Apologies if this is a double-post, but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware that AirBnB is changing its fee structure so most hosts are now paying the service fees. Please make sure to raise your prices accordingly.
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Thank you @Xena for bringing ths to our attention.
Can anyone please exapkain to me what this means?
- Hosts who don’t use property management software are not affected, and can continue to use the split-fee pricing structure.
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@Xena - That’s just typical poorly-written AirBnB documents. That section is addressing hosts ALREADY on the single-fee structure (their percentage will increase to 15.5% in December), and hosts using PMS software.
They added the clarification that @jaquo quoted under the split- fee structure.
No changes unless you already are on single-fee (previously called Simplified Pricing), or have integrated with property management software (such as OwnerRez)
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Seems they found out that the single fee is costing them money.
I immediately switched to the single host fee, years ago, because it meant that my guest would pay less than when he booked at a split fee host.
Now more and more hosts are moving to management software and they lose money and need to raider the host single fee.
As far as I’m aware, guests don’t pay less with a single host fee, because most hosts raise their nightly fee to cover the fact that the host is paying all the service fees. It just means the guest doesn’t see a separate service fee added on. Which is what Airbnb prefers, as they’d rather guests didn’t see how much Airbnb is charging them.
But now that Airbnb is showing guests the total for a booking upfront, regardless of which fee structure the host is using, it doesn’t seem to make much difference in that regard.
I’m quite sure that Airbnb didn’t just figure out that they get less service fees with the single fee. Obviously they have always known that the split fee garners them 3% from hosts and at least 14.5% from guests as opposed to 15% in total. They just calculated that the slight loss was worth it if it meant guests weren’t aware that Airbnb was taking 14.5% from them (many guests assume that the entire amount is going in the host’s pocket), or that they were irritated to see an additional fee tacked on to the nightly price they were charged.
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I am raising my prices for airbnb reservations by 12.5% beginning the day it goes into affect for me (software connected host). I will leverage this to get more direct booking by offering a 10% discount to returning guests.
RR
In thinking about this, if and when I need to refund a guest I will have to explain that the refund is less 15.5% because I have to pay that regardless. AirBnb will never see the need to refund the fees to the guest going forward.
You’ll be short of your current net, then. You need to raise your price by 14.8%.
Here’s what I posted on another forum on this:
TLDR: Either a) Divide your current net (take-home) rate+fees by 0.845, or b) raise your current posted AirBnB rate+fees by 14.8%.
Explanation/example:
You have to keep in mind that the percent AirBnB takes is going to be of a larger number, so you can’t just say “AirBnB is taking 12.5% more, so I have to increase rates by 12.5%” or you’ll lose out. In my example, you’ll be short by $2.30 a night.
A) If your rate+fees is currently $100 a night before the AirBnB 3% fee, your current net is $97 (you get 97% of the rate). Since you’ll only get 84.5% of your rate+fees from the new pricing, you have to get the number that will give you $97 when you only get 84.5% of it. That number is $114.8 (divide 97 by .845 and I rounded up).
B) This one is a bit harder to explain, but you were getting 97% of the posted amount and now you’ll get 84.5 %. You divide 97% by 84.5%, and the result is 114.8%. 114.8% of $100 is $114.8.
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Good thing someone here is good at math formulas. 
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Thanks, I will round up to 15% then, and still offer 10% off for returning guests who book direct 
With the owner res system we can make discount codes I will incorporate one into my messaging to departing guests
RR
I have been paying 3 percent and guest 14 percent, more or less. So now I will pay 15 percent? Please clarify in the most simple terms possible. I think I am single payer
Read @PitonView’s response upthread.
I’ve been on the single fee for years. It reduced the commission from 18% to 15%. What’s not to like?
This came up for me because I realized I had only raised my base price and not my cleaning fee. So I heard 18% bump in price to airbnb to counteract there 15.5% commission.
AI did the math for us. Don’t forget to raise any other fees by 18% as well!!
Yes, hosts must raise their pricing by approximately
18.34% to counteract the new 15.5% host-only commission and maintain their previous net earnings
This is because the fee is now calculated on the total host payout, not the subtotal before the fee was taken out, meaning a simple 15.5% increase is not enough to cover the full amount. For example, a $100 booking would have previously resulted in a $97 payout (after a 3% host fee), but now would only be $85 (after a 15.5% host fee) unless the price is adjusted.
How to calculate the required price increase
- The required markup is calculated using the formula:
[image]
Markup%=(New Fee/(1−New Fee))−(Old Fee/(1−Old Fee))cap M a r k u p % equals open paren New Fee / open paren 1 minus New Fee close paren close paren minus open paren Old Fee / open paren 1 minus Old Fee close paren close paren
𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑢𝑝%=(New Fee/(1−New Fee))−(Old Fee/(1−Old Fee))
.
- Using Airbnb’s previous and new fees:
- Old Fee: 3%
- New Fee: 15.5%
- Calculation:
[image]
Markup%=(0.155/(1−0.155))−(0.03/(1−0.03))≈18.34%cap M a r k u p % equals open paren 0.155 / open paren 1 minus 0.155 close paren close paren minus open paren 0.03 / open paren 1 minus 0.03 close paren close paren is approximately equal to 18.34 %
𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑢𝑝%=(0.155/(1−0.155))−(0.03/(1−0.03))≈18.34%
.
- Example: To maintain the same net earnings, a host needs to increase their price by about 18.34%. For example, if a host used to earn $97 from a $100 booking, they would now need to charge around $115 ($100 * 1.1834) to net $100 ($115 - 15.5% fee).
Other important considerations
- Adjust other fees: Remember to adjust any other fees you charge, such as cleaning fees, extra guest fees, and pet fees, to also account for the 15.5% commission.
not sure if that pasted well. so here is the screencap.
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Somehow I didn’t see any increase in my service fee to Airbnb, still 3%. But I am now using Hostex to manage my listing on both Airbnb and Vrbo. Confused. I thought Hostex is a property management software.
You would have to know the details on how Hostex connects to Airbnb and vrbo.
Ideally they have an API connection which is most robust, most reliable syncing. This is a legit realtime connection for pricing and availability, minstay, open/close dates, and sometimes messages sync’d to your PMS.
This is what was supposed to trigger the switch to 15.5% commission.
Some software piggybacks on the airbnb or vrbo app (not exactly authorized, and could break if app updates kill connection)
Or if they are only using iCal sync, availability sync but no prices sync, then you can do that free without them and what are you actually paying for.
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Thanks for your reply. On the Airbnb website, when I check the calendar, it shows that 'Your settings are limited" then from Learn More, elaborated: “You can edit all pricing and availability settings in your property management software.” When I check my service fee structure, it still shows currently is a Split-fee structure. Maybe they are changing it one by one, not by a cutoff date? Which means we will find out one day that we hosts have been charged 15.5% service fee and lose money on it?
I’ve heard other owners say it didn’t instantly change on the date that was announced. Many of them just proactively increased their price and went to the single-fee so they would not be caught off-guard.
I was closed for a few months for maintenance when this fee structure change went into effect. How are folks doing with the new host fees? Does anyone known where on the AirBnB site I could find a breakdown prior to guests bookings?
At a glance in my market, it doesn’t look like my competitors have raised their prices yet.
It would be difficult to tell if your competition has raised their prices or not, because the price shown would be more or less equivalent in either fee structure.
I’ve been on single fee for years, and prefer it. It’s the same way all other platforms work, and it makes it easier to maintain consistent pricing across platforms.
Also, I build all my costs into the nightly rate, so I don’t charge extras like a cleaning fee. What you see is what you get. No surprises.