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Airbnb Service Fees: How Much Does Airbnb Charge Hosts? - Vacation Rental Guide

There is almost every kind of rental on Airbnb from treehouses and tents to villas and castles, Airbnb has it all. Airbnb’s reputation as a global OTA has given property owners and managers the confidence to list their properties on the platform. And that is why Airbnb is unequivocally the first solution most hosts choose to list their property.

Along with being a global platform Airbnb which allows listings to attract local and international guests to your listing Airbnb has many other benefits for hosts such as:

User-friendly platform
No charge for listing
Commission based so you pay only when you receive bookings

Additionally, Airbnb is one of the biggest online travel portals in recent history with over seven million listings around the world with an average of over 2 million guests staying on its listings every night. This unparalleled success is in part due to its ease of entry, but what about their commission? How much does Airbnb take?

Airbnb host fees

When factoring in the cost of running your Airbnb from utilities and maintenance to your team members and Home Owner Association (HOA) fees everything must be looked into when number-crunching especially the cost of listing on OTAs.

Each host will pay a different host service fee percentage depending on the property and a number of other factors. For example, Airbnb Luxe and Airbnb Plus are subject to different fees. It can be a bit unclear what fees exactly they charge which is why it’s important, as a host, to track the charges from your account. If your payout doesn’t look quite like you expected it to, take a look at the “fees breakdown” to see what was deducted

Location can make a difference too. If your property is located in Mainland China the host fee collected would be 10%. Furthermore, if your listing is connected to software such as Hostaway or other channel managers the fee will vary then too. Your cancellation policy too plays a role in the host service fee percentage as you will have to pay around 2% more if you have a strict cancellation policy, as opposed to those having more flexible cancellation policies.

Airbnb owner fee options:

Split fees

As implied by the name, the service fee will be split between the host and the guest and is the option most commonly chosen by the host. In most cases, the guest will be charged 14.2% while the host pays 3%. While this gives a bigger saving for hosts, guests may get surprised at checkout with the additional fee and may not go ahead with the booking.

Host-only fee

Some hosts prefer to absorb the hosting fee by themselves and take up the complete service fee on themselves. This percentage can range from 14% to 20% with an additional 2% if the listing has a super strict cancellation policy. On the plus side, this gives the property a more transparent payment structure however it leaves the host with a larger amount to cover in service fees.

Disclaimer: Airbnb automatically switches to host-only fees when you connect a channel manager such as Hostaway, but you can change this in the settings at Airbnb after connecting.

Pro-tip: If your property already has a high VAT, tax, or cleaning fee it might be useful to opt for the host-only fee option so as to not scare off guests with an excessive amount of additional fees.

Factors that can increase your service fees.

Since the service fee is a varying percentage, it can be tricky to figure out how much you are actually paying Airbnb. When you look beyond the booking fees there are other factors that can affect your payout. Here are some other numbers that might be useful in understanding your payout decrease:

Payment processing fee
Local taxes
VAT
Currency exchange rates
Guest and host discounts
Dynamic or long-term pricing

Where to find the host service fee on Airbnb?

Step 1: Click on ‘Menu’
Step 2: Click on ‘Transaction History’
Step 3: Go to the reservation you are trying to view
Step 4: Click on the reservation code
Step 5: Click on ‘Payout’

You should now be able to view your fee overview

How does Airbnb collect service fee payments?

It charges the percentage fee after every stay. Therefore, once a guest has checked out of a listing Airbnb releases the payment due to the host after deducting the service fee.

In conclusion:

As Airbnb doesn’t operate under flat fees, it can be a bit tricky to determine the true cost of listing on Airbnb. Since it works on a percentage the higher you price your property the higher it costs to list on Airbnb. Other factors that can affect your service percentage include its location (10% in Mainland China), cancellation policy, and if your account is associated with a software provider.

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