How to reduce Booking.com commissions for your riad
Your riad pays 15–20% to Booking on every reservation. Here is how to build a direct booking channel and keep that margin for yourself.
What you are actually paying every month
Let's put a number on it. Your riad in Marrakech charges an average of 900 MAD per night. With 20 bookings a month, that's 18,000 MAD in revenue — and at a 17% Booking.com commission, you hand over 3,060 MAD of it. Every single month.
Over a year, that's more than 36,000 MAD going to a Dutch company. Money that could go toward a renovation, a part-time hire, or simply more breathing room.
Many riad owners feel trapped. The platform brings visibility, and that's real. But the dependency has a hard cost, and it is worth reducing it deliberately.
Why guests book direct — when you make it easy
The guests who stay at your riad already trust you. When they come back, or refer a friend, that next booking still flows through Booking.com. You pay again.
Most travellers would happily book direct if they knew how — and if there's a small reason to do so: a complimentary transfer from Marrakech-Menara airport, a home-cooked breakfast, a 5% discount off the displayed rate. The motivation is there. What's missing is a simple, trustworthy direct channel.
Three building blocks of a direct booking channel
1. A booking engine on your own website
There are affordable options with no hefty monthly fees (Lodgify, Beds24, or a custom build). What matters: guests should be able to pick dates, see live availability, and pay in a few clicks — by card or via CMI for Moroccan guests.
2. A well-maintained Google Business Profile
Many guests search for your riad by name on Google after finding it on Booking. If your profile is up to date with a link to your website, you catch that intent before it loops back to the platform.
3. An automated post-stay email
After every checkout: a simple message — "Thank you for your stay. For your next visit or to refer a friend, book directly on our site and enjoy [benefit X]." It costs almost nothing to send and can turn a Booking.com guest into a lifetime direct customer.
How long does it take?
A riad website with an integrated booking engine, a polished Google profile, and an automated email sequence: that's a project of a few weeks, not months. The payback period in direct bookings is usually fewer than ten reservations.
What you do not lose
The goal is not to abandon Booking.com overnight. The platform still fills slow periods, attracts first-time guests, and maintains your international reach. The aim is to reduce dependence, not cut the cord entirely.
Start by targeting 30–40% direct bookings within six months. That is very achievable with the right tools in place.
At Tadnun, we help riads and guesthouses across Morocco build their digital toolkit: booking sites, availability management, automated emails. If you'd like to talk it through, get in touch.