How Airbnb fees work
Airbnb charges a service fee on every booking, calculated on the booking subtotal — the nightly rate times the number of nights, plus your cleaning fee and any extra-guest fees. Who pays it depends on the fee structure on your account:
- Split fee — the host pays about 3% and the guest pays a separate service fee, 14.1% to 16.5%, on top of your price. Airbnb retired this structure in 2026.
- Host-only fee — the host pays the whole fee, 15.5% for most hosts, and the guest sees no service fee. It has been mandatory for hosts using property-management software since 27 October 2025, and all home hosts moved to it during 2026 (13 October 2026 in the European Economic Area).
Your fee is shown in your Airbnb account and on each reservation. The calculator above shows both structures so you can see the difference over a whole year.
How to calculate your Airbnb payout
Payout = booking subtotal × (1 − host fee %). For a 3-night stay at €150 per night with a €60 cleaning fee, the subtotal is €510:
| Fee structure | Host fee | Your payout | Guest pays (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split fee (3%) | €15.30 | €494.70 | ~€582 (with a 14.1% guest fee) |
| Host-only fee (15.5%) | €79.05 | €430.95 | €510 |
Occupancy taxes collected by Airbnb are passed through to the authorities and aren't part of the subtotal. In the UK and EU, VAT may be added to the host service fee.
Booking.com and Vrbo fees
- Booking.com charges a commission, typically around 15% and between 10% and 25% depending on your country and visibility programmes, plus payment fees when Booking.com collects the payment.
- Vrbo charges hosts about 8% on pay-per-booking (5% commission + 3% payment processing). In some markets an annual subscription is available instead.
What changes when guests book direct
Guests who already know your place — returning guests, referrals, people who find you on Google Maps — don't need to go through a marketplace. With a direct-booking website they pay on your site and the money goes to your own Stripe account. On HomestAI, a direct booking costs Stripe's processing fee (about 1.4% + €0.25 for European cards) on top of the monthly subscription — HomestAI takes no commission. The "Direct" row above includes both.
Most hosts keep their Airbnb listing for discovery and use a direct site for repeat guests and Google traffic. HomestAI builds that site from your existing Airbnb listing in about five minutes.