What is a net rate? Net vs commissionable rates for travel agents

A net rate is the price a supplier charges your agency with no commission built in. You add your own markup, sell at the higher price and keep the difference. Expedia Group puts it simply: a net rate is the price with the commission already removed. ASTA confirms that hotel net rates pay no commission to the agency.

Commission is a cut of the supplier's price. A net rate lets you set your own. Here is how net rates work, how they compare with commissionable rates, and what the pricing rules say about your markup.

What is a net rate in travel?

A net rate is a wholesale price. The supplier quotes what it wants to receive, and you decide what the traveler pays.

A commissionable rate works the other way round. Expedia Group calls it the gross rate: the total price the customer pays, with your commission paid as a percentage of it. On a net rate, the difference between the customer price and the net rate is your profit.

Hotels negotiate these rates in some contracts. ASTA's May 2026 brief says hotels negotiate non-commissionable rates in some contracts (e.g., net or corporate rates), and that these rates are often significantly lower than published or "rack" room rates.

How does a net rate booking work?

Here is how one tour operator, Alaska & Yukon Tours, runs it in its public agent registration terms (vendor terms):

1. You choose the rate type. Some of its products let agents choose between a NET rate or a COMMISSIONABLE rate.
2. You pay the supplier. On "Net Only", all tours will be charged to an agency credit card. The operator asks agents not to use the customer's card for net rates.
3. You collect from the traveler. Your markup sits inside the price you charge. The operator also allows a markup on commissionable items, for a 2% fee on the mark-up.
4. No commission follows. Commissions are NOT paid on NET products. On its commissionable products, commission is paid only after the traveler has completed the trip.

Terms differ by supplier. Read each contract for who charges the card, who pays fees and whether markups are capped.

Net rate vs commissionable rate

A net rate is also different from a non-commissionable fare (NCF). An NCF is a portion of a travel product's published price that earns no commission. A net rate is a whole price with no commission in it. See what is an NCF.

How do net rates differ by supplier type?

The idea is the same everywhere: the supplier names its price and you name yours. What changes is who may see the rate, whether you may set the price, and who pays whom.

Hotels. Bed banks such as Hotelbeds run two models side by side. In its commissionable model, the commission is included in the price provided on the sellingRate attribute, and prices are final. Check which model each rate uses before you price it.

Tours and activities. Viator offers resellers the same choice. In its commission model, you sell at the recommendedRetailPrice and receive a percentage commission. In its markup model, you set the price yourself.

Air. Most net airfares reach advisors through consolidators. Centrav, a consolidator, says it offers published and discounted fares ONLY to travel agents, and that you can add a markup, service fee, or commission on every fare you sell. Book direct with an airline and you get its no-commission published fares instead.

Net rate vs commission: a worked example

Illustrative numbers, not a supplier's real rates. Say a supplier offers the same hotel stay two ways.

At the same $1,000 price, the net rate pays $50 more here. That gap only exists because this net rate is below the commissionable price minus commission ($900). If the net rate were $900, the two would earn the same.

What this means for agencies: compare net plus markup against the gross price times the commission rate, at the price your traveler will actually accept. A net rate also puts the supplier payment on your card first, so check your cash flow before you choose it.

How to quote a net-rate package, step by step

Illustrative numbers, not real supplier rates. A traveler wants four hotel nights, one guided day tour and a round-trip flight. Each piece comes from a different net-rate supplier.

1. Collect each net cost. Hotel: $1,200 from a bed bank. Day tour: $430 from an activities reseller ($400 net plus a $30 booking fee). Flight: $900 on a consolidator's net fare.
2. Check that you may set the price. Is the hotel rate flagged with a mandatory selling rate? Is the fare one the carrier lets you mark up? If not, sell at the supplier's price.
3. Set a markup for each piece. Pieces travelers can easily price-check, such as hotels and flights, may need a smaller markup than custom ground arrangements (practical guidance).
4. Add it up.

1. Check the margin. $340 ÷ $2,870 is about 11.8% of the sale. That is before card processing costs and any host agency split.
2. Quote one all-in price. Show the traveler $2,870, with mandatory charges included, as the pricing rules below require.
3. Pay each supplier its net on time. Each one has its own payment deadline. See deposit and final payment schedules.

Can you mark up a net rate?

Yes, in the contracts above. The price you show still has to follow US price rules. This is a summary, not legal advice.

• Lodging. The FTC's fee rule covers hotels, motels, inns, short-term rentals and vacation rentals. Any price shown must come with the total price, more prominently than any other pricing information. Total price means all fees or charges a consumer must pay, less government charges and optional extras.
• Air. A ticket agent's advertised airfare, or a tour component such as a hotel bought with the flight, must show the entire price to be paid by the customer.

What this means for agencies (our reading; confirm with counsel): the rules don't name an agent's markup. But your markup is a charge the traveler must pay, so quote one all-in price that includes it. For more on fees and disclosure, see travel agent service fees. For how to size a markup and the difference between markup and margin, see what is a markup in travel.

Why net rates matter to travel advisors

You set the margin. Commission is a fixed percentage of someone else's price. A net rate lets you price for the work involved (practical guidance).

You get paid sooner, and you pay sooner. With a net rate, your earnings come from the traveler's payment. With commission, you wait for the supplier, often until after the stay or the trip.

You carry more risk. On "Net Only" bookings the agency card is charged, so a refund or cancellation dispute sits with you first (practical guidance).

Common net-rate mistakes

1. Showing a net rate in public. Booking.com's net rates may only be shown in a closed user group or opaque environment, such as a members-only page or a package price. A leaked net rate can cost you the supplier (practical guidance).
2. Selling at the retail price without checking your cost. Viator warns markup partners that the recommendedRetailPrice might be lower than the partnerTotalPrice. It tells them to set a price not lower than the partnerTotalPrice.
3. Leaving the booking fee out. Viator's booking fee should be included in the final price charged to the end customer. Price from the total you are invoiced, not the bare net.
4. Marking up a fare you are not authorized to. On airline negotiated fares, the right to mark up comes from the carrier through the fare's rules. If you aren't sure, ask the consolidator before you quote.
5. Confusing markup with margin. A 25% markup is a 20% margin. Price from the margin you need, then convert.
6. Pricing far above the public rate. Booking.com's best_available_price is the cheapest publicly available rate for the same product. Your traveler can find that price too (practical guidance).

Related terms

• Supplier commission
• Supplier commission rates
• What is a markup in travel?
• What is an NCF
• What is a DMC?
• Travel agent service fees
• How do travel agents get paid

How Tripdash helps with net-rate bookings

On a net-rate booking you collect the full price from the traveler. With Tripdash Pay you can send each traveler their own link to pay their share of the trip, and trace each payment to the exact supplier that received the funds. See how Tripdash Pay works.

Sources

1. American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). The history, economic impact and future of non-commissionable fares (NCFs) in the travel industry, May 2026.
2. Expedia Group (vendor). Travel agent commission: how it works and what you should know, accessed October 2026.
3. Alaska & Yukon Tours (vendor). Agency registration and agent terms, accessed October 2026.
4. Federal Trade Commission. 16 CFR Part 464, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, eCFR text as of October 1, 2026.
5. US DOT. 14 CFR 399.84, Price advertising and opt-out provisions, eCFR text as of October 1, 2026.
6. Hotelbeds (vendor). Pricing models, Hotels API knowledge base, accessed October 22, 2026.
7. Booking.com for Developers. Integrating TPI Net rates, accessed October 22, 2026.
8. Viator (vendor). Calculating product pricing, Partner Resource Center, July 15, 2025.
9. Travelport. Cat35: Negotiated Fares, accessed October 22, 2026.
10. Centrav (vendor). Travel Advisor FAQs: Why use Centrav when I can book directly with the airlines?, November 2, 2021.