Host-only fee

A commission model where the accommodation platform takes its entire fee from the host or property manager, and charges the guest nothing separate on top.

The alternative is the split fee model, where the platform takes a small percentage from the host (historically around 3% on Airbnb) and adds a separate service fee to the guest's checkout.

The practical difference for an operator is what the displayed nightly rate means. Under a split fee, the guest pays your rate plus a visible platform fee. Under a host-only fee, your displayed rate is close to the total the guest pays before taxes, and the commission comes out of your payout. Moving from one to the other without repricing cuts your net per night, which is why platforms that migrate hosts between models tell them to raise rates by roughly the fee percentage to stay level.

Airbnb mandated host-only fees for software-connected hosts in October 2025 and has since phased out split fees for most remaining hosts, at around 15.5%. Vrbo moved to a flat host-side commission of 12% in October 2026. Booking.com has always worked this way.

Two side effects matter operationally. Benchmarking data that reads platform nightly rates becomes non-comparable across the switchover, because commission is now inside the displayed figure. And a host-only fee raises your headline price on that channel while your net stays flat, which can quietly break rate parity against your direct site.