Can Hotels Offer Lower Rates on Their Own Website?
By MarketingToolsProHub Editorial Team | Last updated: | 5 min read
Can hotels offer lower rates on their own website?
It depends on where your hotel is and what your OTA contracts say. In the European Economic Area, the Digital Markets Act lets hotels set lower prices on their own website than on Booking.com. Elsewhere, a "narrow" parity clause can still stop you publishing a lower public rate on your website.
- Rate parity is a contract term requiring the same (or no lower) prices on other channels than on the OTA.
- "Wide" parity covers every channel; "narrow" parity covers only your own website.
- EEA: Booking.com cannot stop properties offering different prices or conditions on their own websites.
- UK and Australia: OTAs dropped wide parity (UK, 2015; Australia, 2016), but narrow clauses on your website may still apply.
- Phone, walk-in and loyalty rates are often allowed even where narrow parity applies; read your own contract.
What is rate parity?
Rate parity (or price parity) is a clause in an agreement between a hotel and an online travel agency (OTA) that stops the hotel offering a better price elsewhere. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority described two kinds:
- Wide parity: the hotel must offer the OTA the same or a better price than on other OTAs.
- Narrow parity: the hotel must offer the OTA the same or a better price than on the hotel's own online direct channels, its website.
Narrow parity is the one that matters for your website. For how hotels win more direct bookings within these rules, see our hotel website design page.
Where can hotels set lower prices on their own website?
| Region | What the official source says | Your own website |
|---|---|---|
| European Economic Area | The DMA bans Booking.com from preventing different prices or conditions on other channels, including your own website | Lower prices allowed (Booking.com) |
| Germany (before the DMA) | The Federal Court of Justice confirmed Booking.com's narrow parity clauses were unlawful (2021) | Lower prices allowed |
| United Kingdom | Booking.com and Expedia removed wide parity from 2015; the CMA said it would keep the remaining narrow clauses under review | Check your contract: narrow parity may apply |
| Australia | From 1 September 2016, Expedia and Booking.com removed parity with other OTAs and with offline channels | Check your contract: the change covered other OTAs and offline channels |
| US, Canada and elsewhere | No official source in this table | Your contract decides |
The DMA applies to Booking.com because the European Commission designated Booking Holdings a gatekeeper, with obligations applying from 14 November 2024. Other OTAs aren't covered by the DMA in the same way, so check each contract.
What changed for hotels in Europe in 2026?
On 28 September 2026, the European Commission published changes Booking.com made to support DMA compliance. According to the factsheet, Booking.com:
- removed parity clauses from its General Delivery Terms (July 2024);
- stopped using parity as an eligibility test for its Genius, Preferred and Preferred Plus programmes;
- stopped using external prices for default ranking and programme eligibility;
- removed "competitive" and "non-competitive" labels from the Extranet.
In practice, a hotel in the EEA can offer a lower price on its own website without losing Booking.com programme eligibility because of it. Whether a lower direct price is the right strategy is a separate, commercial question.
What can you offer direct even under narrow parity?
Narrow parity usually targets the public price on your website. Depending on your contract and region, these are often still open to you:
- Phone and walk-in rates: in Australia, the ACCC said hotels can offer lower rates through telephone bookings and walk-ins.
- Loyalty and member rates: the ACCC also mentioned special rates for customer loyalty groups.
- Added value instead of a lower price: breakfast, late check-out, parking or a room upgrade for direct bookings.
- Packages: a room with dinner or an activity, priced as a package rather than a room rate.
Our guide to getting more direct hotel bookings covers what to offer direct guests, and our guide to OTA commission rates shows what each OTA booking costs you.
Why do OTAs sometimes show a lower price than your own website?
Usually not because you loaded a lower rate there. Common causes:
- OTA-funded discounts: the OTA reduces its own margin for members or app users.
- Programmes you joined: member, mobile or campaign discounts you agreed to.
- Rates leaking from wholesale or tour-operator contracts onto public sites.
- Currency, taxes or fees shown differently on each site, so totals don't match.
Check the rates and programmes in each extranet first, then your wholesale contracts. Matching every OTA price isn't always the goal either: parity makes rates easy for guests to trust, but it also means your direct channel needs another reason to win, such as added value.
What should you check in your OTA contract?
- Is there a price or availability parity clause, and does it cover your own website, other OTAs or offline channels?
- Does it mention member, loyalty or closed-group rates?
- Do visibility programmes (preferred status, badges, ranking boosts) depend on parity?
- What happens if a rate shows lower elsewhere: a warning, lower ranking, or a penalty?
- Which country's law governs the agreement?
This is general information, not legal advice. For a specific contract, ask a lawyer or your hotel association.
How should your website show a better direct offer?
State it next to the booking button, not on a separate page: "Book direct: free breakfast and late check-out". Make sure the booking engine applies it automatically, and that the price guests see on your site matches what they'll pay. Our hotel website checklist covers the booking path, and our guide to hotel website costs covers what it costs to build.
Check how your current site presents direct offers with our free hotel website grader.
Frequently asked questions
Summary
Whether you can show a lower rate on your own website depends on your region and contract. In the EEA, the DMA lets hotels set different prices from Booking.com, including on their own website; in the UK and Australia, wide parity has gone but narrow clauses may remain. Read your contract, use added value and closed offers where the public price is restricted, and present the direct offer clearly next to the booking button.
See how your website presents direct offers with our free hotel website grader.
Sources checked
Information checked on . Prices, fees and policies change, so confirm details with the source before relying on them. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
- European Commission (DMA): how the DMA ensures businesses using Booking.com are free to set their prices (28 September 2026)
- European Commission: Booking must now comply with the Digital Markets Act
- Bundeskartellamt: courtesy translation of the Federal Court of Justice press release on Booking.com (2021)
- CMA: hotel online booking case closure summary (16 September 2015)
- ACCC: Expedia and Booking.com agree to amend contracts with Australian hotels (2 September 2016)