Free tool
Commission savings calculator
See what OTA commissions cost your listing per year. Enter your nightly rate and booked nights, then adjust the commission rate to match what you actually see on your payout statements.
In your own currency - the calculator works with any currency.
Nights actually booked in a year, not nights listed.
Commission structures vary by platform, listing type, and market - set this to match what you actually see on your own payout statements.
Annual booking revenue
27,000
Estimated annual commission
4,050
That is
27.0 nights
of revenue a year
What is a commission
What OTA commissions are
Most online travel agencies (OTAs) charge a percentage-based commission on every booking made through their platform. The exact rate is not one fixed number: it varies by platform, listing type, and market, and some platforms combine a host-side fee with a separate guest-side service fee that never shows up in the host's own payout total.
Because the rate is taken as a percentage of the booking total, it scales with revenue rather than staying fixed - a busier season or a rate increase raises both the revenue and the commission taken from it at the same time.
Why it matters
Why direct bookings avoid the commission
A booking made through an OTA pays that OTA's commission because the OTA brought the guest to you and processed the reservation. A booking a guest makes directly through your own website - a repeat guest who already knows you, or someone who found you through search or a referral - never routes through that platform, so there is no commission to take from it.
RentalBeam's availability calendar and booking form widget exist to make that direct path possible: your availability stays synced from your existing iCal feeds, and interested guests get a real way to book with you directly instead of going back to an OTA to do it.
RentalBeam Pro
Where RentalBeam Pro fits in
RentalBeam Pro is a single direct-booking plan with no commission and no RentalBeam booking fee. It unlocks the booking form widget, guest-payment workflow, coupon codes, seasonal pricing, custom fields, booking rules, host email tools, and reply-from-inbox guest messaging. RentalBeam never takes a cut of your booking revenue. When a guest chooses to pay by card through RentalBeam, the only deduction is the standard Stripe card-processing fee, which is paid to Stripe - not RentalBeam. Inquiry-only, pay-later, and off-platform bookings (such as bank transfer) carry no per-transaction cost at all.
This calculator only estimates the OTA commission cost above - it does not add or subtract a RentalBeam plan cost, since plan pricing is set on the pricing page and can change independently of this tool.
Commission calculator FAQ
How accurate is the commission rate in this calculator?
It is an estimate, not a quote. Commission structures vary by platform, listing type, and market, and many platforms combine host and guest fees in ways that are not fully public. Use the slider to match the rate you actually see on your own payout statements for the most accurate result.
Does this calculator include RentalBeam fees?
No. This tool only estimates what a percentage-based OTA commission costs on the booking revenue and nights you enter - it does not model any RentalBeam plan cost.
Does RentalBeam charge a commission or booking fee on Pro?
No. RentalBeam Pro takes zero commission and adds no RentalBeam booking fee - your direct booking revenue is 100% yours. The booking form widget, guest payment workflow, coupon codes, seasonal pricing, custom fields, and booking rules are all included. The only cost when a guest pays by card through RentalBeam is the standard Stripe card-processing fee, which is paid to Stripe, not RentalBeam. Inquiry-only and pay-later flows have no per-transaction cost.
Can I lower my OTA commission without leaving Airbnb or VRBO?
Some platforms offer reduced rates for certain listing tiers, but the more direct way to reduce commission exposure is to route more of your repeat and referral guests to a direct booking option on your own website, so those specific stays never pay a platform commission at all.
What currency does the calculator use?
None specifically. Enter your average nightly rate in whatever currency you normally think in - the results use the same units, since the math is just your rate multiplied by nights and commission rate.
Turn direct bookings into a real channel
Add a synced availability calendar and a commission-free booking form to your own website, and see current plans on the pricing page.