To help Airbnb run smoothly and to cover the costs of the products and services they provide, such as 24/7 customer support, they charge a service fee when a booking is confirmed.
Fees for booking a place to stay
Airbnb have two different service fee structures for booking a place to stay: split-fee where both hosts and guests pay a service fee, and host-only fee where only the host pays a service fee.
1. Split-fee
This fee structure is the most common. A service fee is deducted from the host payout, and a service fee is charged to guests.
Host service fee
Most hosts pay a service fee of 3%, but Airbnb Plus hosts, hosts with listings in Italy, and hosts who use Super Strict cancellation policies may pay more. This fee is calculated from the booking subtotal (the nightly rate plus cleaning fee and additional guest fee, if applicable, but excluding Airbnb fees and taxes) and is automatically deducted from the host payout.
To review the service fee charged for a particular booking:
- Go to Transaction history
- Next to the reservation that you want to review, select the reservation code
- Under Payout, you’ll find the Airbnb Service Fee
Guest service fee
Most guests pay a service fee that is under 14.2% of the booking subtotal (the nightly rate plus cleaning fee and additional guest fee, if applicable, but excluding Airbnb fees and taxes). The fee varies based on a variety of booking factors and is displayed to guests, including during checkout before they make a reservation.
2. Host-only fee
The entire service fee is deducted from the host payout, and no Airbnb service fee is paid by guests.
The host-only fee typically ranges from 14% to 16% and is mandatory for hotels and some other hosts. It’s also mandatory for software-connected hosts, unless those hosts have a majority of their listings in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, Argentina, Taiwan, or Uruguay. Airbnb Plus hosts and hosts who use Super Strict cancellation policies may pay more. The service fee paid by hosts for listings located in mainland China is 10%.
Fees for Airbnb Experiences
Host service fee
Airbnb charge hosts who offer experiences a 20% service fee. This is calculated based on the price of the experience and is automatically deducted from the host’s payout.They waive this fee for certain social impact experiences.
Guest service fee
Airbnb currently does not charge a guest service fee for experiences.
VAT charges on service fees
Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction involved, VAT may be charged on top of the host and guest service fee. The service fee will include these VAT charges when applicable.