How DirectBalkan pricing works: fixed monthly plans, 0% booking commission and the costs outside them

What a DirectBalkan plan is

A paid DirectBalkan plan is a fixed monthly subscription for access to the DirectBalkan platform for an accommodation business. The price does not depend on how many bookings come in or what they are worth. It depends on the size of the business on the platform: how many properties are live and how many units guests can book.

DirectBalkan uses one subscription per Organization, the account under which an owner or operator manages their properties. An owner with several properties therefore has one plan that covers them, not a separate plan per property.

What a plan gives access to is the platform as it stands. The Terms of Service say that capabilities marked as planned or in development are not part of what you buy until they are available, and Product Status shows where each capability stands today.

How properties and units are counted

Two counts decide which plan fits, and the plan is set by whichever limit you reach first:

Two examples show how the limits interact. A single guesthouse with many separately bookable rooms can need a larger plan because of its units, even though it is one property. An owner with several one-apartment properties can need a larger plan because of its properties, even with few units in total. Larger portfolios beyond the published plans are quoted individually.

Counting decides which plan fits; it does not start one. Under the Terms of Service, a paid subscription starts only when the Organization chooses to start one, and making a property Active does not start a paid subscription by itself.

What 0% booking commission covers, and what it does not

0% booking commission means DirectBalkan does not take a percentage of the bookings a property receives. DirectBalkan's income from an owner is the subscription. It is a statement about DirectBalkan's own charges only:

• Payment-provider fees. When a guest pays by card, the payment provider that processes the payment may charge its own fees. Those fees are separate from DirectBalkan and are not DirectBalkan fees. How they work is covered in Payments and deposits for direct bookings.
• Other channels' costs. A property that also sells through Booking.com, Airbnb or other platforms keeps paying those platforms' commissions and fees on the bookings they bring. DirectBalkan doesn't change another platform's terms.
• Taxes on the subscription. Plan prices exclude taxes; where VAT or a similar tax applies, it is added at checkout.

How billing works

The Terms of Service set the billing rules. In summary:

• Monthly in advance, month-to-month. There is no long-term contract and no setup fee. The subscription renews automatically each month until a cancellation takes effect.
• Paddle as Merchant of Record. Payments for DirectBalkan subscriptions are processed by Paddle, which is the seller of record for each subscription transaction. Paddle processes the payment, issues the invoice or receipt, and calculates and collects applicable taxes depending on your location and the details given at checkout.
• Moving up. A move to a higher plan takes effect immediately, so its higher limits apply at once. The higher price applies from the next renewal, with no partial charge for the current period.
• Moving down. A move to a lower plan takes effect at the next renewal, provided usage then fits both limits of the lower plan.
• Cancelling. Cancellation can be requested at any time. It stops future renewals, and access continues until the end of the period already paid for.

Cancelling doesn't by itself refund the current period. Whether a refund is available depends on applicable law, the Paddle buyer terms and the circumstances of the purchase; the Refund Policy explains how to request one.

Early Access is not a purchase

Registering for Early Access is free, needs no payment details and doesn't start a subscription. It tells DirectBalkan about a property; it isn't a listing and doesn't guarantee publication. Any launch terms offered to Early Access participants are described on the Early Access page and in the FAQ, which are the current reference for them.

How to compare a fixed plan with commission

A fixed subscription and a percentage commission behave differently, so comparing headline numbers is misleading:

In a channel cost comparison, a subscription therefore belongs with the fixed costs, allocated over the reporting period, not with commission. The method is set out in Booking.com commission vs direct bookings and extended to every channel in Effective cost of distribution. The Commission Calculator estimates the commission side for your own revenue and an assumed rate.

When a fixed plan may not be the right fit

A fixed price suits some situations better than others. Because the plan price applies whether or not bookings arrive, it weighs most on a property that expects few bookings through DirectBalkan in a period. The marketplace listing and the paid toolset are also separate, so an owner should decide whether they actually need the full toolset before activating a plan. The honest test is the same as for any channel: what it costs per booking in your own figures, over a period that reflects your season.

Summary: DirectBalkan is a fixed monthly plan per Organization, set by Active properties and billable units, with 0% DirectBalkan booking commission. Taxes on the subscription, payment-provider fees and other channels’ costs sit outside the plan price; current figures are on Pricing.