Hotel Bookings Explained: Direct vs Wholesalers and Commission Rules

When booking hotels, it’s very important to understand the difference between booking directly with the hotel and booking through wholesale platforms.

When you book hotels through third-party wholesale systems such as Expedia TAAP, Bedsonline, TBO, RateHawk, and similar platforms, clients will generally not earn hotel loyalty points and will not receive elite benefits like upgrades, late checkout, or free breakfast tied to their hotel status.

These wholesalers are considered third-party distribution channels, and most hotel loyalty programs only award points and elite recognition on direct bookings made through the hotel’s official website or approved direct channels.

On the other hand, wholesale platforms often offer very competitive pricing, flexible cancellation terms, and easier commission tracking, which is why they are excellent tools for many bookings, especially for independent hotels or clients who are price-focused rather than loyalty-focused.

If your client wants to earn hotel loyalty points and maintain elite status, the only way to do that is by booking directly on the hotel’s official website. In that case, you should always check whether the hotel is travel-agent-friendly and whether their booking engine allows you to enter agency credentials such as BNT’s CLIA number or IATA information.

If the hotel accepts agent credentials and the rate is commissionable, you can still earn commission while your client earns points and benefits for elite status. It’s also important to understand that even when booking directly, some hotel rates offer very low commissions or are completely non-commissionable. In those cases, the client may still earn loyalty points, but you will not be paid for the booking. If you are ever unsure whether a specific rate is commissionable, we strongly recommend contacting the hotel directly to confirm.

Our support team cannot verify the commissionability of individual hotel rates. This is why it’s important to have a clear conversation with your client upfront and explain the trade-off between earning loyalty points versus securing lower pricing or commissionable rates through wholesalers.

Your role as an advisor is to match the booking method to the client’s priorities, whether that is loyalty benefits, price, flexibility, or commission structure, and to choose the channel that makes the most sense for that specific booking.