Under the Booking.com agreement, what commission percentage must Best Western hotels pay Booking.com for bookings made by Booking.com customers on publicly available rates under the standard program?

According to Best Western's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Best Western hotels must compensate Booking.com for bookings made by Booking.com customers on publicly available rates. Under the standard program, this compensation is equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the net room revenue. Payments are made as commissions through the BestCheque commission payment system.

This means that for every booking made through Booking.com at a publicly available rate, a Best Western franchisee will pay 15% of the net room revenue as a commission to Booking.com. This impacts the revenue a franchisee receives from bookings made through this channel. The agreement is effective as soon as practicable upon the execution of a brand-level corporate lodging agreement with Booking.com.

It's important to note that this commission rate applies specifically to the standard program. There is also a preferred program with a higher commission rate of 18%, but participation in this program is by invitation only from Booking.com and subject to their requirements. Franchisees should also be aware that if they have a more favorable contracted commercial term with Booking.com, that term will apply instead of the standard 15%.

This agreement also requires Best Western hotels to provide Booking.com with Last Room Availability (LRA) access to their inventory in the Best Western LYNX system. The connection to Booking.com is facilitated through the brand's connection, and a transaction fee will apply. Additionally, the publicly available rates provided to Booking.com must be equal to those available through any other booking channel, with contractual consequences for violations, although this does not apply to Best Western Rewards rates, qualified rates through membership programs, or corporate negotiated rates.