STR Fee Index: October 2026
What Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com charge short-term rental hosts and guests, in one table, with the effective date and source for every number. Updated monthly and whenever a platform changes its fees.
Current host and guest fees
| Platform / item | Fee | Who pays | Charged on | Effective date / status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbnb Homes: single (host-only) fee | 15.5% for most hosts; remaining hosts typically 14%–16%; 16% for listings in Brazil and Mexico[1][2][3] | Host (deducted from payout); no separate guest fee | Nightly price plus fees the host adds (cleaning, pet, extra guest); excludes taxes | Mandatory for most hosts. Price-adjustment deadline Sep 15, 2026 outside the EEA; Oct 13, 2026 in the EEA and Switzerland. Software-connected hosts moved Oct 27, 2025. |
| Airbnb Homes: split fee (being phased out) | Host usually 3% (4% in Brazil and Mexico) plus guest fee of 14.1%–16.5% of the subtotal (up to 16.5% when the guest pays in another currency)[2] | Host and guest | Nightly price plus host fees; excludes taxes and the guest fee | Being phased out; hosts can't switch back once on the single fee |
| Airbnb Services | Typically 15%, minimum $6 USD (or local equivalent)[2] | Host | Service reservation | Current |
| Airbnb Experiences | Typically 20%[2] | Host | Experience reservation | Current |
| Vrbo Host fee until Oct 28, 2026 | Pay-per-booking: 5% commission + 3% payment processing (about 8%). Software-connected: 5%[5][7] | Host | Commission on rental + host fees; old 3% processing on the total including taxes and refundable deposits | Ends when the 12% commission starts on Oct 29, 2026 |
| Vrbo Host fee from Oct 29, 2026 | Flat 12% ("all-in", per Vrbo's help page). Software-connected: 12%, or 12%–15% in some regions (e.g. Europe, Australia, New Zealand). 10% if a reservation comes from Vrbo but isn't booked through its checkout. Expanded-distribution bookings may cost more[5][6] | Host | Rental amount plus fees charged to the traveler (cleaning, pet, boat); not Property Damage Protection or trip insurance | Starts Oct 29, 2026. Vrbo's page still has an older paragraph about a separate 3% processing fee; confirm in your payout reports |
| Vrbo Guest service fee | Varies with the reservation amount; currently 11–14% (Skift). A smaller, flexible fee is expected to remain in most cases after Oct 29[9][5] | Guest | Reservation total before taxes and refundable fees; VAT on top where required | Change expected Oct 29, 2026; new rates not yet published |
| Vrbo Annual subscription (legacy) | Closed to new hosts; existing subscriptions can renew. Skift reports subscription hosts also move to 12%[8][5] | Host | n/a | Moving to 12% (per Skift) |
| Booking.com Commission | The percentage in your agreement; depends on country, property type and contract. Skift: around 15% for hosts, no guest fee. Preferred Partner Program and Visibility Booster add percentage points on top[10][12][13][5] | Host | Total booking amount incl. cleaning fees, service fees and no-show/cancellation fees; not local taxes such as city tax; VAT/GST in most countries | Applied once the guest checks out; rate locked at booking; invoiced monthly |
| Booking.com Payments by Booking.com | No setup fee. Bank-transfer payouts: a payment service fee (% of each completed reservation, set by location). Virtual card payouts: your bank or provider's per-reservation fee[11] | Host | Each completed reservation | Current |
| Direct Card processing (reference) | Stripe standard US domestic card rate: 2.9% + 30¢[14] | Host | Each successful card charge | Current |
What a host keeps from $1,000
Fee charged on a $1,000 subtotal (rent plus host fees, before taxes). Arithmetic only; the rates come from the table above.
| Channel | Fee | Host keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb single fee | 15.5% | $845.00 |
| Vrbo until Oct 28, pay-per-booking | 8% (5% + 3%) | $920.00 |
| Vrbo until Oct 28, software-connected | 5% | $950.00 |
| Vrbo from Oct 29 | 12% | $880.00 |
| Booking.com (example rate; use your contract) | 15% | $850.00 |
| Direct card booking (Stripe US) | 2.9% + 30¢ | $970.70 |
Vrbo's old 3% processing also applied to taxes and refundable deposits, so pay-per-booking hosts who collected taxes through Vrbo paid slightly more than shown.[7] Booking.com payment fees (bank-transfer payouts) would come on top.[11]
Upcoming changes
| Date | Platform | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | Airbnb | Price-adjustment deadline for hosts in the EEA and Switzerland moving to the single fee.[1] |
| Oct 29, 2026 | Vrbo | Flat 12% host commission starts; guest service fee expected to fall; new terms add a rate-parity clause and AI/metasearch distribution (per Skift).[5][6] |
Changelog
- Oct 1, 2026: First edition. Every row checked against its source on Oct 1, 2026 (PT). Added Airbnb services/experiences rates, Vrbo guest fee and Booking.com program surcharges.
Method
Every figure comes from the platform's own help center or partner pages, or from named reporting (Skift) where the platform hasn't published details; third-party figures are labeled. We re-check every source at the start of each month and on any announced change date, then update the edition, the changelog and the CSV. Where a platform's pages contradict each other (Vrbo's 12% page still mentions a separate 3% processing fee), we say so instead of picking a side. Need the math for your own listing? Use the free calculators; for the background, see the fee explainers.
How to cite
HostFees. "STR Fee Index: October 2026." hostfees.com, Oct 1, 2026. https://hostfees.com/str-fee-index/
You're welcome to quote the table or reuse the CSV with that citation and a link. Corrections: [email protected].
Sources
- Airbnb Resource Center: Simplifying service fees on Airbnb (updated Aug 24, 2026)
- Airbnb Help Center: Airbnb service fees (article 1857)
- Hospitable help: Airbnb split fee vs host-only fee
- Airbnb Help Center: Cleaning fees (article 58)
- Skift: Vrbo to Double Commissions as It Plays Catch-Up to Airbnb (Sep 29, 2026)
- Vrbo help: About the pay-per-booking (PPB) model
- Hostfully: Vrbo host fees (third party)
- Vrbo help: Pay for your listing subscription
- Vrbo help: About Vrbo's service fee
- Booking.com for Partners: Understanding your commission
- Booking.com for Partners: Joining Payments by Booking.com (costs)
- Booking.com for Partners: Understanding the Preferred Partner Program
- Booking.com for Partners: All you need to know about the Visibility Booster
- Stripe pricing
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