> but the big ones like booking.com take everything they can, and they can take a lot. You mean, take as much as is offered? The hotels are free to let the roo

> but the big ones like booking.com take everything they can, and they can take a lot. You mean, take as much as is offered? The hotels are free to let the rooms sit idle & refuse the bookings; they wouldn't pay these commissions if they didn't make business sense. A $100/night room that's empty generates $0 and costs $10-20 (amortised staffing and maintenance costs, insurance, permits, etc.) A $100/night room filled with a 30% commission generates $70 & nets ~$50. I think that most hotel managers would not list their preferences as: direct booking & ~$80 > empty & $0 > booking site & ~$50.