What Amsterdam hotels pay in OTA commission in 2026

Across five independent Amsterdam hotels, OTA commission came to 6.2% of room revenue excl. VAT across all channels from March to September 2026, up from 5.7% a year earlier. The rise came from more nights through OTAs, not from the VAT increase: until 1 July 2027, Booking.com and Expedia calculate their commission on the price with 9% VAT instead of 21%. Without that arrangement, the same nights would have cost 6.9% in commission, or €22.11 instead of €19.92 per OTA night.

The key figures

March to September 2026 against the same months of 2025. Five independent hotels in Amsterdam that work with RevView, all under 50 rooms, together more than 27,000 room nights sold.

Booking.com and Expedia still calculate with 9% VAT, until July 2027

Since 1 January 2026, VAT on accommodation in the Netherlands is 21% instead of 9%. OTAs normally charge their commission on the price the guest pays, including VAT, so higher VAT makes every OTA night more expensive. Booking.com has postponed that: for stays with check-in from 1 January 2026 up to 1 July 2027, it calculates its commission on the room price with 9% VAT. According to the hotels in this research, Expedia does the same for Hotel Collect bookings; most Expedia bookings arrive net anyway (Expedia Collect). At the same contract rates, Booking.com commission stays at 18.7% of Booking.com revenue excl. VAT in this research, the same as in 2025.

From July 2027: about 11% more per OTA night

Unless Booking.com and Expedia extend the arrangement, their commission rises by 1.21 ÷ 1.09 = 11% from July 2027, at the same price excl. VAT. On the nights in this research, that would have meant 6.9% of room revenue instead of 6.2%, and €22.11 instead of €19.92 per OTA night. If you are making your 2027 budget, calculate the second half of the year with Booking.com and Expedia commission on 21% VAT.

Why commission still rose in 2026

64.6% of the room nights came through OTAs, against 61.0% a year earlier, and within the OTAs the share of Booking.com grew from 46.9% to 49.4%. Expedia brought 37.7% of the OTA nights. Most Expedia bookings are Expedia Collect: they arrive net, so the visible commission on Expedia was only 2.2% of its revenue, while Expedia's margin is already taken off the price. The shift towards OTAs, and towards Booking.com in particular, explains the rise from 5.7% to 6.2%, not the VAT.

The hotels absorbed the VAT on OTA bookings

At the median hotel, the price per OTA night excl. VAT was 7.7% lower than a year earlier, and 9.1% lower on Booking.com. With VAT up from 9% to 21%, that means OTA guests paid only about 2.5% more incl. VAT, and Booking.com guests about 1% more. Most of the VAT increase on these bookings came out of the room rate, not out of the guest's pocket. Part of that can be the market rather than a choice, but for the hotel the result is the same: less revenue per OTA night.

Direct guests pay more per night

At the median hotel, the average rate of a direct booking was 4.7% higher than that of an OTA booking, both excl. VAT and before commission. Part of that difference comes from Expedia Collect bookings arriving net. For the hotel the conclusion stays the same: a direct night brings in more and costs no commission.

What one percentage point is worth

For every 1,000 room nights sold, moving one percentage point of nights from OTAs to direct saves about €199 in commission at these hotels now, and about €221 from July 2027. A hotel with 40 rooms at 80% occupancy sells about 11,700 room nights a year, so one percentage point is worth more than €2,300 a year now and about €2,600 from July 2027.

Month by month

Commission as % of room revenue excl. VAT, all channels, 2026 with 2025 in brackets. Every month was higher than a year earlier.

How we measured

• Source: the reservations in the booking systems of five hotels that work with RevView, processed by RevView on 28 October 2026. It is not a sample of all Amsterdam hotels. No hotel is named and no figure is shown for fewer than five hotels.
• Room nights: the departure day does not count as a night; cancellations and no-shows do not count.
• Revenue: room revenue excl. VAT, before commission.
• Commission: calculated with each hotel's contract rate per channel, on the price the guest pays incl. VAT. For Booking.com and Expedia in 2026 on the price with 9% VAT, in line with their temporary arrangement (Booking.com: KHN, 15 August 2025; Expedia: according to the hotels in this research). These are not invoices.
• Expedia Collect bookings and wholesalers with a net rate come in net, and so do Agoda, Trip.com and HotelBeds bookings at these hotels: the margin they keep is not in these figures. The real cost of distribution is therefore higher.
• Period: March to September, because one hotel does not have complete data for January and February 2025. Hostels are not included.
• Correction, 28 October 2026: the first version of this article calculated Booking.com commission on 21% VAT and reported 6.9% and an 11% rise per OTA night. That did not take Booking.com's arrangement into account and was too high. This version also applies the arrangement to Expedia.

Want to know how much commission your hotel pays, per channel and per month? RevView shows every figure incl. VAT, excl. VAT and net of commission, against last year and against your budget.