Commission avoided is a gross figure, not net savings. Deduct payment, software and acquisition costs before estimating payback. All occupancy, rate and currency-conversion figures here are modelling assumptions, not current market quotes.
Updated 6 November 2026
Leaving Booking.com? How much a riad really loses in commission
Short version for a riad owner: you don’t have to “leave” Booking.com to act. You need to put a number on what the commission costs, then decide which share of bookings could move to direct. This page shows the arithmetic line by line, with the assumptions visible.
1. The formula
annual loss = 365 × rooms × occupancy × OTA share × average rate × commission
Defaults of the free calculator: 8 rooms, 900 MAD per night, 65% occupancy, 75% of nights through OTAs, 17% commission, €1 = 10.87 MAD.
2. Result on those assumptions
8 × 365 × 0.65 × 0.75 × 900 × 0.17 ≈ 217,796 MAD per year (≈ €20,036). That is an arithmetic illustration, not a promise: your riad may have a different rate, occupancy or commission.
| Size (assumed) | Avg rate/night | Yearly commission (17%) | ≈ in € |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 rooms | 700 MAD | 84,698 MAD | ≈ 7,792 € |
| 8 rooms | 900 MAD | 217,796 MAD | ≈ 20,036 € |
| 12 rooms | 1,100 MAD | 399,292 MAD | ≈ 36,733 € |
Occupancy 65%, OTA share 75%, commission 17% on all three rows. Same maths as the calculator.
3. “What if only part of it went direct?”
The commission you avoid is proportional to the nights you move. On the 8-room case: 5% of OTA nights direct ≈ 10,890 MAD (≈ €1,002); 10% ≈ 21,780 MAD (≈ €2,004); 20% ≈ 43,559 MAD (≈ €4,007) per year. These are multiplications, not conversion forecasts.
4. How many direct bookings repay a website?
Illustration: 900 MAD (≈ €82.80) × 3 nights × 17% = €42.23 estimated OTA commission per stay, before direct-booking costs. This is not a savings forecast or break-even point. The calculator reruns the model with your numbers. Booking-engine and payment fees also exist and are not zero.
5. What Booking.com says about its own commission
- Commission is a percentage of the total booking amount, including extra fees you charge (cleaning, service, etc.), applied once the guest has checked out.
- It also applies to non-refundable bookings even if the guest does not show.
- No commission on local taxes such as city tax; in most countries commission is charged on VAT/GST, depending on the General Delivery Terms.
- Your percentage is shown at the “Agreement” step of registration; if your statement shows a higher percentage than your contract, you may be in a marketing programme (Preferred Partner, Visibility Booster).
- Partner Help and the join FAQ confirm there is no public “Morocco riad rate”: only your agreement counts. MAD calculators (including ours) only multiply the rate you enter.
6. So, do you leave?
Our position: no — keep Booking for discovery and build the direct channel for the second booking: returning guests, referrals, Google, Instagram, WhatsApp. Nothing here says what your Booking contract allows or forbids on pricing: read your agreement before changing rates.
Run your own numbers from your contract, then choose.
Payment via Stripe, in euros. We sometimes contact riads with one business email; reply STOP and we won't contact you again.
Sources (pages read on 5–6 November 2026)
- Booking.com for Partners — Comprendre votre commission (FR) (https://partner.booking.com/fr/aide/commission-factures-et-taxes/factures/comprendre-votre-commission)
- Booking.com for Partners — Understanding your commission (https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/help/payments-payouts-invoices/invoices/understanding-your-commission)
- Booking.com — join.booking.com FAQs (https://join.booking.com/faq.html)