What this calculator actually does
It multiplies four numbers together: how many bookings your hotel takes each month, what each one is worth on average, what share of those bookings come through an OTA rather than your own site, and the commission rate you actually pay. The result is the plainest possible answer to "how much do OTAs cost me," with no AI-related assumptions layered in and no industry-default rate applied on your behalf. If you enter a second OTA, the total splits into a side-by-side breakdown, since most hotels aren't on just one platform, and the two rarely charge the same rate.
Why the number is usually bigger than expected
OTA commission rates typically run 15 to 25%, and because they're charged per booking rather than as a flat fee, the total scales directly with volume. A hotel doing 300 bookings a month at a 220 average booking value, with 60% of that going through OTAs at an 18% rate, pays a little over 85,000 a year in commission alone, before accounting for a second OTA at a different rate. Run your own real numbers above; the figure is usually higher than most owners estimate from memory, since it's easy to think about commission per booking and lose track of it as an annual total.
What moving bookings to direct is actually worth
Every booking that shifts from an OTA to your own site keeps the commission you would otherwise have paid, minus the smaller cost of taking that booking directly (payment processing and booking-engine fees, typically around 5%, far below any OTA rate). The calculator shows this net figure for a conservative 10% shift, not a full channel overhaul, since that's a realistic starting target rather than a guess.
Getting there usually takes more than one lever: rate parity and a clean booking engine matter, and so does simply being findable when a guest is deciding where to stay before they ever reach a booking site, including inside an AI assistant's answer. That's a different, related problem this site also covers.
Related reading
How is this different from Staylight's AI revenue-at-stake calculator?
This one only totals what you already pay OTAs in commission, plain arithmetic, no AI-related assumptions. The other one estimates revenue at stake specifically from AI-influenced bookings that skip your hotel, using published AI-adoption assumptions. They answer different questions.
Where do the default commission rates come from?
Nowhere but you. There's no industry-default rate applied here, since real OTA commission contracts vary widely, roughly 15-25%, depending on the platform, market, and your own negotiated terms. Enter your actual rate for an accurate number.
What does the 'move 10% to direct' figure assume?
It applies a 5% payment-processing and booking-engine cost against the commission you'd otherwise avoid, the same direct-booking-expense assumption used across Staylight's other calculators, so the figure is a realistic net saving, not a gross one.
Can I break this down by more than two OTAs?
The calculator supports two at once for a clear side-by-side view. For more, run it once per OTA with that OTA's specific share and rate, then add the totals.