What is the percentage of the guest service fee? What is the percentage of the host service fee?

[Sandy33]

What is the percentage (or $ amount) of the guest service fee?  What is the percentage (or $ amount) of the host service fee? Are these service fees a percentage of the monthly rate set by the host?  

I charge $1650 per month plus a $120 cleaning fee for the entire stay.  I am renting a fully furnished 1200 s.f., 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartment with a dedicated laundry room for the apartment only, an office with a wireless inkjet printer/scanner/copier (paper and ink supplied) and office furniture and a furnished, covered brick terrace overlooking a ravine -- all of this in a close-in location in Atlanta, GA.  

A potential guest (referred by a previous guest which is why she has my contact information) just wrote me and told me that Airbnb is quoting her $1903 per month for a stay of May 14 -- July 30. That is way out of line!  Her friend (the one who referred her to me) was here last summer for the same amount of time and she paid $1737 per month. As I was looking up these transactions I noticed that a guest who was here last summer for a month and a day paid $1829.  Meanwhile, my current guest who arrived February 1 and will be here through March 31 is paying $1690 per month.  None of this makes any sense.

I do not allow my rates to float (as Airbnb wants me to do).  My rates are always the same.  I rent exclusively through Airbnb, to business travellers who will be here for 30 days or more.  Looking at this wide variance I may have to re-think my loyalty to Airbnb.  But what do a tell the potential guest who is being way overcharged, I think -- and as a result may not stay with me?

Sandy

[Alex1034]

You’ll have to activate email notification for conversations with your guest (maybe you alredy have that). Check that email and you’ll see at the end of it the total payment. 

[Alex1034]

I am hosting a guest for 30 days and I receive for that  603€. 

My client paid through airbnb 763euro. 

So airbnb took 160€. 

How is this possible? It is an outrageous airbnb fee!

Can airbnb explain what real taxes are they charging?

[Andy315]

After reading everyone’s input regarding the service fees Airbnb and others such as HomeAway & VRBO, I do agree these service fees are astronomical. However, the fees are basically in line with Online Travel Agencies for Hotels.  I am a hotelier, Online Travel Agencies, what we call OTAs, generally charges anywhere from 15% to 21% commission.  Expedia is one example of charging 21% to hoteliers.  Hoteliers has to maintain rate parity with OTA meaning that they cannot up the rates of offset these commissions.  It is a big problem.  Hoteliers now are pushing guests to book direct to avoid these astronomical fees.  Most guests think it is cheaper to book online as OTA’s creative advertising makes them think that.  It looks like we are falling into the same pitfall as the hotels.  The only thing is that Airbnb and like provides us worldwide visibility and do help us get bookings we normally could not get ourselves without expensive advertising costs.  Hotels rely on their franchise to do this for them, but hotels still has to pay a hefty franchise fee to the franchise for the same thing.  You can’t get away from it.  What I disagree with Airbnb is that they are trying to pass most of the fees directly to the guest.  I could see if the guest pays 3% and the host 15%. (I know most of you will bark on this.)  At least we can adjust our rates to absorb this cost without deterring potential guest from bookings when they see these add-on fees.  What do you think?

[Jan9267]

@Andy315 It’s now 31 October 2020. As of tomorrow 1 November ABB will charge all hosts 15% and guests 0% So the issue Is null and void for guests but a serious problem for Hosts. That’s an increase from 3% so it is obvious that tomorrow the price/night will go up significantly to absorb the additional costs for hosts. They said they had done trials in Europe and that this model increased bookings.

i think it is an outrageous increase to hosts but it will certainly make it simpler for guests.

what do you think?

[Emiel1]

@Jan9267 

You are referring to the "host only' fee. Instead of Airbnb charging the guests a Guest Fee and the host a "Host fee", one fee is charged on the host. Offcourse you need to increase the price, but for the guest there is not much difference, he/she will pay the same total price.

What are Airbnb service fees

[Jan9267]

@Emiel1 Thanks for your reply. yes it is the Host Only fee which is being introduced to Australia and NZ on 1 Nov 2020 and is compulsory if you use a Channel Manager. They say

• We’ll deduct a flat 15% host service fee from each payout and won’t charge a guest service fee
• Existing bookings won’t be affected, but this change will apply to all bookings made after November 1st, 2020.

My modelling for my price increase suggests the guest will be marginally better off (say about $20 per stay). The big difference is that as I use a Channel Manager the price will also increase for another platform who still charge Guest fees, so they will be significantly higher than the same booking on ABB. Currently I have about 50:50 bookings from each. It will be interesting to see if the Guests are discerning enough to check out both platforms.

[David126]

@Andy315

The big difference is that most of the Hosts on AirBnB can avoid rate parity and probably do if they accept payments outside of ABB.

I doubt it would be practical for ABB to track this down and enforce it, also they have rather shot themselves in the foot with their charging policy if they tried to do this.

As an aside I have friends who own a Hotel and use the big boys but do offer discounts for walk in business, yes you have to be careful with your online offerings.

[David1361]

@Andy315

Agreed in principle, but even steeper: guest charged 0%, host X% (algorithmic). Notice I wrote "charged", not "pays" b/c:
As an end consumer, I simply don't want to "waste" brain processing power trying to track down all of the charged costs because my goal is to make an educated purchase without needing a spreadsheet.

I desperately desire Andy's suggestion, that the itemizing of ALL costs/fees is between AirBnB & Hosts, behind closed doors, and that when consumers select: 1) dates & 2) number of occupants, that the ONLY prices listed are TOTALs/nights and TOTALs, "out the door", yes, including tax please!

ZOOM!! Fast, no surprise, no remorse, no questions, no concerns, no wondering!
That change would elevate AirBnB to my go-to App, placing TripAdvisor in far distant second place...

@Jd23 

First, I am in complete agreement w/ your sentiment about: anyone involved in a transaction with AirBnB should not be complaining about "fairness"; it's a worthless term, whereas "agreement" is the correct idea. IOW, "I agreed to pay" -- end of story, as the itemized parts of the transaction were negotiated openly. Second, you likely agree with "our" sentiment about transparency being of utmost importance.)

So to combine the two, into a summary, w/ JD's analogy of shopping for eggs:

"...I walk into Whole Foods (short hyperventilation about the cost of $1/egg), and confidently assume that each & every vender negotiated (thus agreed to) all the "service fees", "cleaning fees" in order to have shelf space at WF; therefore, my choice between Free Range, Organicly Fed, Fertile, or simply Grade A is straightforward (and "fair!" since no one is forcing me to shop there!)

The medium for exchange, U$D, is clearly marked as a TOTAL/dozen (as well as "per egg"!), and it doesn't change by the time I pay.
AirBnB: Please consider NOT itemizing fees, ("cleaning, "servicing", /fueling/transport).
Taxes: obvious
Note about cleaning fees: for those who want to clean up after themselves, offer a big ole check box "No cleaning fee: When I check out, the property will be in equal to or better condition than when I checked in".
Just like the damage deposit/holding the card, cleaning would be included in that po$t-exchange agreement.

[Shirley180]

We were shocked at how much AirBB charged our visitors in relation to what we earned for a three night stay for two visitors.

[Jd23 · Accepted solution]

I really don't understand what's so hard to understand.

Say you're a farmer selling eggs. I'm an egg broker. You tell me what cost you want for your eggs. You apply whatever value you think is fair.

I then buy your eggs at your price, go out and build a market that didn't exist for your eggs prior, add 18%, 20%, or even 30% markup, find customers who are willing to pay that cost consistently -- creating sustainable revenue streams for us both -- and you cry foul, suddenly feeling like you deserve more of the cut??? Who's the real greedy one here hmmmm. 

[Caroline257]

Please tell me where you can actually see how much the service fee will be on your property (withour actually having to do a trial booking)  taking all factors into consideration. I get your point - but I still think it is all very vague and deliberately a highly complicated fee structure.  

[Cathy369]

Look in the Transaction History, which is one of the options within Earnings. You have to click on the hyperlink for each booking.

[Caroline257]

I just re-checked what Airbnb are loading on to our rates - it appears to have gone up to 16% for no reason that I can see.  I find this pretty rude - and it will not only encourage people to try and book direct or find an alternative. There seems to be no way you can control this - maybe next time I check it will be 20%!!! Where will it end?  Much as I loved the idea when we started 4 years ago, it appears to now be just another OTA getting bigger and bigger and not helping the very people it set out to promote. Shame on you AIrbnb for ignoring the original philosophy that was so unique.

[Cathy369]

I'm late to this discussion, having only been an Airbnb host for two months. I'm in the UK, where the service fee is advertised at 3% unless the host is based in Italy or has a strict cancellation policy (I don't). I could not understand why I was consistently being charged 3.6% SF. Eventually i realised this is becasue value added tax at 20% is added to the 3% fee. Not a big problem, but it was very difficult to find this information.

[Amanda658]

One of my guests just got charged twice. So she sent me her statement for advice. 

I saw she is paying £433 for her stay... Airbnb is paying me £361 .... £72 difference equals 20% between myself and my guest... That's too much. 

I really like Airbnb as a platform but this is way to much.

I have three listings and want to try one on another platform... But where? Any suggestions?