Open the Airbnb 15.5% fee calculator →
Switching is not really a choice. Airbnb says it is moving all home hosts to a single service fee, the old split fee goes away once everyone is moved, and you cannot switch back. The real question is what price keeps your payout the same: old price x (1 - old host fee) / (1 - 0.155), rounded up to the cent.
What changed
Airbnb's help page on service fees describes two fee structures.
- Split fee (old). Most hosts paid 3%, or 4% in Brazil and Mexico. Guests paid a separate service fee of 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal.
- Single fee (new). The whole fee comes out of your payout. Most hosts pay 15.5%. Others typically pay 14% to 16%, and listings in Brazil and Mexico pay 16%.
Airbnb says it is "in the process of transitioning all home hosts to a single service fee structure," and the split fee "will no longer be available after all hosts are migrated." The single fee is already mandatory for most hosts, including hosts who use property management software. Once you switch, you can't switch back.
The single fee applies only to new bookings. Bookings made before you switched keep the old fees, even if the stay is later.
Airbnb set price adjustment deadlines of Sep 15, 2026 for hosts outside the European Economic Area and Oct 13, 2026 for hosts inside it or in Switzerland. Both have passed. If you never adjusted, your prices are still the old ones and your payout is lower.
Why your price has to go up
On the split fee, guests paid your price plus their own fee. On the single fee, guests pay your price and the whole fee comes out of your side. Airbnb's own example: on the split fee, a $100 price showed guests $115 and paid you $97. On the single fee, you set $115, guests see $115, and you still earn $97. If you leave the price at $100, you earn $84.50.
Airbnb rounds to whole dollars in that example. The exact price to keep $97.00 is $114.80.
Worked example
You charge $180 a night on the old 3% split fee.
- Old payout: $180 x 0.97 = $174.60.
- New fee: 15.5%, so you keep 0.845 of the price.
- New price: $180 x 0.97 / 0.845 = $206.627, rounded up to $206.63.
- Check: $206.63 x 0.845 = $174.60.
- Markup: $26.63, or 14.79% over $180.
If you leave the price at $180, you keep $180 x 0.845 = $152.10. That is $22.50 less per night, or $157.50 less on a 7-night stay.
Guests see about the same total as before, because they no longer pay a separate service fee on top.
The Airbnb 15.5% fee calculator does this math for any price and fee, including the 14%, 15%, and 16% rates.
What about cleaning and other fees?
Airbnb's fee page says split-fee service fees were a percentage of the nightly price plus any extra fees you charge, such as cleaning. That page does not spell out the base for the single fee, so open a recent reservation's price breakdown and check. If the fee is taken from your cleaning fee too, give it the same markup, or that fee pays you less.
Steps
- Open a recent reservation's price breakdown or your earnings page and find the fee you pay now.
- List your nightly price, weekend price, cleaning fee, and any other fees.
- Run each one through the formula, or the calculator, and round up to the cent.
- Update each listing. Airbnb's Resource Center also describes a tool that adjusts prices across all your listings at once.
- Use Airbnb's nightly price breakdown to preview what a guest pays and what you earn.
- If you use a PMS or channel manager, change prices there so they do not overwrite your edits.
Taxes
In some countries, VAT or GST applies to service fees, and Airbnb's adjustment tool may include it. Airbnb says to consult a tax professional about your tax questions.
Sources
Last checked Oct 17, 2026. This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Check your own platform terms and dashboard.