Commission

[Aidan105]

Hi,

I am based in Ireland and on Model 2 (Host pays the commission).

I am shocked to see that almost 23% has been deducted from what guest pays  since I started in July 2023!

That can't be possible????
I know there is a host fee now of 3%, but that leaves Airbnb with 20% ????

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Aidan105 If you are on the host only commission it should be 15%+VAT. In the UK this means we pay 18% (15*1.2).

I see the Irish VAT rate is 23% so on host only commission you should pay 18.45%

The amount you are paying makes no sense to me - Do you have an example of what a guest paid and what you received + What you paid to Airbnb?

[Lorna170]

@Aidan105 , @Mike-And-Jane0   I know the host only commission should be the percentage that you posted -- however, there is also the credit card fee of 3%-4% that we are all charged on top of AirBnB's commission or service fee.

My guests pay the service fee, and it fluctuates between 15 and 17% of the rental.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lorna170 @Aidan105 what is the credit card fee? We don't get charged a credit card fee in Europe (or certainly not in the UK).

where guests pay the service fee in the UK it is 14.2*1.2= 17.04% so this sounds similar to your guests.

[Lorna170]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Here in the US, a merchant (AirBnB) can charge a client (the host) a fee for processing a credit card payment, which is how guests on the platform pay for their bookings. (If guests could pay in cash, no processing fee could be charged.) This fee is usually 3-4% of the amount being processed, and in our AirBnB paperwork, it is shown as the host service fee and is a separate figure from the guest service fee.

For other USA hosts that don't think that this is true -- when you have a service call for maintenance or purchase something at a retail store, you may be offered a "discount" if you pay cash to the technician or store.  That is because the store/business owner is not going to have to pay the 3-4% fee that the credit card company charges the merchant for processing the funds.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lorna170 where is this fee charged? Is it the host fee for the original model of fees (ie guest 14.2%, Host 3% (both plus tax)?

[Aidan105]

Hi,

I found the error in my excel sheet, it was on my side. I was calculating the percentage against what I earned instead of the guest total.

I'm on the new fee model where the host pays everything (so that would be the combination of the old guest fee + host fee).

So the total is 18.5%, being 15% Host fee + 3.5% service fee, I guess.

Sorry for wasting people's time. In any case, I appreciate the numerical feedback, it helps clarify the numbers.

[Aidan105]

You are correct, 18.45%.

I was calculating the % based on the earnings rather than the guest total. Many thanks.

[Aidan105]

Hi,

I found the error in my excel sheet, it was on my side. I was calculating the percentage against what I earned instead of the guest total.

I'm on the new fee model where the host pays everything (so that would be the combination of the old guest fee + host fee).

So the total is 18.5%, being 15% Host fee + 3.5% service fee, I guess. That's for an Airbnb in Ireland.

I am, however, hearing from other hosts that are paying a total of 16.8%. So there's still some discrepancy there. Any Irish hosts got an insight on the fees?

Sorry for wasting people's time. In any case, I appreciate the numerical feedback, it helps clarify the numbers.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Aidan105 Just to try and get this fully understood.

The 18.5% you talk about is actually 18.45 and is the host only fee of 15% plus 3.45% VAT. In your model there is no guest fee.

Where hosts on your model pay less it is either because they are in a country with a lower VAT rate or if they have a long stay booking (28 days +) whereby Airbnb charge a lower commission than 15%.