Airbnb’s single 15.5% host fee: what changed on 13 October.

In short

• Airbnb is moving all home hosts to a single service fee paid by the host: 15.5% for most hosts. Guests no longer pay a separate service fee.
• Hosts living in the European Economic Area or Switzerland had until 13 October 2026 to adjust their prices; hosts living elsewhere had until 15 September. Hosts on property-management software who hadn’t switched were moved on 13 October.
• At the same nightly price, a €1,000 booking now pays out €845 instead of €970. Keeping the old payout takes a price of about €1,148.
• Hosts without a VAT ID also pay VAT on the fee: an effective 18.76% in Spain, 18.91% in Italy, 19.07% in Portugal and 19.22% in Greece.

What changed

Airbnb has charged its service fee in two ways. With split-fee pricing, most hosts paid 3% and guests paid a separate service fee of 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal on top of the host’s price. With the single fee, the host pays the whole service fee and the guest sees one price.

Airbnb’s Help Center says it is “transitioning all home hosts” to the single fee and that the split fee “is being phased out”. Its Resource Center set a deadline for hosts to adjust their prices: 15 September 2026 for hosts living outside the European Economic Area, and 13 October 2026 for hosts living in it or in Switzerland. A second Resource Center article says hosts using property-management software who weren’t yet on the single fee switched on 13 October.

The single fee applies only to reservations made after the switch, so stays booked earlier keep their old fee. Once you have switched, you can’t switch back.

Does it apply to you?

If you live in the EEA or Switzerland and weren’t already on the single fee, 13 October was your deadline; if you live elsewhere, it was 15 September. The rate is 15.5% for most hosts; Airbnb says the rest typically pay 14% to 16%, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16%.

Airbnb shows the service fee for each reservation, VAT included where it applies, in your earnings (on desktop: Today › Menu › Earnings, then open a transaction). Compare a reservation made before your switch with one made after.

The arithmetic on a €1,000 booking

Airbnb’s own example: keep a $100 nightly price after the switch and you earn $84.50, while guests see $100. Under split-fee pricing the same night paid you $97, and the guest paid $100 plus their service fee. Here is the same arithmetic on a €1,000 booking, with nothing changed except the fee.

Look at the last row. Under split-fee pricing the guest paid your €1,000 plus a guest fee of 14.1% to 16.5%. At an unchanged price, the guest now pays less in total and you receive less.

To keep your payout, the price has to rise:

price = payout you want ÷ (1 − fee rate)
€970 ÷ (1 − 0.155) = €1,147.93, about 14.8% more

That price lands inside the range guests were already paying in total. Airbnb’s Resource Center makes the same point with its own numbers: at $115, guests see $115 and you earn $97. Whether guests accept a higher price is a market question, so compare it with the totals guests now see on similar listings, not with your old nightly rate.

The VAT effect for hosts without a VAT ID

Airbnb charges VAT on the host service fee, and the fee it shows is VAT-inclusive where VAT applies. For hosts who aren’t VAT-registered, Rental Scale-Up puts the effective fee at 15.5% × (1 + your country’s VAT rate on the fee).

Rental Scale-Up’s table also covers Germany (18.45%), France and the UK (18.60%) and Ireland (19.07%). Hosts who give Airbnb a VAT ID may not be charged VAT on the fee but may have to declare it themselves (the reverse charge); in Ireland and Switzerland, Airbnb applies VAT regardless of VAT status.

VAT applied to the old 3% fee too. What changed is the base it applies to: for a host in Spain without a VAT ID, the fee on a €1,000 booking went from €36.30 to €187.55.

What to check this month

1. Your payouts. Open a reservation made after your switch and check the service fee, so you know the rate you actually pay.
2. Your prices. Decide whether to keep your price (a lower total for guests, a smaller payout) or raise it to hold your payout, and check the totals guests see on similar listings.
3. Your VAT position. If you aren’t VAT-registered, ask your accountant how the fee and its VAT should be recorded where you live.
4. Your other routes. Returning guests and people who find you elsewhere can book through your own page. Direct isn’t free either: card processing, a booking system, insurance and your time all cost something. Our booking-direct guide runs those numbers.

Sources

1. Airbnb Resource Center, “Simplifying service fees on Airbnb”, 7 July 2026, updated 24 August 2026. The 15.5% fee, the 15 September and 13 October deadlines, the $100 example.
2. Airbnb Resource Center, “Simplifying Airbnb service fees”, 29 July 2026, updated 13 October 2026. Hosts on property-management software, the $115 example.
3. Airbnb Help Center, “Airbnb service fees”, checked 28 October 2026. Split-fee rates, other single-fee rates, new bookings only, no switching back, where to find the fee.
4. Airbnb Help Center, “Value Added Tax (VAT) and how it applies to you”, checked 28 October 2026.
5. Rental Scale-Up, “Airbnb’s 15.5% Fee Is Really 18.4% to 19.1% for Most Small European Hosts”, 21 July 2026.

Next guideBooking direct: what guests check first, and the arithmetic →