Getting Paid: Why U.S. Travel Agents still struggle to receive Hotel Commissions

Introduction

I was reading an interesting article on Onyx, which spurred me on to write this article - At Antravia we find that for all the progress the travel industry has made in automation and online booking, one thing still doesn't seem to have changed: getting paid for hotel commissions still feels like a battle. Many U.S. travel advisors book legitimate stays through recognized channels and then spend months chasing small but vital payments, which could often be $8, $10, or $20 at a time, from a complex web of intermediaries.

At the center of that web sits Onyx CenterSource, the dominant hotel commission processor in North America. Onyx claims to streamline payments between hotels and agencies, yet many advisors quietly say the opposite: that the system itself has become a bottleneck. Understanding how it works, and why it so often fails in practice, is key to improving cash flow and protecting margins.

In this blog, we look into more details on commission payments. Before we delve into Onyx, let's provide some background on how the commission chain works:

🧩 Background - How the Commission Chain works

A. The classic direct model (simple version)

A U.S. travel agent books a hotel directly, say through Marriott’s own system or via a GDS (Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport).

• The hotel records the booking with the agent’s IATA or TIDS number.

• After the client checks out, the hotel pays the commission (usually 10%) to the agent either directly or via Onyx CenterSource, which acts as a payment processor.

• If the agent is registered with Onyx, the payment goes through Onyx’s portal.

• If not, the hotel may pay the agent by check or direct bank transfer.

This system should work fine when the hotel and agent are directly connected.

B. The indirect model — when bedbanks or wholesalers are involved

Most of the friction and missing commissions happen when there’s a bedbank (also called a “wholesaler”) in the chain.
Think of Hotelbeds, Webbeds, Stuba, Sunhotels, World2Meet - these are B2B intermediaries that buy hotel rooms at a net rate and resell them to travel agents or tour operators.

What actually happens:

1. The travel agent books through the bedbank platform, not the hotel.

2. The bedbank pays the hotel directly, not the agent.

3. The agent receives a net rate, meaning their margin is built into the price and there’s no separate commission.

4. Therefore, no hotel commission is technically due to the agent, because the bedbank is the one considered the “client” of the hotel.

5. Some bedbanks (like Hotelbeds) offer an optional commission-on-top model, where agents can add a markup or charge a service fee to earn profit.

In these cases, platforms like Onyx CenterSource are not involved at all, because Onyx only processes hotel-to-agent commissions and not bedbank-to-agent markups.

C. Hybrid models (where confusion happens)

Sometimes an agent books through a GDS or OTA feed that sources rooms from a bedbank, but the booking still looks like a direct hotel booking.

This can create a data mismatch, as the hotel sees the booking under the bedbank’s name, not the agent’s. The agent expects a commission but the commission never arrives because the hotel paid the bedbank already, assuming the markup covered everything.

If the agent later tries to claim through Onyx, Onyx can’t match the booking as the hotel record doesn’t include the agent ID.

1. How Commission Payments Are Supposed to Work

In a traditional hotel commission model, the travel agent acts as an intermediary.

1. The agent books a $100 hotel stay on behalf of a client.

2. The client pays the hotel directly at check-out.

3. After the stay, the hotel owes the agent a 10% commission ($10).

In theory, that $10 should flow automatically. The hotel reports the booking, identifies the agent through an IATA or ARC code, and pays the commission either directly or through a third-party processor like Onyx.

In practice, this simple process has become heavily fragmented. Most large hotel groups, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG, now route commission payments through Onyx CenterSource. Independent hotels often follow suit because it’s marketed as “easier” than handling hundreds of agency payments individually.

2. What Onyx CenterSource actually does

Onyx acts as a middle layer between hotels and agencies.

• Hotels send Onyx the booking data and the total commissions owed for all agents in a batch.

• Onyx aggregates those payments, reconciles them against agency IDs, and remits funds to travel advisors.

• Onyx charges both sides a fee (hotels for processing, agents for optional services like direct deposit or reconciliation reports).

• Travel advisors can log in to an Onyx portal to track whether a commission is paid, pending, or missing.

In principle, this should be easy. But agents report that in reality, payments take months, data goes missing, and customer support is limited.

3. Why do delays happen?

According to sources, delays in commission payment usually stem from data quality and timing, not deliberate withholding, although the result feels the same.

Common causes include:

• Booking mismatches: The hotel’s system fails to correctly tag the agency ID or IATA number, leaving Onyx unable to match payment to a specific agent.

• Late hotel remittance: Some hotels remit commissions to Onyx only monthly or quarterly, creating structural lag.

• Verification checks: Onyx verifies stay data before payment, introducing more time.

• Agent payment preferences: Agents who don’t pay for direct deposit must wait for checks or wire cycles, further delaying funds.

• Small-value batching: A $10 commission might sit in limbo until multiple payments accumulate to meet a minimum payout threshold.

Even where hotels submit funds promptly, it’s not uncommon for U.S. agents to wait 60–90 days before the money appears. Some report even longer delays, or missing payments entirely when booking data doesn’t match.

4. The Agent Perspective: Friction and Frustration

Onyx promotes itself as a “neutral payment processor,” but many advisors feel it has become an unnecessary obstacle rather than a solution.

Comments from U.S. travel agent forums and industry groups consistently highlight:

• “They take months to pay and charge a fee for the privilege.”

• “We can’t get answers when commissions go missing — it’s like a black hole.”

• “We had to re-enter all our banking details twice to even get paid.”

Several advisors report resorting to manual commission tracking, like maintaining spreadsheets, cross-checking stay dates, and chasing Onyx support for proof of payment. The time cost often exceeds the value of the commissions themselves.

For independent or home-based agents, this cash flow delay can be serious. Many rely on commissions to cover recurring business expenses like CRM fees or GDS subscriptions. When payments are delayed for months, working capital tightens.

5. How large Hotel Chains depend on Onyx

Major U.S. hotel brands use Onyx almost exclusively for agent commission processing. According to public partner lists and hotel policy manuals:

• Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, Best Western, and Choice Hotels all utilize Onyx CenterSource as their commission payment processor.

• Independent hotels connected via GDS channels (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport) typically integrate through Onyx by default.

• Some boutique hotels handle commissions directly but outsource reconciliation to Onyx for automation and reporting.

This widespread reliance means even when agents prefer direct payment, they’re rarely given a choice. The process is very centralized, and the agent’s control over timing is minimal.

6. Fees and Transparency Issues

While Onyx positions itself as a service to help agencies, the fee structure isn’t always transparent.

• Agents report small deductions (often 2–3%) from each payment as a “processing” fee.

• Some say they were offered faster or direct payments only if they paid a monthly service charge.

• Wire transfer or check issuance fees can eat up a large portion of small-value commissions.

For an agent earning $500–$1,000 in hotel commissions per month, these costs add up quickly and especially when the funds arrive months late.

7. What happens when data goes missing

The largest source of agent frustration we have found is the missing booking problem.
If a hotel forgets to include the IATA, or the booking goes through a wholesaler that doesn’t transmit agency data, Onyx cannot match the stay to the agent.

The result is no automatic payment, Agent must file a manual claim through Onyx’s portal and the claim may require proof of stay, invoice, or confirmation, all of which take time.

Some agents describe a cycle of disputes that can last half a year or more.

8. The New Competition: Faster alternatives emerging?

The frustration with Onyx has opened the door for new players, some include:

• SION – a U.S.-based fintech startup promising transparent, same-week commission payouts and full dashboard visibility. It positions itself as “luxury travel’s first real challenger to Onyx.”

• Commissionly.io and Travel Advisor Solutions - smaller software tools that integrate directly with agency CRMs to reconcile commission data and issue alerts when payments go missing.

• TACS – Travel Agent Commission Settlement - TACS is the main European alternative to Onyx. It handles hotel commission payments between hotels and travel agencies across Europe and the UK. Many chains such as NH Hotels, Radisson, and Kempinski use TACS to remit commissions to agents.

• Sabre Commission Settlement - Sabre, one of the main global distribution systems, includes its own commission settlement module for hotel bookings made through its GDS. It helps Sabre-connected agencies receive commissions directly from participating hotels.

• Booking.com Affiliate Program and Expedia TAAP - Both Booking.com and Expedia operate their own in-house commission payment systems for affiliate and agency partners. These are not external processors like Onyx or TACS but direct settlement programs within their own platforms.

• WEX and eNett - WEX (which acquired eNett) provides B2B virtual card payment solutions for hotel bookings and other supplier transactions. However, it does not handle hotel commissions. WEX and eNett are used mainly by OTAs and consolidators to pay suppliers securely and manage FX and reconciliation.

These new models suggest the industry knows the system is broken. Whether they can scale remains to be seen, but their message is clear: travel advisors deserve faster, data-driven payment systems.

9. What U.S. Travel Agents can do right now

Until better options become standard, U.S. advisors can improve cash flow by:

1. Keeping a commission log – track every booking, hotel, and stay date.

2. Monitoring Onyx reports – regularly check the online portal for payment status.

3. Contacting hotels directly if a commission remains unpaid after 90 days.

4. Using multi-currency or fee-free accounts to reduce deduction losses.

5. Staying consistent with agency identifiers – the same IATA or TIDS on every booking is essential.

10. Conclusion

For U.S. travel advisors, unpaid commissions can become a big cash flow issue. The solution lies in transparency, better booking data, and a shift toward fintech-powered platforms that prioritize speed and clarity over volume processing.

Other blogs to read:
How to Manage Cash Flow as a Travel Agent | Antravia Travel Finance

References

• Onyx CenterSource. (2024). Hotel Commission Processing Overview. Available at: https://www.onyxcentersource.com/hotels/commissions-processing/

• Luxury Travel Advisor. (2024). SION Emerges as Luxury Travel’s First Real Challenger to Onyx. Available at: https://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/your-business/sion-emerges-luxury-travels-first-real-challenger-onyx

• Travel Agent Central. (2024). Commission Tracking Challenges for Independent Advisors. Available at: https://www.travelagentcentral.com/

• PhocusWire. (2024). Why Travel Agent Commissions Still Lag Behind Booking Technology. Available at: https://www.phocuswire.com/

• Skift. (2024). How Commission Delays Cost Hotels and Agents Time and Money. Available at: https://www.skift.com/

Disclaimer:
Content published by Antravia is provided for informational purposes only and reflects research, industry analysis, and our professional perspective. It does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Regulations vary by jurisdiction, and individual circumstances differ. Readers should seek advice from a qualified professional before making decisions that could affect their business.