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What Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo take from a UK host in 2026, and what a direct booking keeps

Sergej Sitki

Sergej Sitki · founder of ReceptionGO and host
Published 28 October 2026 · 8 min read

General information, not legal or tax advice. Check your own case with your local council, HMRC or the relevant revenue authority, or an accountant.

Most UK hosts who use channel software now pay Airbnb a single 15.5% host fee, switched for those accounts on 13 October 2026. Vrbo charges 12% on bookings from 29 October 2026 when it takes the payment, and up to 15% on some European plans. Booking.com’s rate is in your contract, not on a public page. A direct booking keeps the commission.

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Two fee changes landed on UK hosts in the same month. On 13 October 2026 Airbnb moved channel-managed listings that were still on the old split fee onto a single 15.5% taken entirely from the host. On 29 October 2026 Vrbo’s single 12% commission starts on new bookings. Booking.com never published one UK number, which makes it the easiest fee to underestimate. Here is what each one takes, and what is left if the same guest books direct.

Laptop on a home office desk showing a booking calendar with reservations from several channels

Airbnb: one 15.5% fee, paid by the host

Under the old split, the host often lost about 3% and the guest paid a service fee on top, so the price in the search result was higher than the price in the extranet. The single fee folds that into one deduction from the payout. Guests see the price you set. You receive that price minus 15.5%, before any VAT on the fee.

Airbnb’s worked example, from its host page updated on 13 October 2026: a £100 rate used to show the guest £115 and pay the host £97. Set £115 under the single fee and those two numbers stay. Leave the rate at £100 and the guest sees £100, but you receive £84.50 before VAT on the fee. Hosts who did nothing by the deadline took that cut.

The fee is charged on the nightly rate and on fees you add, including cleaning and a pet fee. It is not a reason to hide the cleaning fee. Hiding a mandatory charge is a separate problem, covered in the drip-pricing guide.

Vrbo from 29 October 2026, and Booking.com

What the host paysCharged on cleaning?Guest service fee?
Airbnb, single fee15.5% (16% in Brazil and Mexico)YesNo — it is in your price
Vrbo, bookings from 29 Oct 202612% if Vrbo takes the payment; up to 15% on a Professional Plan in parts of EuropeYesYes, the traveller still pays Vrbo a fee
Booking.comThe rate in your contract, plus any programme add-onsUsually yes, if it is mandatoryNo separate host-style split; the guest books the rate you loaded
Direct, UK cardCard processing. Stripe’s standard UK price is 1.5% + 20pYou keep itNo

Vrbo’s help page states the 12% and the exceptions. VAT is added on top of Vrbo’s commission. If you take payment yourself, Vrbo still charges its commission and your own processor charges as well. The Owner Dashboard is where the rate for your listing is shown. Do not assume every UK listing is 12% if the dashboard says otherwise.

What you keep on a £200 night

These are the fee percentages applied to £200, before VAT on the platform fee and before a visitor levy. They are illustrations, not a payout advice.

RouteDeductedYou keep
Airbnb at 15.5%£31.00£169.00
Vrbo at 12%£24.00£176.00
Booking.com at 15% (only if that is your contract)£30.00£170.00
Direct, Stripe standard UK card£3.20£196.80
Direct at £185, so the guest pays less£2.98£182.02

The last row is the one that wins a repeat guest. They pay £15 less than the Airbnb price, and you still keep more than the Airbnb payout. That only works if they can book, pay and receive the arrival details without emailing you. The direct booking guide is the other half of this arithmetic.

Airbnb, single fee£169− £3115.5%£676− £12415.5%£1,690− £31015.5%Vrbo£176− £2412%£704− £9612%£1,760− £24012%Booking.com, if 15%£170− £30your contract£680− £120your contract£1,700− £300your contractDirect, UK card£197− £31.5%£788− £121.5%£1,970− £301.5%You keepFeeOn £200, the gap between the dearest fee and a direct booking is about £28, beforeVAT on the platform’s charge.On £800, the gap between the dearest fee and a direct booking is about £112, beforeVAT on the platform’s charge.On £2,000, the gap between the dearest fee and a direct booking is about £280,before VAT on the platform’s charge.Hover a row for what the percentage is based on.Airbnb, single fee: On the nightly rate and on fees you add, such as cleaning. Check thepayout: VAT may sit on top, and hosts not on channel software should confirm they haveswitched.Vrbo: Bookings from 29 October 2026, payment processing included when Vrbo takes the money. AProfessional Plan in parts of Europe can be up to 15%. VAT is extra.Booking.com, if 15%: There is no published UK rate. 15% is a comparison line, not a promise.Genius and visibility programmes add more.Direct, UK card: Stripe’s standard UK pricing is 1.5% + 20p. The bar rounds to the pound anddoes not include the 20p. No platform commission.
Airbnb, single fee£169− £31£676− £124£1,690− £310On the nightly rate and on fees you add, suchas cleaning. Check the payout: VAT may sit ontop, and hosts not on channel software shouldconfirm they have switched.Vrbo£176− £24£704− £96£1,760− £240Bookings from 29 October 2026, paymentprocessing included when Vrbo takes the money.A Professional Plan in parts of Europe can beup to 15%. VAT is extra.Booking.com, if 15%£170− £30£680− £120£1,700− £300There is no published UK rate. 15% is acomparison line, not a promise. Genius andvisibility programmes add more.Direct, UK card£197− £3£788− £12£1,970− £30Stripe’s standard UK pricing is 1.5% + 20p. Thebar rounds to the pound and does not includethe 20p. No platform commission.On £200, the gap between the dearestfee and a direct booking is about £28,before VAT on the platform’s charge.On £800, the gap between the dearestfee and a direct booking is about £112,before VAT on the platform’s charge.On £2,000, the gap between the dearestfee and a direct booking is about £280,before VAT on the platform’s charge.
Airbnb 15.5% for hosts on the single fee (channel-managed accounts switched 13 October 2026). Vrbo 12% on bookings from 29 October 2026 when Vrbo takes payment. Booking.com is drawn at 15% only as a midpoint — your contract is the number. Direct is Stripe’s standard UK card rate, 1.5%, rounded to the pound. VAT on a platform fee is extra.

What to do this week

  1. Open three real payouts, one per site, and write down the percentage you actually paid, including VAT.
  2. Decide the guest price you want to show, then set the extranet rate so the payout matches the net you need. On Airbnb that now means the rate you type is the rate the guest sees.
  3. Check cleaning is inside that total on every site, and that a Scottish or Welsh levy is either in the rate or shown as a line before the guest pays.
  4. Tell past guests the direct price in the checkout message. A guest who already trusts the house does not need a platform to find it again.
From our own practiceThe argument about which site “brings the guests” usually ignores the second stay. The first booking is often worth the commission. The guest who comes back next year, and pays you directly, is where the 15% turns into profit. The message that offers that has to go out while they are still in the house, not six months later.

Frequently asked questions

Has every UK Airbnb host moved to 15.5%?

Airbnb’s own note of 13 October 2026 says hosts who manage prices with channel or property-management software switched that day if they were not already on the single fee. Hosts who were not on that software were told to check whether they had switched. Open a payout: if the service fee is about 15.5% of the nightly rate plus the fees you added, you are on it. Brazil and Mexico listings are 16%.

Is VAT included in the 15.5%?

Treat 15.5% as the fee, and look for a separate VAT line. If you are not VAT-registered you cannot reclaim VAT charged on Airbnb’s fee, so the cash cost is higher than 15.5%. The payout screen is the figure to copy into your accounts.

Does the fee apply to the cleaning fee?

On Airbnb’s single fee, yes: the 15.5% applies to the nightly price and to optional fees you add, such as cleaning or a pet fee. Vrbo’s 12% also applies to cleaning and pet fees. It does not apply to taxes, refundable deposits or Vrbo’s own traveller service fee.

What does Booking.com charge?

There is no single published UK rate. Your accommodation agreement states it, and Genius, Preferred Partner or a visibility add-on increases it. Commission is usually calculated on the room and on mandatory extras. Read the extranet before you compare it with 15.5%.

Should I raise prices by 15.5%?

Only if you want the guest’s total and your payout to stay where they were. Airbnb’s own example: a £100 rate with an old split fee showed the guest about £115 and paid the host about £97. A £115 rate on the single fee does the same. Raising a rate that was already the guest’s total makes you more expensive than the listing next door.

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Sources

  1. Airbnb — Simplifying Airbnb service fees (updated 13 October 2026)
  2. Airbnb — How much does Airbnb charge hosts? (13 October 2026)
  3. Vrbo — About the pay-per-booking model
  4. GOV.UK — VAT when you supply services to consumers
  5. Stripe — Pricing for the United Kingdom

Rules last checked on 22 October 2026.