Motel owner Simon Wurs was so furious with his Booking.com contract he broke it to give his customers a better deal.Customers who booked directly on the website of his Bendigo City Centre motel saved plenty of money, paying $165 a night for a standard double room compared to those who reserved the same room through Booking.com and paid $190.Booking.com has become increasingly popular with Aussie travellers due to its slick design, which makes finding and reserving a room fast and easy.Mr Wurs said travellers were "enticed by the flashy ads" featuring comedian Tina Fey and the Muppets, but they paid a premium when they used the online service."I feel sorry for the customer that's having to pay a commission that is, as far as I'm concerned … unnecessary," Mr Wurs said.Motel owner Simon Wurs says commissions to Booking.com for reservations are often one of the biggest expenses accommodation providers pay. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)"They would be better off if they just came directly to me."Mr Wurs said commissions to Booking.com for reservations were often one of the biggest expenses accommodation providers paid.The amount varies, but local operators said it was between 12 and 15 per cent of the rate on Booking.com, and could reach as high as 30 per cent if the hotel participated in multiple voluntary incentives and special programs.Comedian Tina Fey features in Booking.com ads. (Supplied)The company says hotels can join preferred provider programs and pay more to boost their visibility, but very few choose to take up all of them and so most pay much less, with the standard commission "at the global average of around 15 per cent."Paying commissions costs Mr Wurs thousands of dollars each month and leaves operators with a dilemma — either suffer reduced margins or put up prices to cover the commissions.He made another choice, to breach the contract and ignore what's known as "rate parity."Simon Wurs says he breached his contract with Booking.com to give his customers a better deal. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)Mr Wurs and other Australian operators are required to give Booking.com the same or better room rates and conditions on cancellations or reservation changes.But the accommodation veteran said for more than two decades he has not complied with the company's price parity clause requiring him to give Booking.com the same or better rates."They have a business model and they've got to make money but at what expense?" he said.Despite his defiant stance, he admitted that he needed Booking.com and couldn't afford to reject them.Around 15 per cent of Mr Wurs's reservations now come via Booking.com.Two Dutch consumer groups are suing Booking.com in a class action lawsuit. (ABC News)The company dominates Australia's online travel market and according to Ibis World's latest report it is on track to generate an estimated $700 million in revenue in Australia in the current financial year."People say … get away from them, but if you step away from Booking.com, you will lose revenue," Mr Wurs said.He is part of the Bendigo Motel Association, which has created a rival reservation website in a bid to fight back.Simon Wurs is part of a wider group of motel owners who are pushing for better deals for consumers. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)The website showcases 18 local operators and encourages customers to book directly.When the ABC compared room rates advertised on these motel websites with prices on Booking.com, they were cheaper on most occasions.Price parity clauses 'out of date'Concerns about parity clauses being anti-competitive prompted a 2016 investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which led to significant change.Expedia and Booking.com altered their contracts to allow hotels to offer a cheaper rate over the phone or in person, but that was still prohibited on their own websites.James Goodwin, CEO of the peak body for hotels, Accommodation Australia, said that agreement was out of date and should be urgently reviewed.He said many travellers were increasingly making reservations online, aided by artificial intelligence, and were no longer walking into hotels or calling them."Those changes that were made were relevant for the time, but things have moved on," he said."For our smaller members, this would be one of the top priorities that they have."The Bendigo City Centre motel is part of a group of motels who are encouraging customers to book directly. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)He wants the Albanese government to order Treasury or the consumer watchdog to conduct a wide-ranging review into parity clauses, commission rates, loyalty and partnership programs and the use of restrictive practices like algorithm punishment to push down a hotel in search rankings.The Albanese government is working on changes to regulations that would allow the consumer watchdog to gather evidence from people living outside Australia who are carrying out business here, including online booking platforms that use price parity clauses.James Goodwin, CEO of Accommodation Australia, says there should be an urgent review of parity clauses. (