Airbnb & VRBO Host Fee Calculator
Calculate what booking platforms take from you every year, and what going direct would save.
Platform fees feel small per booking and enormous per year. Three percent here, five percent there. Across a full calendar it quietly becomes one of your largest line items. This calculator shows your annual platform cost and what happens if you move even a fraction of bookings to your own direct booking site.
Direct isn’t free either (card processing costs real money), so the comparison below includes it honestly.
What each platform actually charges hosts
Airbnb’s default split-fee model costs hosts about 3% (guests pay a service fee of roughly 14% on top of your price). Airbnb’s host-only model runs 14–16%. VRBO’s pay-per-booking plan is 5% commission plus 3% payment processing, about 8% total. Booking.com commissions are usually around 15%. Direct bookings through your own site cost only payment processing: Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.
Why repeat guests are the easy win
You don’t need to leave the platforms. The realistic play is capturing the guests who already know you: past guests, referrals, and people who find your property by name. If a quarter of your bookings come direct, you keep the platform fee difference on every one of them, and you own the guest relationship, the email address, and the review.
What a direct booking setup needs
A booking page with live availability, online payment, a rental agreement, and automated confirmation emails. That used to mean cobbling together four services. HostMoat’s Pro plan includes a hosted direct booking website with Stripe payments, e-sign contracts, invoices, and a guest portal, synced to the same calendar as your Airbnb and VRBO listings so you can’t double-book.
Frequently asked
Does the calculator include what guests pay in fees?
No, it measures your host-side cost. But guest fees matter for pricing: on Airbnb split-fee, guests pay ~14% on top of your rate, which is one reason a direct price can beat the platform price while still netting you more.
Is a direct booking really fee-free?
You still pay card processing (Stripe is 2.9% + 30¢). The calculator deducts that, so the savings figure is the honest difference, not a marketing number.
Will platforms penalize me for taking direct bookings?
Taking direct bookings on your own website with your own guests is your business. What platform terms prohibit is diverting a guest who contacted you through the platform off-platform for that booking.
How do I keep direct bookings from causing double-bookings?
Use software that holds one master calendar. HostMoat imports your Airbnb and VRBO iCal feeds and exports its own feed back to them, so a direct booking blocks those nights everywhere.
Keep going
More free tools: Airbnb Profit Calculator · STR ROI Calculator