booking is on average significantly more valuable than a middleman one (~$516 vs ~$312).
• Middleman bookings are cancelled roughly twice as often (21.8% vs 10.6% for direct).
• The guest's contact details and the relationship belong to you, not the platform.

The regulatory window is open

Since 2024, the EU's Digital Markets Act lets accommodation offer lower prices on its own website than on Booking.com — price-parity clauses are no longer binding. Which means: you may openly motivate guests to book direct, and the best price on your own site is a legitimate strategy.

What a direct-booking strategy needs

• A website that looks trustworthy enough to pay on directly — photos, descriptions, reviews.
• Your own booking system: calendar, availability, confirmations, invoices.
• A clear reason to book direct: a better price, more flexible terms or a bonus.
• Fast performance on a phone — most bookings start on a mobile device.

Our solution

In hospitality projects Fendor Forge uses a booking engine proven in production — it runs daily on pededzes.lv with bookings, an admin panel and invoice generation. A premium website with its own booking system is a Premium-plan project from €7,500 — and it pays for itself with every booking that no longer goes through a middleman.