ByteDance's Doubao AI charges hotels 12% commission (11.4%+0.6%) on bookings, Aug 10. Hoteliers confirm. Doubao says not ad fee, but 66.2% users verify on OTAs.
Tags:Would You Trust an AI to Book Your Next Hotel? China's Most Popular Chatbot Just Started Charging 12% Commission.
Would you trust an AI to book your hotel? On August 10, China's most popular AI assistant Doubao started charging hotels a 12% commission on bookings. Suddenly, your AI recommendation isn't neutral – it's a transaction.
The fee consists of an 11.4% software service fee and a 0.6% payment processing fee – totaling 12% per transaction.
What Is Doubao?
Doubao (豆包) is ByteDance's AI-powered chatbot – the same company behind Douyin, China's version of TikTok.
Since late last year, Doubao has allowed users to search for hotels, flights, and attractions directly through the AI chat interface. When users ask Doubao for hotel recommendations, it shows options with blue links that redirect to Douyin or Dianping (a Chinese review platform) to complete the booking. That's where the new commission comes in.
Hoteliers Have Confirmed Receiving the Notice
One hotel operator confirmed receiving the notice, and the fee now appears in their merchant backend under "Doubao transaction fees."
For a hotel room priced at 500 RMB (about $70) with no platform subsidies, the fee would be 60 RMB. If the platform offers a 50 RMB subsidy, the fee is calculated on 550 RMB – making it 66 RMB.
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Doubao's Response: "It's Not an Ad Fee"
On the evening of August 10, Liu Xing, Doubao's Head of Public Relations, responded:
"The claim that 'Doubao recommendations now charge hotels' is inaccurate. Doubao's lifestyle service business currently has no paid promotions. Doubao does not charge advertising fees for hotel recommendations, and merchants cannot pay to influence recommendations or rankings. The only fee is a channel service fee paid after a booking is completed."
He added that some platforms use a "commission + advertising" model, while Doubao currently only charges on completed transactions – making the two approaches difficult to compare directly.
Why This Matters
This move signals a shift: AI assistants are entering the travel booking space.
Doubao now offers hotel, flight, and some attraction bookings through partnerships with Douyin and Dianping.
However, trust remains an issue. According to the 2026 H1 China AI Travel Application Trends Insight Report, 66.2% of users still go back to traditional online travel agencies to verify information after receiving AI recommendations, while only 15.2% trust AI enough to make a direct purchase.
Would you trust an AI assistant to book your hotel – or do you prefer to double-check on traditional platforms?
Drop a comment below.
Source: 新民晚报
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