When is the Third-Party Internet Booking Fee due for a Best Western franchise?
Best_Western Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ate shall be equal to or less than any OTA loyalty program rate.
Pay for Points
Approved November 17, 2021 – Effective January 1, 2022, or as soon afterwards as is practicable and upon reasonable notice to the Membership, participation in Pay with Points (FX2) shall be required for all Best Western Properties on a non-Last Room Availability ("non-LRA") basis.
Booking.com Agreement
Approved May 2015 – Effective as soon as practicable upon the execution of a brand-level corporate lodging agreement ("Agreement") with Booking.com B.V. ("Booking.com"):
-
- All Best Western branded hotels in North America (each a "Hotel"; collectively, "Hotels") shall conduct business with Booking.com, subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, unless a Hotel's contracted commercial term is more favorable to the Hotel, in which case the Hotel's more favorable contracted commercial term shall apply.
-
- Hotels shall compensate Booking.com for bookings made by Booking.com customers on publicly available rates in an amount equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the net room revenue under the standard program and eighteen percent (18%) of the net room revenue under the preferred program. Payments will be made in the form of commissions, with commissions paid via the rules established for the BestCheque commission payment system (or its successor). Participation in the preferred program is by Booking.com's invitation only and is subject to Booking.com's preferred program requirements.
-
- Hotels shall provide to Booking.com Last Room Availability ("LRA") access to Hotel inventory in the Best Western LYNX system and through the Best Western connection with Booking.com.
-
- Hotels' connections to Booking.com shall be facilitated through the brand's connection (a transaction fee will apply).
- A Hotel's publicly available rates and rate plans provided to Booking.com shall be equal to the Hotel's publicly available rates and rate plans made available through any Hotel, Best Western, or third-party booking or distribution channel, and shall be subject to contractual consequences for a violation (e.g., honoring the lower publicly available rate).
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 108–413)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Best Western's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, hotels must compensate Booking.com for bookings made by Booking.com customers at publicly available rates. These payments are in the form of commissions, which are paid via the rules established for the BestCheque commission payment system (or its successor). The commission rate is 15% of the net room revenue under the standard program and 18% of the net room revenue under the preferred program.
Additionally, Best Western hotels participating in the Chain and Consortia Marketing Program pay a cost recovery fee for each net room night reservation received under this program. For fiscal year 2014, this fee was $2.25 per net room night. The Board of Directors establishes the fee for each subsequent fiscal year based on a pass-through cost analysis, with the fee not exceeding 3% of the previous fiscal year's Best Western reservations systems brand average daily rate.
For American Express and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, as Chain & Consortia Partners, properties pay a fee of $1.00 for each net room night reservation received, commencing January 1, 2007. This fee replaces any other participation fees previously paid for participation in these programs. For other Chain & Consortia Partners, properties pay a maximum fee of $1.00 for each net room night reservation received from that partner, although this fee may be lower for certain partners.