The guest searching your own name
Somebody types your property name and lands on a reseller listing. That guest already chose you. You are paying a commission to be introduced to a person who was looking for you.
Direct booking leads for Aruba hotels
Booking.com and Expedia typically take 15 to 18 percent of every stay they send you, and they take it again when that guest comes back. A direct booking costs you a flat monthly fee and nothing per night.
Commission bands: Wise and KIMISUITE for Booking.com, GuruHotel for Expedia. Industry summaries of published partner terms, not your contract.
Get a free lead checkNo contracts. Stop at the end of any month. The free lead check is yours whether you hire us or not.
The money
What does an OTA booking really cost an Aruba hotel?
15 to 18 percent is the usual band on both Booking.com and Expedia. Published ranges run wider, 10 to 25 percent on one and 10 to 30 on the other.
The Genius programme adds another 2 to 5 percent. Preferred Partner placement trades a higher commission for more visibility and can push a 15 percent base to 18. Those are industry figures summarising the platforms' own published terms, not a live read of your account. Confirm your own rate in your dashboard before you use any of these numbers in a decision.
The guest who has not chosen yet
A room for two near the beach with parking. Adults only, walking distance to dinner. Specific stays like these are winnable, because a big resort is not aiming at any of them.
The itinerary an assistant writes
Ask where to stay in Aruba and an assistant names a few properties. That is the new front page for a growing share of travellers, and there is nothing underneath it.
The guest who wants to ask first
Room layout, an early check-in, how far the beach really is. Some guests will not book until a person answers, and a property with no visible way to ask loses them quietly.
What changes
What changes for your property.
Your own name stops costing you a commission, the stay you actually sell becomes findable in the words guests use, and every direct enquiry gets counted.
01
Your own name stops costing you money
When a guest searches your property by name, the first thing they can click should belong to you. Recovering that traffic is usually the fastest money on the list.
02
You get found for the stay, not the star rating
Guests describe what they want before they know who offers it. The property that answers the description gets the enquiry, and it does not have to be the biggest one.
03
Every direct enquiry is counted
How many guests called, messaged or asked about a rate without a platform in between, counted every month. No contracts, stop whenever you want.
Leads, not likes. If it is not a real person trying to buy from you, it does not go in the count.
Before you ask
Questions hotel owners ask.
How much commission do Booking.com and Expedia charge an Aruba hotel?
15 to 18 percent is the standard band on both, with wider published ranges of 10 to 25 percent and 10 to 30 percent. Genius adds 2 to 5 percent more, and Preferred Partner placement can push a 15 percent base to 18.
Is this worth doing for a property with eight rooms?
Often more so than for a large one. A small property only needs a handful of direct bookings a month to cover the whole cost, and the specific searches it can win are the ones the resorts ignore.
How many hotels and tourism businesses are there in Aruba?
The hotel and tourism association lists 151 member companies, covering hotels, timeshare resorts, activity operators and service providers. Not every tourism business on the island is a member, so that is a partial roster rather than a total.
Do I have to leave Booking.com to do this?
No, and you should not. Keep it for the reach it gives you. The aim is that guests who search your name, or search for exactly the stay you offer, arrive without a commission attached.
Is any of this under contract?
No. Month to month, stop at the end of any month, and the profile, the pages and the guest enquiries stay with the property whatever you decide.
Member count: AHATA member list, the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association's own roster.
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