We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Today, I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while: Airbnb fees. As both an Airbnb host and a frequent traveler myself, I find the conversation around Airbnb fees and charges quite fascinating!
At first glance, this may be an unpopular opinion, but the actual Airbnb service fee is not as hefty or as big of an issue as some make it out to be. In fact, I get substantial value from it both as a guest and a host.
Let me tell you why!
Airbnb Fees and Charges
Maybe it’s because I am in many travel groups, but rarely a day goes by when I don’t see someone wanting to book vacation rentals without the “insane fees.” The narrative is that the nightly rate is reasonable, but the deal is gone once “all of the fees” are added.
But, a majority of the fees in this situation are actually unavoidable. In this post, I want to help clear up the confusion around Airbnb fees.
Additionally, it’s worth pointing out that personal vacation rentals and hotels are quite different and can’t be compared apples to apples here. In fact, a lot goes into choosing between a hotel and an Airbnb, and to get the most out of this discussion, you should know why
READ: Airbnb vs Hotels: 9+ Ways To Know Which To Book
Now, let’s jump in to talk about the various charges you may encounter while booking an Airbnb, including the cleaning fee, taxes, Airbnb service charge, and host fees.
This post works under the assumption that a host is using the traditional split fee structure on Airbnb. The alternative and rarely used option is that the host pays the entire fee but then typically increases nightly rates to cover that expense.
Also, when searching Airbnb, you now have the option to show the price, including all fees (except taxes). This helps you compare listings more easily.
In the below screenshots from the “price breakdown” at checkout, you see the same listing. The one on the left does NOT have “display total before taxes,” and the one on the right does. Additionally, that nightly rate you see is an average across the length of your stay. In reality, the price could be much less on some of the 5 nights, and more on others. In the second screenshot, the March 16-21 number includes the nightly rate plus the cleaning fee. I just want to show you that it’s all the same!
Airbnb Hosting Fees vs. Airbnb Guest Fees
First, let’s quickly talk about the Airbnb host fee that comes out of an Airbnb host’s payout. That is not shown in the sample booking above.
How much does Airbnb charge the owner?
You don’t need a complex Airbnb host fees calculator here because it’s quite simple. Airbnb takes around 3% from the host.
This differs from the Airbnb guest service fee and is deducted from the host payout. This small fee is essentially a credit card processing fee. Likewise, any host taking direct bookings or using another platform will encounter this expense unless they accept cash or personal checks. Neither gives you any protection as a guest and is often a red flag for scammers!
What Are The Airbnb Fees & Extra Charges?
So, now let’s talk about the bulk of the additional charges on Airbnb bookings that a guest will encounter. These are often on top of the base nightly rate.
Also, as I mentioned before, the nightly rate you see on Airbnb is an average of the individual nightly rates for the dates you selected. So, shifting dates will often change that average. For example, weekends are higher priced than weekdays at my Airbnbs on 30A.
We can break these Airbnb fees and charges into 4 categories, and it’s important to understand the difference.
- Cleaning Fee
- Taxes
- Airbnb Service Fee
- Other Fees
1. Airbnb Cleaning Fee
Most Airbnb short-term rentals will have a fixed cleaning fee. This is the same whether you stay one night or ten nights. Therefore, it’s less noticeable when spread out over a longer stay.
On a single right Airbnb stay, it’s not unusual for the cleaning fee to be more than the nightly rate. This is why hotels are generally more cost-effective than privately owned vacation rentals.
In cases like mine, where an individual person owns a vacation rental, the cleaning fee is almost always based on what the cleaning company charges. Mine is marked up 5% because I have to pay local tourist taxes on it, and then entirely passed onto the cleaners. This is not a way for Airbnb owners to get rich quickly.
It’s important to me that I hire a reliable, insured cleaning company. That costs money.
To summarize, this is an unavoidable fee at most vacation rentals, which the owner passes on to the cleaning company. But, I want to quickly answer some frequently asked questions about Airbnb cleaning fees before moving on.
Why don’t Airbnb hosts build the cleaning fee into the nightly rate?
It’s impossible to effectively build it in because it is a fixed cost per stay.
Sure, a host can require a 7-night booking and build it into each weekly rate. But, if a host wants to allow shorter 2-3 night stays, it’s more complicated. If the base rate is $100 per night and the cleaning fee is $120 fixed, the built-in rate becomes $112 on a 10-night stay but $160 per night on a 2-night stay.
What do Airbnb cleaning fees cover?
First of all, it covers a living hourly wage for the people doing the cleaning. Often, they are part of a small business with typical business expenses, including licenses, transportation, healthcare, and insurance.
However, people must realize that this often covers off-site laundry, paper goods, and starter toiletries/kitchen items. Additionally, routine maintenance tasks are also included in this service.
Why don’t hotels charge cleaning fees?
Hotels operate under a different business model. They have staffed cleaners onsite daily. They also can place guests in clean rooms and move them around as needed.
At an Airbnb, you booked one specific listing, and often, the cleaners aren’t based onsite. Typically, they service numerous listings in the general area. They have to strategically schedule routes and units each day, accounting for often slow traffic between jobs in vacation destinations. This is why Airbnb hosts often struggle to extend checkout and guarantee early check-in requests.
As you can see, they are very different products and business models. If you want to avoid paying a cleaning fee, book a hotel! And if a short-term rental doesn’t charge one, it’s often baked into the rate. Someone is cleaning it after you leave, and it needs to be paid.
2. Airbnb Taxes
The second charge that may catch you off guard is the taxes. All short-term rentals are responsible for state and local sales taxes. How much does Airbnb take of that? None. If anything, they make the collection and remittance of taxes easier for hosts by doing it for them.
For example, the total taxes at my beach condos on 30A is 12%. Of that, 7% goes to the state of Florida, and 5% goes to Walton County, where the 30A beaches are located. Beyond that, many cities have an additional required tax on short-term rentals.
I will not delve deeper into this because it’s cut and dry. There is no way to avoid taxes while staying at a legitimate, legal, licensed short-term rental. Nor can you avoid them at a hotel!
3. Airbnb Service Fee
I’ve already shown you how the first two charges are essentially unavoidable. Both of those either get remitted to their respective governments on behalf of the Airbnb host or passed onto the host to distribute. But now I want to talk about the actual Airbnb service fee.
The actual Airbnb service fee is a floating percentage, usually between 13%-17% of the subtotal. According to Airbnb themselves, the average Airbnb service fee is 14.2%.
So, who gets the guest service fee on Airbnb? The host never sees this. It is deducted from their payout and goes entirely to Airbnb.
This is the fee the guest pays for using the Airbnb platform. This allows them to search Airbnb and find ideal listings, read actual guest reviews, access customer service, and manage their booking through a user-friendly platform.
Some vacation rental owners book directly, which helps the guest avoid that service charge. However, some hosts like me do not.
Why not?
To be frank, saving the guest that 14% creates a large amount of additional work for me, and I am not interested in that. The service fees Airbnb charges are worth it for me for the streamlined app interface and Aircover insurance alone.
What type of work?
Using Airbnb keeps everything streamlined for me, which is vital for our family as we travel a lot. But a host who works full-time would also see added work and distraction.
My guests communicate with me 100% through the Airbnb app. This allows me to separate my personal life (calls, texts, emails) from my rental business and streamline my daily tasks. I can confidently say that exclusively using the Airbnb platform is the key to my super-effective workflow.
Using Airbnb also gives me a safety net and a way to somewhat vet guests. My family’s life savings is tied up in our investment properties. I want that extra level of protection.
In addition, I like having everything I need in one place. I am a big fan of the 80/20 principle and working smarter, not harder. And when I am slow on bookings, I just lower rates, often by more than 14% anyway, vs using a fixed rate chart.
Below, I will talk about what to do if you want to avoid using Airbnb and paying them for their services.
4. Other Airbnb Fees
I want to quickly point out that additional fees are sometimes charged for your booking. These are not actual Airbnb service fees.
Often, you may see amenity fees (similar to a hotel’s resort fee) that are required by the homeowner or condo association where the property is located.
However, you may also see things such as a management fee or administrative fee. Now, these are bogus! These are often property management companies trying to recoup business expenses or an owner passing on property management fees to you. These are not direct Airbnb fees for guests.
How Do You Avoid Airbnb Fees?
If you have made it this far, I hope you have a better understanding of the different Airbnb fees and charges that you may encounter on a booking.
To summarize, when booking a legal vacation rental, you can not avoid paying the taxes and cleaning fees. Sometimes, the cleaning fee is baked in. However, if the host is paying a cleaning company, you can be assured that it’s being passed on to the renter via the average nightly rate.
So, the “insane Airbnb fee” we are talking about here is the Airbnb service charge. I get it. I hate paying it as a traveler. But, on the other hand, as a host, I see the value it serves.
That fee is similar to what Uber will charge. Do you feel more comfortable booking on the Uber platform with a vetted driver and reviews? Or would you rather save a few dollars and hop in a car with a random person who takes you aside and says they will do it for $5 less?
There are three ways to avoid Airbnb service fees if you don’t want to use the platform and pay Airbnb’s 14.2% (average) service fee. And I do use all of these as a frequent traveler. I also use Airbnb often. It is always a case-by-case decision and depends on the destination and overall pricing.
The three ways to avoid using Airbnb are to:
- book direct
- use another booking platform
- stay at a hotel
1. Book Vacation Rentals Direct
Many property rental management companies have their own websites and allow direct bookings. Some individual owners do, too.
The pro is that it saves you the service charge. The con is that it generally isn’t a streamlined booking process, doesn’t always offer authentic, honest reviews, and won’t include independent 3rd party customer service. Often, an additional security deposit is required.
Never send money to someone in a Facebook group who sends you a link to a rental, offers you a lower price, and wants to be paid as friends and family in Venmo or cash. This is the standard method of online scammers! There should always be a valid rental contract in place.
2. Use Booking.com
When Airbnb is not an option, my favorite way to book vacation rental-style apartments for our family of four is by using Booking.com.
Being a Europe-based company, their selection is excellent for international destinations. Many owners list rentals very similar to what you’d find on Airbnb.
The pros are that the reviews are detailed and honest, giving you a good feel for the place. They often have more flexible cancellation policies. The cons are that most higher-performing owners here in the US don’t use the platform, so listings are of lesser quality.
3. Stay In A Hotel
Or, stay in a hotel. You can also book hotels on Booking.com or direct with any hotel chain.
The pros are that you often get daily cleaning services and have onsite amenities. The cons are that you may encounter resort fees and smaller accommodations than in condos, apartments, or rental houses.
Also, if you are into the points and miles game and value hotel status and loyalty perks, staying with the larger hotel chains allows you to earn and redeem privileges.
Airbnb Fees Explained
And that wraps up this discussion about Airbnb fees. I hope this gave you some insight into what actually goes into the charges and fees for a vacation rental stay.
I genuinely think there is no blanket “best way to book travel.” For me, I care more about the total price than what the nightly rate and fees break down to.
Yes, I am an Airbnb host, but I am also an equal-opportunity traveler. We use Airbnb, Booking.com, and hotels equally for domestic and international family travel. In fact, between now and mid-June, I have 11 nights booked in hotels, 6 nights reserved via Booking, and 10 nights in Airbnbs.
My closing statement is that time is money here for everyone involved. Everyone, including the government, wants or earns a piece of the pie. The only way to truly book a fee-free vacation rental is to find a friend with a beach house!
More Resources
If you enjoyed this post and want to check out more of my content, I have something for everyone here at Our Little Lifestyle and hundreds of informative blog posts related to travel, Airbnb hosting, shopping, and more.
Click on the categories below to browse!
TRAVEL | SHOPPING | AIRBNB HOSTING
PIN: The Truth Behind Airbnb Fees
