Hotel management
Hotel marketing cost: fee, media and cost per booking
Our fee starts at 1,200 EUR + VAT per month for one hotel and one channel. Media is paid separately, directly to Google and Meta. The real question is not what it costs, but what one direct booking costs compared with the commission.
Short answer
Hotel marketing has three costs: the agency fee, media paid to Google and Meta, and a one-off measurement setup. Our fee starts at 1,200 EUR + VAT per month for one hotel and one ad channel. The yardstick is not the total, but the cost per direct booking compared with the commission the hotel would pay an OTA.
- A fee from 1,200 EUR + VAT per month, for one hotel and one channel.
- Media is paid directly to the platform from the hotel's card. The accounts belong to the hotel.
- Compare the cost per direct booking with the commission on the same stay.
AI illustration
Hotel marketing has three costs. The agency fee, media paid to Google and Meta, and a one-off measurement setup. Our fee starts at 1,200 EUR + VAT per month, for one hotel and one agreed ad channel.
Three costs, kept apart
| Cost | Paid to | How |
|---|---|---|
| Agency fee | agency | monthly, from 1,200 EUR + VAT |
| Media | Google, Meta | directly from the hotel's card |
| Measurement setup | agency | one-off, before campaigns |
Media runs on accounts the hotel owns. The agency has access, not ownership. If the work ends, the hotel keeps campaigns, audiences and data history.
Setup means GA4 and ad tags on the website and the booking engine, cross-domain measurement and five events up to the booking. Without it nobody knows what one booking costs.
The yardstick is cost per booking
The total says little. What matters is what one confirmed direct booking costs.
An example month:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fee | 1,200 EUR |
| Media | 2,000 EUR |
| Total, before VAT on the fee | 3,200 EUR |
| Direct bookings from campaigns | 16 |
| Cost per booking | 3,200 / 16 = 200 EUR |
The average stay in the example is 1,300 EUR. A 15% OTA commission on the same stay is 195 EUR. The cost per direct booking is then about the same as the commission. The campaign pays off when it is below that, or when it brings guests an OTA would not.
The example figures are not a promise. Every hotel has a different rate, season and markets.
What to ask before signing
- who owns the ad accounts and GA4
- does the report show confirmed bookings or only clicks
- are brand searches separated from the rest, since brand brings guests who already look for the hotel
- is media kept apart from the fee, with proof of spend
More questions are in the article on how to choose a hotel marketing agency.
Sources
Next step
Calculate the commission on your own stay with the OTA commission calculator. If you want to see what a direct booking costs you today, ask for a hotel audit.
Related: case study Meneghetti Wine Hotel & Winery. Campaigns, the booking engine and direct booking results, June 2026 vs June 2025, source GA4.
Frequently asked questions
Does 1,200 EUR + VAT include the media budget?
No. The hotel pays media directly to Google and Meta from its own card, on accounts the hotel owns. Measurement setup and extra services are also separate.
How much media is needed?
It depends on markets, season and how many bookings the hotel wants from the website. I start from the direct revenue target and an acceptable cost per booking, and work backwards. The budget changes through the season, it is not the same every month.
How do I know it pays off?
Divide fee plus media by the number of confirmed direct bookings from campaigns. Compare that with the commission you would pay an OTA on the same stay. For this GA4 has to see bookings on the booking engine.
Why is the fee not a percentage of revenue?
Because a percentage pushes the agency to claim bookings that would have come without ads, for example brand searches. A fixed fee and a clear report on cost per booking keep the two apart.
Nikton Hospitality. A digital marketing agency for hotels.
About Nikton Hospitality and how we workRelated articles
Direct bookings
Booking.com commission and the cost of a direct booking
On a 1,000 EUR stay a 15% commission is 150 EUR. A direct booking is not free, but it has a limit: as long as media per booking stays below 110 EUR, the website is cheaper than Booking.com. Direct bookings are also cancelled half as often.
Hotel management
How to choose a hotel marketing agency
A hotel marketing agency should say who owns the ad accounts, what sits inside 1,200 EUR plus VAT, and what is billed separately. At Nikton Hospitality the work is led by Toni, in Zagreb.