Is Booking.com Legit? The Hidden Cost of OTAs, and Why Booking Direct Is Cheaper

Every year, millions of travellers type the same question into Google: is Booking.com legit? The short answer is that Booking.com is a real, registered company — the largest online travel agency in Europe. But that is the wrong question. The question that should worry every traveller is a different one: how much more are you paying because you booked through it?

We live and work in Taormina, and we see the other side of the screen every day. In our view, the online travel agency (OTA) model is rigged against both the guest and the host. It inserts a powerful middleman between you and the place you are actually staying, takes a cut of every night, and quietly builds that cost into the price you pay. This article explains how it works, what regulators have found, and how to book the same room for less.

How the OTA model really works

An online travel agency does not own a single room. It sells other people’s rooms and takes a commission on every booking — typically between 15% and 25%, and more when properties pay for extra visibility. For a family paying €2,000 for a week by the sea, that can mean €300 to €500 or more going to the platform rather than to the place you are staying.

• Commission on every night. The platform takes its cut whether it brought you a new discovery or you would have found the property anyway.
• Pay-to-rank. Visibility programmes allow properties to pay higher commission in exchange for better placement. The “top results” you see are not simply the best — they are often the ones paying the most.
• Who really pays. To survive the commission, many properties price higher on OTAs. The middleman’s margin becomes your surcharge.
• Who owns the relationship. The platform controls the communication, the payment and your data. Your host often cannot even reach you directly before you arrive.

The view from the terrace is identical whichever website you use. The only difference is how much of your money goes to a middleman.

What regulators and courts have found

This is not just our opinion. Over the last decade, competition authorities and courts across Europe have repeatedly scrutinised how Booking.com treats hotels:

• Spain, 2024: the Spanish competition authority (CNMC) fined Booking.com €413.24 million for abusing its dominant position in the market for hotel booking services, finding that it imposed unfair trading conditions on hotels.
• Court of Justice of the EU, 2024: Europe’s highest court ruled that Booking.com’s price parity clauses — which restricted hotels from offering lower prices elsewhere — cannot be treated as necessary ancillary restraints, opening the way for them to be assessed as restrictions of competition.
• Italy: Italian law banned parity clauses in contracts between hotels and online platforms in 2017, so that Italian hotels can offer lower prices on their own websites.
• European Union, 2024: Booking.com was designated a “gatekeeper” under the EU Digital Markets Act, the regime reserved for the most powerful digital platforms in Europe.
• Collective action: hotel associations across Europe have backed a collective legal claim against Booking.com seeking compensation for the effects of its past parity clauses.

“Booking.com scam”: what travellers should know

The phrase “Booking.com scam” is one of the most searched questions about the platform — and for good reason. In recent years, fraudsters have used hijacked property accounts to send fake messages through the platform’s own messaging system, asking guests to “re-confirm” their card details or pay again through a link. Many travellers have lost money this way.

• Never pay through a link sent in a chat message, however official it looks.
• Be suspicious of urgent requests to re-enter card details after you have already booked.
• When in doubt, contact the property directly using the phone number or email on its official website.

Booking direct removes this layer altogether: you deal with the owner or hotel from the start, on their own official website.

Expedia and the other OTAs

The same commission-based model runs across the industry. Expedia Group — which includes Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo — also charges properties commission and sells paid placement. Different logo, same middleman, same cost built into your price.

How much more do you really pay?

It depends on the property, but the commission has to come from somewhere. Here is a real example from Taormina: at Cohen House Taormina, three private residences facing Isola Bella, the official direct rate is 25% lower than the price on booking platforms. Same apartment, same terrace, same view of Isola Bella — a quarter less, simply because there is no middleman.

How to book direct (and pay less)

1. Find the property wherever you like — a guide like this one, a map, a recommendation.
2. Go to its official website. Search the property name and look for its own domain, not a booking platform.
3. Compare the price. In Italy, hotels are free to offer lower prices on their own websites — and many do.
4. Ask for extras. Direct guests often get better rooms, flexible check-in, transfers or local tips that platforms never pass on.
5. Use a direct-booking platform. TrippChain connects travellers with properties’ direct inventory rather than OTA listings, so you can compare without paying a platform markup.

Frequently asked questions

Is Booking.com legit?

Booking.com is a legitimate, registered company. But being legitimate is not the same as being the cheapest: the commission it charges properties is usually built into the price you pay, so booking direct is often cheaper.

Is it cheaper to book direct with a hotel?

Very often, yes. OTAs typically charge properties 15–25% or more in commission. When you book direct, that cost disappears, and many properties pass the saving on to you — at Cohen House Taormina the direct rate is 25% lower.

What are the fees on Booking.com?

Booking.com charges properties a commission on each booking, generally between 15% and 25% and higher for visibility programmes. Guests do not see this fee as a separate line, but it is reflected in the room rate.

What is the best alternative to Booking.com?

The best alternative is the property’s own website. To compare direct prices across properties, use a direct-booking platform such as TrippChain.

How do I avoid Booking.com scams?

Never pay through links sent in chat messages, never re-enter card details after booking, and verify any request directly with the property using contact details from its official website.

Sources

• CNMC fines Booking.com €413.24 million for abusing its dominant position (2024)
• CJEU ruling on Booking.com price parity clauses (2024)
• Booking.com and the EU Digital Markets Act
• Hoteliers’ pan-European legal action against Booking.com

Disclosure: Cohen House and TrippChain are partners of this guide. This article reflects the editorial opinion of Hotels in Taormina, based on the public sources listed above. Some links may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Photography by VanSky Studio, Taormina.