Notes from the independent house.
A working journal for independent hoteliers, written by people who have stood at the desk, set the rates, and balanced the books. Read, share, argue with us.
Results for “Commission”.
AI visibility for hotels: how to get your property recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google
More guests now ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Mode where to stay, and get a handful of names back. Most independent hotels are never one of them. Here is how AI picks hotels, and eight steps to get yours named and booked direct.
Tribii
UCP for hotels: the Universal Commerce Protocol and the future of online booking
Google and the biggest names in travel have written a shared language that lets AI assistants book a hotel room inside a conversation. It is called UCP. Here is what it is, who keeps the guest, and what independent hotels should do before it reaches Europe.
Tribii
MCP for hotels: how AI assistants will find, sell and help run your property
ChatGPT, Claude and Google can now read live hotel prices, and some can take a booking. The standard behind it is called MCP. Here is what it is, what it changes for a small hotel's visibility and daily work, and what to do about it now.
Tribii
Hotels using Tribii: three real setups for direct bookings
A canal house in Amsterdam, a village guest house in the Douro and two apartments in Kampen all take commission-free bookings with Tribii. Each one set it up differently. Here is what they did, and how to choose the setup that fits your property.
Tribii
OTA terms explained: a plain-language glossary for independent hotels
Commissionable rate, net rate, merchant model, narrow parity. The words in your OTA contract, explained in plain language, with what each one means for your money.
Tribii
Booking.com Genius and Preferred Partner: what they really cost a small hotel
Genius and Preferred Partner are sold as growth tools. Both are also a price. Here is what each one costs an independent hotel, how to test whether it pays, and what to decide before 2027.
Tribii
The real cost of an OTA booking: commission is only the first line
Most hoteliers know their commission rate. Few know their effective rate. Here are the other lines on every OTA booking, and how to work out what a room really costs you to sell in 2027.
Tribii
How much commission does Expedia take? The 2026 guide for independent hotels
Expedia's headline commission is only the start. Here is what a booking really costs once you add the payment model, the visibility tools and the card fees, and how to pay less in 2027.
Tribii
Rate parity is gone in Europe. How to price your direct rate for 2027
Booking.com can no longer make you match its price on your own website. Most small hotels still do. Here is what the law allows, what the algorithm might not, and how to set a direct rate for 2027 that pays.
Tribii
Own your guests
An OTA booking doesn't hand you a guest. It hands you a stay, and the OTA keeps the name, the email and the right to ever talk to that person again. Here's what that costs an independent hotel, and how Tribii is built on the opposite assumption.
Tribii
The street outside is part of your hotel
How guest messaging, local experiences and a traveller board turn a stay into three connections, and why one of them lands as a real line on the folio.
Daniel Vidal
Free booking engine with a payment gateway: what a small hotel should actually look for
Three business models hide behind the word "free", and only one of them leaves your direct bookings alone. Plus the payment question most vendors would rather you didn't ask.
Tribii
What is a hotel PMS? A plain-language guide for independent hoteliers
Not a definition from a brochure. What the software actually does between 7am and midnight at a twenty-room property, and which words mean what.
Tribii
How to move your small hotel off spreadsheets
The spreadsheet got you here, and it is not stupid. But there are four specific places it fails, and each one costs you money quietly.
Tribii
How much does a hotel booking engine cost in 2026?
Published prices, hidden tiers, and per-booking fees. What the market actually charges a small property, with every figure sourced and dated.
Tribii
Do small hotels need a channel manager?
The honest answer is sometimes. Here is how to work out which sometimes you are in, using your own numbers rather than a vendor's.
Tribii
Commission-free booking engine: what it really means
Every booking engine calls itself commission-free. The phrase is doing different work in each case, and only one version means what you think.
Tribii
Cloudbeds pricing for small hotels: what you will actually pay in 2026
Cloudbeds does not publish a price. Here is what is known, what is estimated, what to ask on the sales call, and when a small property is overpaying.
Tribii
Channel manager vs booking engine: what a small hotel actually needs
The two tools get sold together and confused constantly. One sells rooms on other people's websites. The other sells rooms on yours.
Tribii
How much commission does Booking.com take, and how to pay less
The headline rate is only part of the bill. Here is what you actually pay, what you can change, and what you cannot.
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