Founding partners
Ten founding places for Edinburgh independents.
The first ten hotels to join NovaBid keep 10% commission for life, are listed first in our directory, and have a direct line to me. We work with independent hotels only, and we check ownership at Companies House before inviting anyone.
What founding partners actually get
Founding Partner vs Standard
Written into the partner agreement, not a perks list that quietly evaporates.
From the founder
Why the first ten matter
A marketplace is worth nothing until both sides show up. NovaBid doesn't have a credible pitch for SMBs until we can say "X Edinburgh hotels are ready to compete for your booking right now." That sentence is impossible until the hotels exist.
So the first ten hotels are not ordinary customers, and the terms reflect that: a lower rate for life, first placement, and a direct line to me. It is a fair exchange for backing something early.
What the founding terms include
A rate that's locked in writing
Every hotel that joins after you pays 12%. You pay 10%. For life. That difference compounds across every booking, every year.
A founding partner badge
Your listing carries a founding partner badge, and we name founding hotels when we talk to the press about the launch.
Direct line to the founder
Reply to my emails any time. For the next 90 days I personally respond, usually within hours. If something's broken, or you want a feature, you skip the support queue entirely.
First in the directory
Founding partners sort ahead of standard partners in our directory, and that position holds as more hotels join.
Named in press coverage
We launched with an exclusive in The Herald and will keep talking to the Scottish press. Founding partners are named when we do.
A say in what gets built
Founding partners shape the product with me: a short call each month, and first access to new features before anyone else.
You never bid against the chains
NovaBid works with independent hotels and independently-run groups, never the big chains, by design. Every offer you send competes with a handful of other independent Edinburgh hotels, never Hilton, Marriott or their OTA-fed rates. Real odds of winning each booking on perks and service, not a race to the bottom.
The math
What it costs
The business pre-pays by card the moment they book, so you never invoice and never chase. Your share is released to you at that same moment and lands in your bank within 7 days of the booking. Not weeks after checkout, the way the OTAs do it. No listing fee, no subscription, no per-quote charge, the commission is the only cost there is.
When do you actually get paid?
Booking confirmed
The business pays the full amount by card. Say £300 for a two-night stay.
Your share is released, immediately
Your £270 (90% at the founding rate) is yours from that moment, handled by Stripe.
In your bank within 7 days
Stripe deposits it automatically, usually before the guest has even checked in.
Across a typical year, say 50 bookings at £300, the founding rate keeps an extra £300 with you against the standard rate. We give that up because the first ten hotels are what make the marketplace real. A fair trade, in writing.
Ten places, then the founding terms close
The founding rate, the badge and the placement are for the first ten hotels. Once the tenth joins, later partners join on standard terms.
FAQ
Questions hotels ask
What if I join later, can I get the founding rate then?+
No. The founding terms exist to reward the hotels that back this first. The rate, the badge and the placement are strictly for the first ten, ever.
What if I sign up and NovaBid disappears in six months?+
Fair concern. You pay nothing unless a booking lands, and your guest relationships stay yours. Nothing is locked behind us. The downside is the time it takes to set the account up; the upside is founding terms from day one.
How is this different from the standard 12% offer?+
Same product, same dashboard, same demand. The differences: 2% lower commission for life, a founding partner badge on your listing, first placement in our directory, a direct line to me, and being named when we talk to the Scottish press.
Do I have to commit to a minimum volume?+
No. Bid on as many or as few trip requests as you want. The founding-partner status and rate aren't conditional on volume.