ByteDance’s Doubao has begun applying an independent fee structure to hotel bookings made through its channel on Douyin’s local-services platform. The combined charge is about 12%, including an 11.4% software service fee and a 0.6% payment fee. The policy took effect on Aug. 10.

The fee is applied to hotel orders completed through the channel. Doubao is ByteDance’s consumer AI assistant, and the change extends its role from information and recommendations into transaction-related services. [Sina Technology, in Chinese]