Hotel Cost Per Acquisition Calculator
Compare what a booking really costs on each channel once commission, ad spend and fixed fees are added, and find your cheapest channel.
| Channel | Bookings | Revenue ₹ | Commission % | Ad spend ₹ | Fixed fees ₹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
How to use the free Hotel Cost Per Acquisition Calculator
- Enter your figures in the fields above – use real numbers from your PMS, channel manager or accounts.
- Tap the button to see the result instantly. Change any value to compare scenarios.
- Copy, print or save the result and use it in your daily or monthly review.
This Hotel Cost Per Acquisition Calculator runs fully in your browser on mobile or desktop – no sign-up and nothing is uploaded. Free hotel cost per acquisition calculator. Enter bookings, revenue, commission, ad spend and fees per channel to get CPA, cost % and net revenue.
What each booking really costs
Every booking has an acquisition cost: the commission paid to an OTA or travel agent, the ad spend that brought the guest to your website, and fixed fees such as booking engine or listing charges. Hotels usually know their OTA commission rate but rarely compare it with what a website or metasearch booking costs once ad spend is included. Cost per acquisition (CPA) puts every channel on the same footing.
CPA = Acquisition cost ÷ Bookings
Cost % of revenue = Acquisition cost ÷ Revenue × 100
How to fill in the table
- Use one period for all channels, such as last month or last quarter.
- Bookings and revenue: from your PMS or channel manager, by source. Use room revenue excluding GST.
- Commission %: the OTA or agent rate, or the payment gateway percentage for direct bookings.
- Ad spend: Google Ads, metasearch clicks and social media ads that drove bookings to that channel.
- Fixed fees: monthly booking engine, listing or subscription charges linked to the channel.
If you cannot claim input tax credit, choose the option to add 18% GST on commission, because it is a real cost.
Reading the result
The tool highlights the channel with the lowest cost as a percentage of revenue, which is usually the fairest comparison. A channel can have a high CPA in rupees but still be cheap if its guests stay longer or pay more. Look also at net revenue per booking, which is what actually reaches the hotel.
Use the findings to decide where to put marketing effort. If your website CPA is well below your OTA CPA, investing in direct bookings pays back quickly; the direct booking savings calculator shows the gain per shifted booking. Tag your ad links with the UTM link builder so bookings are credited to the right campaign, and plan the overall balance with the channel mix calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is cost per acquisition for a hotel?
It is the total cost of getting one booking from a channel: commission, advertising and fixed fees for that channel, divided by the number of bookings it delivered in the period.
Is a high CPA always bad?
Not always. A channel that brings long, high-value stays can have a high CPA per booking and still a low cost as a share of revenue. Compare both figures before cutting a channel.
Should I include GST on OTA commission?
Include it if you cannot claim input tax credit on it, which is common for hotels charging room tariffs up to ₹7,500 at 5% GST without ITC.
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