Commission Override

Commission Override is any program or arrangement in which a hotel pays an OTA a higher commission than the standard contracted rate, typically in exchange for additional visibility, ranking benefits, or merchandising exposure.

Common forms of override

• Preferred Partner / Plus programs — always-on commission uplift for higher ranking (Booking.com)
• Visibility Booster — date-specific tactical commission uplift (Booking.com)
• Accelerator — variable commission bid for ranking position (Expedia)
• Promotional override — extra commission tied to specific OTA-driven sales campaigns
• Negotiated chain override — chains agreeing to higher commissions for portfolio-wide marketing

Why hotels use it

Commission overrides are most often used to:

• Drive incremental volume in soft periods
• Improve search ranking on competitive routes or compsets
• Unlock merchandising slots like deals pages and thematic campaigns
• Defend visibility against competitors using the same programs

The risk

Override programs can create margin compression without lifting absolute revenue if too many hotels in the same comp set adopt them — everyone pays more commission, but the relative ranking is unchanged. This is sometimes called the "commission arms race."