Vrbo vs Airbnb vs Booking.com vs direct: what you keep per booking
Vrbo has announced a flat 12% host commission from October 29, 2026 (up from 5% for software-connected hosts and about 8% for others). Enter one booking and compare what you keep on each channel, and the nightly price each one needs to match. Free, runs in your browser. Fee rules last checked on 2026-10-03; all rates are editable because yours may differ.
Airbnb: single host-paid fee, most hosts 15.5%, others typically 14–16% (source 1); applies to nightly price plus added fees like cleaning (source 8).
Vrbo from Oct 29, 2026: a flat 12% commission on rental amount plus fees such as cleaning/pet, not taxes (source 2). Skift reports Vrbo is moving all hosts and property managers to 12% from 5% (software-connected) or 8% (others) on October 29 (source 3), and ShortTermRentalz reports the same date and that partners already paying more than 12% are unaffected and legacy subscription partners move to pay-per-booking at 12% (source 4). Open question: Vrbo’s help page calls 12% “all-in” yet still lists a 3% payment processing fee on the guest’s total payment, including taxes and refundable deposits (source 2) — hence the checkbox. Check the fee shown in your Owner Dashboard.
Vrbo today: 5% commission plus 3% processing for most pay-per-booking hosts; 5% and no Vrbo processing fee when connected through property-management software with your own gateway (source 5).
Booking.com: commission is a percentage of the total booking amount including fees like cleaning, and the rate depends on your country, property type and agreement (source 6). Skift describes it as “around 15%” (source 3). Genius, Preferred Partner or Visibility Booster add extra percentage points; Payments by Booking.com adds a payment service fee that depends on location (source 6, 7). Enter your own numbers.
Direct: Stripe lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction on standard pricing (source 9). Your website, software, ads and time are not included, so “direct” here is the best case, not a verdict.
Not modelled: guest-side service fees (Vrbo says most travelers will still see a service fee; amounts aren’t published — source 3), taxes you owe, damage-protection fees, discounts, currency conversion.
Rate parity: Skift reports Vrbo’s new terms include a rate-parity clause requiring rates at least as low as any other channel, including your own site (source 3). Read your agreement before pricing direct bookings lower.
Questions
How is “nightly price needed” calculated?
For each channel we find the lowest nightly price (same nights, cleaning fee and taxes) at which you’d keep as much as the highest-keeping channel on your current price. It ignores that guests may respond differently to different prices on different sites.
Is Vrbo’s fee 12% or 15%?
12% is the headline commission (sources 2–4). Vrbo’s help page says that in some regions, such as Europe, Australia or New Zealand, the rate for software-connected hosts may be 12–15% and Australia/New Zealand add GST on the commission (source 2). Use the custom field for your rate.