Boutique hotels in the Dominican Republic: a flat monthly fee instead of commission

How much of what you charge for each room actually stays with your hotel? For a boutique hotel in the Dominican Republic, with few rooms and tight margins, the commission each channel keeps can weigh more than it seems. Every night sold pays its share, and that share grows exactly when the hotel is doing well.

This article is for owners and managers of boutique hotels, guesthouses and small hotels. It explains how a commission weighs on a hotel with few rooms, how to compare it with a flat fee using your own numbers, how a hotel works on SimpleStay today, with its strengths and its limits, and what to prepare before you publish.

Key Takeaways

• In a small hotel, a per-booking commission multiplies with every room and every night sold.
• A flat fee of US$100 a month per hotel covers all of its rooms, with no SimpleStay booking commission.
• Today, all rooms in a hotel on SimpleStay share one nightly price and one capacity, and only nightly stays are offered.
• Every hotel is reviewed by SimpleStay before it goes live.

Table of Contents

• What commission costs a small hotel
• Run the numbers with your own data
• How a hotel works on SimpleStay
• Prepare your hotel before you publish

What commission costs a small hotel

A large hotel can spread channel costs across hundreds of rooms. A boutique hotel has no such cushion. Every booking counts, and so does every share of it that leaves.

A commission on every room sold

Under a commission model, the channel keeps part of every booking. Other platforms can take up to 15% of each booking, and the exact amount varies by channel and property type. If a family books three rooms for four nights, the commission applies to that whole total. The more rooms you fill, the more you pay.

A flat fee per hotel

With a flat fee, you pay the same every month, no matter how many rooms you sell. In high season you do not pay more for filling the hotel, and in low season you know the cost in advance. That makes the year's budget easier to plan. For a general description of the category, see boutique hotel on Wikipedia.

Run the numbers with your own data

The most useful comparison is yours. Use the figures from a typical month at your hotel and follow these steps:

1. Add up the month's bookings, across all rooms and nights sold.
2. Calculate the commission by multiplying that total by your current channel's rate.
3. Compare it with the flat fee of US$100 a month per hotel.
4. Repeat the math for a low-season month and a high-season month.

An example to get you started

Illustrative example. A six-room boutique hotel charges US$90 a night and sells 60 room nights in a month, for US$5,400 in bookings. At a 15% commission, the channel keeps US$810. Against a flat fee of US$100, the difference that month is US$710. If in a slow month it sells only 7 room nights, the total is US$630 and the commission would be about US$95, less than the flat fee. That is why your real occupancy matters.

Third-party costs

Under any model, some costs do not come from the channel. Stripe processing, bank fees, currency conversion and taxes may apply separately. Include them in your calculation. For a deeper look at this comparison, read our guide on flat monthly fees vs booking commissions.

How a hotel works on SimpleStay

SimpleStay charges US$100 a month per hotel, a subscription that covers all of that hotel's rooms, with 0% SimpleStay commission per booking. Guests pay US$0 in SimpleStay service fees. It is better to know from the start both what it offers and what it does not offer yet.

Rooms, pricing and multi-room bookings

Your hotel is published as a single property. You register rooms by room number, set how many guests fit in each and define the hotel's check-in and check-out rules. You can also offer an optional discount when a guest books several rooms. The guest chooses how many rooms they need and books them in one reservation, and the system allocates the rooms automatically.

Be aware of the current limits. All rooms in a hotel share one nightly price and one capacity today. There are no separate room types, no connection to outside booking or hotel management software, and no automatic pricing. Hotels accept nightly stays only. If your rooms are very different from each other, take this into account before you decide.

Review before going live

Every hotel is reviewed by SimpleStay before it is published. You get a notice at each stage: pending review, information required, approved and live. The review has no set outcome, so prepare your information carefully. Guest payments go through Stripe Checkout, and in the Dominican Republic you can receive payouts in pesos through Stripe Global Payouts once the guest's payment settles. Arrival timing depends on Stripe and your bank.

Prepare your hotel before you publish

A boutique hotel competes on what makes it different: its character, its service and its location. Your listing should show that clearly and without exaggeration.

Photos and description

Show the rooms as they are today, the shared areas and the details that make the hotel unique. In the description, tell guests what they will find:

• What the stay includes and what costs extra.
• Whether there is breakfast, a front desk with set hours, or parking.
• What the surroundings are like: street noise, stairs or access for guests with reduced mobility.
• Which languages your team speaks.

Hours, rules and cancellation

Set your check-in and check-out times, your hotel rules and a flexible, moderate or strict cancellation policy you can stand behind. If you welcome guests during Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, explain your policy in plain language. A short, clear policy saves your front desk from explaining the same thing to every guest who asks.

A fee that does not grow with your occupancy

For a boutique hotel, moving from a per-booking commission to a flat fee can change how you plan the year. Run the numbers with your data, check whether a single nightly price works for your rooms, and prepare your information for the review. No channel can guarantee bookings or occupancy, but knowing your costs gives you more control.

If your hotel fits what SimpleStay offers today, publish it. Every new listing gets a free trial: 30 days, or 7 days for listings located in the United States. After that, the fee is US$100 a month per hotel, with all of its rooms included, and you can cancel anytime.

List your property with a free trial

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to list a boutique hotel on SimpleStay?

US$100 a month per hotel, a subscription that covers all of that hotel's rooms, with 0% SimpleStay commission per booking. Stripe processing, bank fees, currency conversion and taxes may apply separately.

Can I set different prices for each room?

Not today. All rooms in a hotel on SimpleStay share one nightly price and one capacity. If your rooms are very different, take that into account before you decide.

Does my hotel go live right away?

No. Every hotel is reviewed by SimpleStay before it goes live, and you get a notice at each stage: pending review, information required, approved and live.

Can a guest book several rooms at once?

Yes. The guest chooses how many rooms they need and books them in one reservation. The system allocates the rooms automatically, and you can offer an optional multi-room discount.

Can hotels offer monthly stays?

No. On SimpleStay hotels accept nightly stays only. Stays of 3, 6 or 12 months are available for other property types.