What changed: Airbnb's host-only fee
Until this fall most Airbnb hosts outside Europe were on the split fee: you paid about 3%, and the guest paid a separate service fee (typically around 14%) on top of your price. Airbnb has now moved hosts to a single host-only fee of 15.5% (16% in Brazil and Mexico): the guest pays exactly the price you set, and Airbnb deducts its fee from your payout. Airbnb's deadline was September 15, 2026 for hosts outside the EEA; hosts in the EEA and Switzerland follow on October 13, 2026.
Airbnb says the single fee applies to "your nightly price and any fees you add, like a cleaning, pet, or extra guest fee." Taxes are not part of the fee base.
Why the answer is +14.8%, not +18.3% or +12.5%
You'll see a lot of quick rules online. The correct "same payout" math is a ratio, not a subtraction:
- Old payout on a $100 price: $100 × (1 − 3%) = $97
- New price needed so that price × (1 − 15.5%) = $97 → $97 ÷ 0.845 = $114.79
- So the neutral raise is +14.8%.
Airbnb's own example rounds this to $115 ($115 × 0.845 = $97.18). Raising by the full 15.5% overshoots slightly. Dividing $100 by 0.845 (+18.3%) is the right formula only if you previously paid no host fee. And just "adding the 12.5-point difference" leaves you short.
Which strategy should you pick?
Keep my old payout is the break-even choice: your bank deposit per booking stays the same, and the guest total ends up close to what guests paid before. Airbnb says the old guest fee ranged from 14.1% to 16.5% of the subtotal, so after a 14.8% raise some guests pay slightly more than before and most pay slightly less. Keep the old guest total raises prices to what guests used to pay including their service fee — it earns you more per booking, but you lose the price advantage. Many hosts land in between; use Custom % and compare in the booking check.
Don't forget your cleaning fee
Because the 15.5% applies to cleaning, a $100 cleaning fee now nets you $84.50. To keep netting $100 you need to charge $118.34. Our cleaning fee calculator works out the full turnover cost.