Commission-free bookings: what you really pay per guest
A small fee per guest is easy to ignore. Here is how to work out what it costs you in a year, and how to move regulars to bookings you do not pay for.
The Revotab team2 min read
Booking platforms that charge per guest rarely look expensive on any single booking. The cost shows up over a year. You can work out your own number in two minutes, with no one else's statistics.
Your number, in three steps
- Guests booked online in a typical month. Look at last month's bookings that came through a platform, and count covers, not tables.
- What you pay per guest. Your contract says it: a fixed fee per cover, or a percentage of the bill.
- Multiply by twelve. That is what a year of online bookings costs you, before any subscription fee.
Now compare it with a flat monthly price for the same year. The busier you are, the bigger the difference. Our commission calculator does this sum with your own numbers.
Why the fee is not the only cost
- The guest belongs to the platform. The next time that guest is hungry, they open the platform, see five other restaurants, and may book one of them.
- You pay again for your regulars. A regular who books through the platform every week costs you the fee every week, even though they would have come anyway.
- Your marketing list stays small. If you cannot email the guests who booked, your best customers are not on your own list.
Moving guests to bookings you do not pay for
You do not have to leave a marketplace overnight. Start where the guests already know you:
- Put your own booking link in your Instagram bio and on your Google Business Profile.
- Add a "Book a table" button to your website.
- Print a QR code for the table, the bill folder and the window.
- When regulars call, book them into your own system, and send them the confirmation with your link.
Each guest who books you directly once usually books you directly again.
With Revotab
Revotab charges one flat monthly price per venue, with no commission on any booking and no fee per cover. Your booking page, website button, Instagram and Google links all go to your own booking page, and every guest who books stays in your guest book. See the plans and prices.