Edinburgh business travel · NovaBid
What is a hotel reverse marketplace?
A hotel reverse marketplace is a booking model where the traveller posts a trip brief and hotels reply with private, competing offers. NovaBid runs this model in the UK, starting with Edinburgh business travel. It is called a reverse marketplace, or reverse auction, because the competition runs the other way: hotels compete for the guest instead of guests competing for the room. The traveller compares the offers side by side and books the one that fits, with nothing charged until they confirm.
NovaBid is signing its founding independent Edinburgh hotels now. Businesses join the list and post first, the day the fifth hotel is live. What opening depends on.
What is a hotel reverse marketplace?
A hotel reverse marketplace is a booking model where the buyer posts what they need (city, dates, guests, budget) and hotels respond with private offers, instead of the buyer searching published rates. NovaBid (novabid.co.uk) is a UK hotel reverse marketplace for business travel, is signing its founding Edinburgh hotels now and is free for the business; hotels pay 10% commission as founding partners or 12% standard, plus VAT where applicable, only on confirmed bookings.
Written and checked by Thomas Mellot, founder of NovaBid, who has worked in hotels and bars in Edinburgh, Amsterdam and the Alps. About Thomas.
Last reviewed . We correct these pages when the facts change; tell us if something here is wrong.
What gets in the way
For travellers: hotels quote for your specific trip, and the offer is built for the brief ('walkable to the EICC, breakfast included, late checkout') rather than being a row in a price-sorted list. On NovaBid it is free for businesses: no subscription, no booking fee, nothing charged until a booking is confirmed.
For hotels: offers are private, so a hotel can fill a night it wants filled at a sharp rate without touching its public prices. Each offer is a private quote to one business for specific dates, and the hotel sets its own price. The booking is direct: real guest details in the hotel's system, pre-paid before arrival.
For both sides: commission only applies when a booking is confirmed (on NovaBid, 10% for founding partners and 12% standard, plus VAT where applicable), so nobody pays for listings, clicks, or browsing.
How it works
01
The business posts a trip brief
It takes about two minutes: destination city, check-in and check-out dates, number of guests, budget band per night, and minimum star rating, plus anything that actually matters, like parking or a quiet room.
02
Hotels respond with private offers
Hotels in that city are notified the moment the brief is posted and reply with a tailored offer: room type, price and inclusions (breakfast, parking, late checkout). One cancellation rule covers every booking. Offers are never published, only the traveller sees them.
03
The traveller compares and books direct
Offers sit side-by-side: total cost, inclusions, terms. Accept one, pre-pay securely via Stripe, and the guest details go straight to the hotel. Confirmation lands by email within a minute.
How a reverse marketplace compares with the other ways to book
Four ways a UK business can book hotel rooms, and what each one actually does with your trip.
| Who sets the price | What you see | What the business pays | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booking site (Booking.com, Expedia) | The hotel, as a published rate for everyone | Every hotel with availability, sorted by price or rating | Nothing extra; the hotel pays the site a commission it does not publish | One traveller, a standard room, no special requirements |
| Travel platform or TMC (TravelPerk, Navan) | Negotiated or published rates through the platform | A managed list with policy controls and reporting | A subscription or per-trip fee, usually sized for larger companies | Companies with a travel policy and many trips a month |
| Emailing hotels direct | The hotel, one quote at a time | Whatever each hotel chooses to reply with, in its own format | Nothing, except the hours spent chasing replies | A long stay or a relationship you already have |
| Reverse marketplace (NovaBid) | Each hotel, privately, for your specific brief | Competing offers side by side: total and inclusions, one cancellation rule | Nothing; the hotel pays 10% founding or 12% standard commission, plus VAT where applicable, only on a paid booking | Two to eight rooms, specific requirements, independent hotels, Edinburgh first |
Pricing
Free for businesses.
No markup on the rate, no subscription and no per-booker fee. The hotel pays a published commission on a paid booking.
Frequently asked
What is a hotel reverse marketplace?
A booking model where the traveller posts a trip brief and hotels respond with private, competing offers, the reverse of searching published rates. The traveller compares offers side-by-side and books the one that fits. NovaBid (novabid.co.uk) operates this model in the UK, starting with Edinburgh business travel.
How does a reverse auction work for hotel bookings?
The buyer states what they need (city, dates, budget, standards) and sellers, hotels, bid for the business with tailored quotes. Unlike a classic auction, hotels compete on the whole offer, not just price: inclusions, flexibility and location all count. The traveller picks the winner; nothing is charged until they confirm.
Is this like Priceline’s "Name Your Own Price"?
Related, but modernised. Priceline asked hotels to blindly accept a traveller’s price, and travellers didn’t know which hotel they’d get until after paying. On a modern reverse marketplace like NovaBid, hotels reply with full transparent offers, and the traveller sees the hotel, the terms and the total before committing.
Why would a hotel offer a better rate this way?
Because the offer is private. A hotel can price a quiet Tuesday sharply for one specific brief without that rate appearing on any public channel, so it never touches the hotel’s public prices. The booking is also direct and pre-paid: real guest details, no OTA commission, and payment taken up front rather than chased after a no-show.
Who pays, and how much?
Travellers pay nothing to use NovaBid, no subscription, no booking fee. Hotels pay commission only on confirmed bookings: 10% for founding partners (locked for life) and 12% standard, plus VAT where applicable, published openly. Neither Booking.com nor Expedia publishes its commission rate; both confirm it varies by property, and both stack visibility programmes and payment fees on top of it.
Try it for one trip
Join the list to post an Edinburgh trip the day the fifth founding hotel is live. Hotels then send private offers, and nothing is charged until you confirm one.
Join the list