Insight
How to list your hotel on Trip.com, what it costs, how it connects to Ctrip, and what to fix so Chinese travelers actually book.
Listing a hotel on Trip.com is free. You sign up through its eBooking extranet, a market manager verifies the property, you sign an e-contract, and you pay a commission on each completed booking. If your real goal is Chinese guests, though, the listing is only the start: Trip.com Group reaches mainland Chinese travelers through Ctrip, its Chinese-language brand, and those travelers choose based on Chinese content, reviews and what they have already seen on Xiaohongshu.
This guide covers how the platform is structured, how to list, what it costs and what to fix so Chinese travelers actually pick your property.
Trip.com and Ctrip: one group, two front doors
Trip.com Group runs four main brands. According to its corporate profile, Ctrip and Qunar serve travelers in mainland China, while Trip.com and Skyscanner serve international customers. Trip.com itself operates in 24 languages and 35 local currencies.
For hotel owners, the scale is the point. In 2025 the group earned RMB 26.1 billion from accommodation reservations, up 21% and 42% of total revenue, and gross bookings on its international platforms rose about 60% (full-year 2025 results). In the second quarter of 2026, international platform revenue grew more than 50% year over year (Trip.com Group Q2 2026 results).
Demand from China is growing too. The China Tourism Academy expects outbound trips to exceed 165 million in 2026, passing the 2019 level (China Daily).
So the practical question is not only “are we on Trip.com?” but “what does a Chinese traveler see when they search for us on Ctrip?” Once you are live, ask your market manager how your content and rates reach Ctrip, then open the Ctrip app and search your hotel’s name the way a guest in Shanghai would.
How to list your hotel on Trip.com
Trip.com’s property registration guide and partner FAQ describe the process:
Create an eBooking account on the “List your property” page.
Enter your property details: name and address in English, property type, contact details, high-resolution photos, settlement details, and breakfast and child policies.
Wait for review. Trip.com says it responds within one to three working days. A market manager verifies the property and may ask for registration or licensing documents.
Sign the e-contract. Your commission rate is shown at this step.
Go live. The property must be legally operated, and at least one room type must be set as available.
Connect your channel manager. Trip.com says it works with most channel managers, and your market manager explains how to link yours after you go live.
What Trip.com costs hotels
Trip.com does not publish a standard commission rate. The rate is set in each property’s contract. Here is what the official FAQ does confirm:
Item | What Trip.com says |
|---|---|
Sign-up or listing fee | None. Listing is free |
Commission | Charged per booking at the rate in your contract |
Cancelled bookings with free cancellation | No commission |
Cancelled bookings with a fee | Commission on the amount the guest pays |
Settlement | Virtual credit card (VCC) or bank transfer, confirmed at sign-up |
What the commission covers | Extranet tools, auto-confirmation, marketing features, review validation and 24/7 guest support |
Because the rate is negotiated, compare it with your other OTA contracts, and ask your market manager which promotions or programs change your visibility and at what cost.
What you manage in eBooking
eBooking is the extranet where you run the listing day to day. Trip.com lists its functions as rates and availability, property information, finances, reservations, guest reviews, promotions, analytics and chat with hotel support and guests. Most of the work that moves bookings happens here, so treat it as a sales channel to manage, not a form you fill in once.
How to win Chinese guests, not just a listing
A listing written for Western travelers can leave Chinese guests with unanswered questions. These fixes matter most.
Write your content for Chinese readers
Check every field a Chinese guest will read: hotel description, room names, bed types, transfer options, check-in rules and policies. Avoid machine-translated room names: a confusing room name is an easy reason to scroll past. Spell out what Chinese travelers ask about first, such as the airport transfer, the view from each room type and what breakfast includes.
Use real, current photos
Trip.com asks for authentic, high-resolution photos. Show the rooms as they are today, the view, the breakfast and the experiences guests can book. Chinese travelers compare these images with what they have seen from other travelers on social media, and mismatches cost trust.
Answer reviews, including Chinese ones
Reviews are part of the eBooking workflow. Reply to Chinese-language reviews in Chinese where you can, and fix the issues guests raise. A thoughtful reply is visible to every future guest reading the page.
Keep inventory open late
Chinese travelers often decide close to departure. In Dragon Trail’s January 2026 survey of 315 Chinese travel agents, 47% said clients book less than two weeks before departure (Dragon Trail). Closing out rooms or promotions too early hands those guests to a competitor.
Make your listing easy for AI to read
Trip.com Group said AI-assisted orders through its TripGenie assistant rose about 400% year over year in Q2 2026, and nearly 60% of TripGenie interactions were booking-related (Nasdaq). AI assistants pull from structured listing data, so complete, consistent room, price, location and policy details make it more likely your hotel is recommended. We cover this shift in Chinese travelers now book hotels through AI chat.
Plan promotions around Chinese holidays
Time your eBooking promotions to Chinese New Year, May Day, the summer holidays and National Day Golden Week, and start early enough to catch planners as well as late bookers. Our guide on how to attract Chinese tourists includes a holiday calendar.
Trip.com is where they book, not where they decide
The biggest mistake hotels make is treating an OTA listing as their China strategy. In Dragon Trail’s April 2026 sentiment survey, Xiaohongshu (RedNote) was the top source of outbound travel information, cited by 53% of Chinese travelers, ahead of Douyin and online travel agencies such as Ctrip (Dragon Trail).
That means a Chinese guest may first meet your hotel on Xiaohongshu and only then open Ctrip to compare prices and book. If they find nothing about you on Xiaohongshu, your Ctrip listing has to win on price alone. If they find helpful notes and real guest posts, the listing becomes the place where an existing decision gets confirmed. Our Xiaohongshu marketing playbook for hotels explains how to build that presence.
FAQ
Is it free to list a hotel on Trip.com?
Yes. Trip.com charges no sign-up or listing fee. Hotels pay a commission only on bookings, at the rate set in their contract. Bookings that guests cancel under a free cancellation policy carry no commission, and when a cancellation fee applies, commission is charged on the amount the guest actually pays, according to Trip.com’s partner FAQ.
How much commission does Trip.com charge hotels?
Trip.com does not publish a standard rate. Each property’s commission is set in its contract and shown during the contract step of registration. Trip.com says the commission covers its extranet tools, auto-confirmation, marketing features, review validation and 24/7 guest support. Ask your market manager what the rate includes and compare it with your other OTA agreements.
Is Trip.com the same as Ctrip?
They belong to the same company but serve different travelers. Trip.com Group says Ctrip and Qunar serve the mainland Chinese market, while Trip.com and Skyscanner serve international customers. Because Ctrip is the group’s brand for mainland China, hotels targeting Chinese guests should check how their property appears on Ctrip, not only on Trip.com.
How long does it take to get listed on Trip.com?
Trip.com says it responds to new property applications within one to three working days. After that, a market manager verifies the property, you sign the e-contract and you set at least one room type as available to go live. Trip.com also says more than half of newly listed properties receive a booking within 30 days.
Can I connect my channel manager to Trip.com?
Yes. Trip.com says its platform is compatible with most channel managers. Once your property is live, your market manager explains how to link your channel manager to your eBooking account, so rates and availability stay in sync with your other channels and you avoid overbookings.
What this means for your hotel
Getting listed on Trip.com takes a few days and costs nothing up front. Getting chosen by Chinese travelers takes more: Chinese-language content that answers their questions, current photos, replies to reviews, inventory that stays open for late bookers and a presence on Xiaohongshu, where many of them start planning. BWB helps hotels and resorts, including AYANA Bali, The Set Collection and InterContinental Istanbul, reach Chinese travelers on the platforms they use. If you want to see how your property looks to a Chinese traveler today, request a free visibility audit.
Ready to win Chinese customers?
Brands Without Borders helps businesses abroad reach Chinese travelers and consumers on Xiaohongshu and WeChat, from hotels and destinations to restaurants, retail and luxury brands. We handle account setup and verification, creative, media buying and the WeCom handoff that turns a post into a booking or a sale.
