TripAdvisor commissions

[Cherub]

I have been subscription based always. However it is now gone to 599 dollars. I'm thinking of changing to the free commission based instead. I can't locate on TA what their commission is. They just say 5 to 15% which is very vague. Why such a wide variation ?
I'd be happy with any help.

[newtimber]

I think owners pay 3% - the guests we've have paid around 13% and as a result we're just far too expensive so no-one books. The fee is completely hidden to guests - they have to look at the cancellation policy to see there even is a booking fee and what it is.

[Marks]

My guests seem to be paying 13.5%. I also add the 3% card fee to my rates so guests pay that as well. Had a few bookings this year but also some that say they found me on HL/TA and then searched and found me elsewhere but cheaper, SH for example.

I am fortunate in having a unique name for the apartment, totally made up in 1999, so I am easy to find for those that can be bothered.

[COYS]

My guests seem to be paying 13.5%. I also add the 3% card fee to my rates so guests pay that as well. Had a few bookings this year but also some that say they found me on HL/TA and then searched and found me elsewhere but cheaper, SH for example.

I am fortunate in having a unique name for the apartment, totally made up in 1999, so I am easy to find for those that can be bothered.

And it's the ones that can be bothered that you want Marks. Shows a degree of intelligence to find you, thus well rewarded by a significant saving.
I'm staggered that some folk will blindly pay these ever increasing fees for what amounts to very, very little. No wonder they hide it away from guests.

[newtimber]

I'm staggered that some folk will blindly pay these ever increasing fees for what amounts to very, very little. No wonder they hide it away from guests.

If the guests don't know they are paying it, they just assume the price is what the owners are charging and will therefore be the same on every site. As I say, the fee is not displayed in the price breakdown nor in the "Detailed quote" and only if you thought you might need to cancel would you know it existed.

[BargeeSpud]

I posted a topic on this extortionate subscription rise earlier this year, my subscription went up an incredible 27%! Some responders reckoned that TA want every listing to be a free listing so that they can impose booking fees on our customers. I decided to absorb the hike & put up my prices by a few quid rather than have guests put off by high booking fees of up to 20% depending on your property's popularity.

Since this change to subscriptions, it seems that you can no longer make any references to your own web site or facebook pages in your property's description. I tried updating mine & it was rejected due to my web site & facebook pages being on there, even though they'd been there ever since I took out the subscribed listing. My advice is if your description has any web references, DON'T edit it.

When I'm paying £600 for a listing I would expect to be able to provide this information to potential guests.

I'm afraid that TA & others these days forget that PROPERTY owners are their customers & that guests are OUR customers, they want their cake & eat it.

[Giraffe]

I'm on commission with TA. In my first year (2015) I had 5 bookings. Last year only one, and this year only one. I've done a calculation on the £695 weekly booking in June. TA charged the customers £100.78 in extra charges, a total of 15.95% - but does this include a card charge? They charged me £25.82, works out at 3.7%.

Tha's a total of over 19%

[Jenster]

Yes the TA guest booking fee is extortionate (commission listing). The owner fee is effectively a card processing fee of 3% + vat, which is also high for a card fee. I hardly ever get TA bookings, I believe for this reason.

[BargeeSpud]

Yes the TA guest booking fee is extortionate (commission listing). The owner fee is effectively a card processing fee of 3% + vat, which is also high for a card fee. I hardly ever get TA bookings, I believe for this reason.

I disagree with you I'm afraid, much as it pains me to defend the bar stewards at TA. The 3% is a commission for taking the booking, not a card fee & 3% is very reasonable, some booking sites can charge a lot more.

I would guess from your post, please correct me if I'm wrong, that your TA listing is what they call a "free" listing. This means that not only do you pay them the 3% comission, TA also takes a booking fee from your guest which can add a substantial sum on top of your rental fee for the guest to pay. If you are a what they call a "subscription" listing, this is not subject to guest booking fees & all you pay is the 3% commission, although the subscrition fee is pretty expensive, mine was £598 at last renewal.

I suggest that if yours is a free listing, its this booking fee that is more likely to be the reason you hardly get TA bookings.

[Jenster]

Yes the TA guest booking fee is extortionate (commission listing). The owner fee is effectively a card processing fee of 3% + vat, which is also high for a card fee. I hardly ever get TA bookings, I believe for this reason.

I disagree with you I'm afraid, much as it pains me to defend the bar stewards at TA. The 3% is a commission for taking the booking, not a card fee & 3% is very reasonable, some booking sites can charge a lot more.

I would guess from your post, please correct me if I'm wrong, that your TA listing is what they call a "free" listing. This means that not only do you pay them the 3% comission, TA also takes a booking fee from your guest which can add a substantial sum on top of your rental fee for the guest to pay. If you are a what they call a "subscription" listing, this is not subject to guest booking fees & all you pay is the 3% commission, although the subscrition fee is pretty expensive, mine was £598 at last renewal.

I suggest that if yours is a free listing, its this booking fee that is more likely to be the reason you hardly get TA bookings.

Yes, as I said I am on a commission (free) listing and the TA guest booking fee is extortionate, and I believe this is why I don't get many bookings.

If you are on subscription without card payments through TA (ie you take payment yourself by bank transfer or other) there is no owner or guest commission, just the subscription fee, hence why I assume the 3% is a card processing fee. When I enquired about a subscription listing, I was told I had the choice to take TA card payments at 3%, or not. For a commission listing, you have to take TA card payments.

HA would indeed charge more commission for a pay per booking listing, but I think they charge a slightly lower guest fee, although I could be wrong.

[BargeeSpud]

Yes the TA guest booking fee is extortionate (commission listing). The owner fee is effectively a card processing fee of 3% + vat, which is also high for a card fee. I hardly ever get TA bookings, I believe for this reason.

I disagree with you I'm afraid, much as it pains me to defend the bar stewards at TA. The 3% is a commission for taking the booking, not a card fee & 3% is very reasonable, some booking sites can charge a lot more.

I would guess from your post, please correct me if I'm wrong, that your TA listing is what they call a "free" listing. This means that not only do you pay them the 3% comission, TA also takes a booking fee from your guest which can add a substantial sum on top of your rental fee for the guest to pay. If you are a what they call a "subscription" listing, this is not subject to guest booking fees & all you pay is the 3% commission, although the subscrition fee is pretty expensive, mine was £598 at last renewal.

I suggest that if yours is a free listing, its this booking fee that is more likely to be the reason you hardly get TA bookings.

Yes, as I said I am on a commission (free) listing and the TA guest booking fee is extortionate, and I believe this is why I don't get many bookings.

If you are on subscription without card payments through TA (ie you take payment yourself by bank transfer or other) there is no owner or guest commission, just the subscription fee, hence why I assume the 3% is a card processing fee. When I enquired about a subscription listing, I was told I had the choice to take TA card payments at 3%, or not. For a commission listing, you have to take TA card payments.

HA would indeed charge more commission for a pay per booking listing, but I think they charge a slightly lower guest fee, although I could be wrong.

I used to take payments direct myself, simply blocking my calender off on TA when I got a private booking & TA got nothing from me for it. I switched over to TA subscription listing to get my guests protected payments & to be able to contact guests direct at enquiry stage rather than after they'd made a booking. I also switched to getting all my guests to book through TA as I found taking payments myself a total pain.