What happens to your hosting fees

[Airbnb]

At a recent Host Q&A event in Sydney, Ben, a Superhost from Brisbane, Australia, asked a great question: What happens to the money Airbnb collects from hosts and guests as service fees? We thought it was such a fantastic question, we wanted to share a few behind-the-scenes details with you here.

You probably know that as a host you’re charged a service fee whenever a booking or Experience is confirmed. For home hosts, the fee amount is usually 3%*, and for Experience hosts, it’s 20%. In most cases, guests are also charged a service fee when they book on Airbnb. A full breakdown of the fee model, can be found in our Help Center. 

So what exactly happens to the money that’s collected? We redeploy it into three big categories that help support you as a host and an entrepreneur: community support, marketing, and product development. Here’s a closer look at how your fees are deployed to help power Airbnb:

Community Support

One of our top priorities is making sure we can support you if you have questions or need support.  As we mentioned at our last Host Q&A event, we're investing a substantial amount of resources into our Community Support team to ensure we’re there when you need us, and that we can help you with your question or concern smoothly and efficiently. In the past year, for instance:

• In the last few years, we’ve tripled the size of the Community Support team to help you get answers more quickly, in your preferred language. (And it’s helped: over our peak holiday season this past year, for instance, 80% of calls were answered in less than one minute; and this year, we’re committed to improve this even more.)
• We built a new process online to make it easier to connect with us—via phone or our online chat system—and help you get to the right person, right away. Now you can find the phone number you need and access the chat system almost immediately.
• And finally, we launched new tools so our agents can easily understand a hosts’ issue and can respond efficiently and consistently.

We will continue to make improvements and invest in our Community Support team. In fact, one improvement that’s happening right now is that we’re splitting the team into areas of expertise. This will help us connect you more quickly with the right person to address your particular concern. We’ll be using an intelligent routing system to direct your question to a Community Support agent who is specially trained to address your question. We’ll be introducing this program globally in the next few months.

What other ideas do you have for improving the Community Support experience? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments section, below.

Marketing

Another topic we know hosts care a lot about is getting enough bookings to meet their individual goals. We help to drive that through significant investments in marketing to guests. Through our marketing teams, we ensure that guests around the world think about Airbnb first when they’re making their vacation plans. We focus mainly on three types of marketing:

• Marketing to guests in the ‘real world’, through traditional advertising channels (think TV ads, billboards). These are typically tailored to specific local markets. Already this year, for instance, we’ve had major ad campaigns in Mexico and Brazil, and there are more that will roll out around the world later this year.
• Marketing to guests in the ‘digital world.’ We also have close partnerships with Facebook, Google, the iTunes app store, and other digital platforms to ensure that Airbnb has a strong presence in the places where our guests and other travelers are spending time online. It’s crucial that Airbnb—and your listings—show up high in search results when travelers are looking to book trips and that’s why we spend meaningful money here on your behalf.
• Marketing to guests through Airbnb-specific channels. The Airbnb website and app and email are the other channels we use to help drive guest demand and additional bookings to you. On the website and in the app, we create travel-inspiration articles and collections of listings travelers search for frequently, such as beachfront properties. We also send booking reminder emails when guests have been searching for a place to stay but haven’t booked yet.

Product development

Finally, our last significant bucket of spend is around product development. Airbnb employs thousands of engineers, designers, and product leaders who build the tools and infrastructure that power your business. They focus on keeping Airbnb up and running (ensuring our technology platform is strong, fixing issues that arise), and they develop products specifically designed to make it easier for you to host and succeed.

Recent examples include tools to make reviews more fair for hosts and the newly redesigned Guidebooks feature. The latter helps hosts give guests local recommendations and create a more welcoming, memorable experience overall. (It’s also a lot of fun to use!)

Let us know if you have any other questions about fees and how Airbnb spends them in the comments section, below. We love to get your feedback.

*The Airbnb host service fee may be different in certain cases, and is typically higher for hosts in Italy and for hosts who have a Super Strict Cancellation Policy.

[Susan17]

Thank you @Sarah977! 

Have to admit, I was a little shell-shocked at the level of spite and vitriol in response to my original comment, but hey, that's the "community" for ya.. 

If I had a euro for every time I've heard that old "If you don't like it, you can leave" chestnut from a starry-eyed, evangelical host - only a short time later, to see that very same host back on the forum screaming blue murder and crying for help after they've finally discovered what it's like to be shafted by Airbnb - I'd be a very rich woman! 

Therein lies the heart of the matter, and the very reason Airbnb continues to get away with their shenanigans though. Once everything is going just tickety boo for some people, they'll flatly refuse to even countenance - let alone care about - the sleights and injustices visited upon others (until it comes to their own door, of course) The self-preservation, "I'm alright Jack, so f.u." society, in full HD - and the reason why positive change is always so terribly difficult to affect. 

There are none so blind, as those who will not see. 

[Guillem2]

No company is perfect and no company can exist for long without making a profit unless it is designated a not-for-profit organisation..

  I have had virtually no bad Guests in about 9 years with Airbnb. Many Guests have become good friends. They appreciate that they found my accommodations through Airbnb and paid to have the "assurance" of a well-vetted Host. Likewise, I feel comfortable accepting my Guests because they also have been vetted.

     I have tried using one or two of my accommodations on other platforms, and there was little activity, and those who did become Guests were, in my opinion, not up to the standard of the Airbnb Guests who I have had.

    No business enterprise is perfect and I do agree with some of your comments, but I don't complain about it here. I write to Airbnb and always get a reply which often develops a dialogue so that the company and I understand each other's positions. That's how to help iron out the bumps in the day-to-day of the leader of a brand new industry.

[Denise801]

Even if you have an easy cancellation policy, THEY still keep the service fees!

[Chris806]

@Guillem2 also, the fees are definitely high. Just compare to what the other platforms charge, huge difference. Meanwhile guests just look at the total. On another platform you might make 95% of the same total instead of just 75%.  

[PaulaCristina0]

They can afford because they have millions of people as host and as a guest . 

I'm both for example ....bit by bit.....

[Ann72]

@Guillem2  Don’t you have costs as well?  I provide a top-tier property, pay 5-figure property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, cleaning, caretaking, propane and oil, electricity, telephone, and internet service, extermination, home security (required by my insurance company), a gardener, a lawn service, a private trash removal service, an electrician, snow removal (required by the fire department whether anyone is at the house or not) - that’s just the list of regular, predictable expenses and doesn’t include the things I do to make sure guests feel they are getting fantastic bang for their buck, have the rugs and draperies cleaned annually, the knives sharpened,  the windows washed, etc., etc., and so forth.

Why Airbnb should take more than a 15% or 20% commission when I provide them with all this at no cost to them is beyond me.

[Brid6]

Hi Susan, we do run a B&B in Galway for many years. Paying water charges and business electricity charges, have planning permission and a sign outside the door. There are approximately 180 b&b in Galway city and now approximately 700 Airbnb listed. For the past 2 years we noticed a decline in inquiries. Airbnb always gives the advice to lower our prices. Fortunately we do not rely on the B&B business anymore. In any case Airbnb is nothing else than another money making machine. 

Like all your comments, well said.

Ulrich Stanke

[Susan17]

@Brid6 

Thanks for your comment Ulrich - It's a bit like being in the lion's den here! :

Actually, I believe the figures have skyrocketed in Galway too in recent times - the current data I have for Galway is 1274 private room rentals, and 1837 entire home rentals. Like Dublin, far beyond oversaturated, yet Airbnb continue to recruit new hosts in both cities. Utter madness. 

Good to hear you're not relying on Airbnb anymore - unfortunately, with a family to feed, I'm not in a position to be able to walk away yet. Kids can't eat principles! There's always the Lotto, I suppose - maybe I'll have a winner one of these days... 😉

[Jay120]

It would appear most of  those disagreeing are not aware just how much commission Airbnb actually pockets. I'm just extremely annoyed none of the money is invested in the safety and protection of hosts. I'm constantly being reminded how declining a booking can affect my visibility, which means I am forced into accepting people I am not comfortable about hosting. No not on ethnic, colour or creed grounds, but people without any history, a single host recommendation, no profile, no name and no photograph, so I don't even know whether they are male or female even though they apparently have been around for years. As a single in my own home, I'm feeling out there with absolutely not support whatsoever. Worse -- I'm penalised for my caution! Now I have only odd people even inquiring, all I get are remonitions to reduce the price to derisive levels. And that is in a place which does not have far too many alternatives. I imagine it is a nightmare in Dublin and other cities with a high footfall. 😞

[Norma113]

You have to tweek your listing, on mine the person has to have a photo and no same day listings. I made the price higher so I am getting good guest. They also changed it that if you don’t feel comfortable or safe and cancel a reservation you won’t be penalized. I was reading an email that they sent out. I wish you luck 

Norma Rosa

[Denise801]

For your information, we are no longer privy to any photos!

[Paul1833]

Susan if you think you can get as many bookings and run your rental without Airbnb then why don't you go independant or use another site (most of whom charge more by the way). For me the 3% fee for the most popular site going and hasstle free bookings is very good value for money.

[Susan17]

@Paul1833 

I already answered that question several times above, if you care to look. 

[Jay120]

You'll soon be paying a whole lot more than 3%. Hosts will soon be paying the whole fee instead of a percentage.

[Graeme21]

You think 3% is “preposterous”?! 😂