Free tool

Every OTA, every cut,
sourced and dated.

Host commission, guest fees, payout speed, cancellation power — across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia, Agoda, HomeToGo and direct. Quarterly verified.

ChannelHost commissionGuest feePayoutCancellation power
Airbnb
HQ USA
3% (split) / ~15% (host-only)
Paid by: Split
~14.2% (split) / 0% (host-only)
24 h after check-in
EUR, USD, GBP + 40 more
Guest-favored
Booking.com
HQ Netherlands
15-18% (varies by market)
Paid by: Host
0%
Net 30 (configurable: 15 or 45)
Local currency only via Booking.com Payments
Mixed
Vrbo
HQ USA (Expedia Group)
5% + ~3% payment fee = 8%
Paid by: Split
~9-12% (variable)
~3 business days after check-in
USD primary; EUR/GBP/AUD in select markets
Mixed
Expedia
HQ USA (Expedia Group)
15-20%
Paid by: Host
0%
Net 15 or 30
Multi-currency via Expedia Partner Central
Mixed
Agoda
HQ Singapore (Booking Holdings)
12-15%
Paid by: Host
0%
Net 30
USD, EUR, GBP, plus APAC currencies (THB, SGD, HKD, etc.)
Mixed
HomeToGo
HQ Germany
8-12% (meta-search, varies)
Paid by: Host
0%
Net 14
EUR primarily
Host-favored
Direct booking
HQ Your own site
0% (Stripe ~1.5% + €0.25 EU cards)
Paid by: Host
0%
2 business days (Stripe standard)
Any Stripe-supported currency
Host-favored

Last verified 2026-05-09 · re-verified quarterly · scroll horizontally on mobile

When each channel wins

And where each one quietly costs you a relocation.

Airbnb

Best for

Leisure stays 1-3 nights, mobile-heavy demand, international guests.

Watch out

Host-only fee can be auto-assigned to professional hosts in the US — surprise jump from 3% to ~15%.

Source: Airbnb Help Center, EU VAT guidance

Booking.com

Best for

Longer stays, business travel, EU + APAC volume, listings with strong reviews.

Watch out

Genius / Preferred Partner programs push commission to 20-25%. Cancellation defaults favor flexibility unless you opt out.

Source: Booking.com Partner Hub commission table

Vrbo

Best for

Entire-home / family vacation rentals, US + UK + AU markets, multi-week stays.

Watch out

Annual subscription option exists (~$500/yr) — only economic if you do 50+ bookings/year.

Source: Expedia Group host fee schedule

Expedia

Best for

Hotel-format inventory, business stays, package + flight bundles.

Watch out

Designed around hotels, not short-stay homes. Most short-stay hosts reach Expedia via Vrbo channel rather than direct.

Source: Expedia Partner Central published rates

Agoda

Best for

APAC demand, especially Thailand / Vietnam / Indonesia / China.

Watch out

Lower commission than Booking.com but APAC-skewed traffic. Outside that region, volume is thin.

Source: Agoda YCS partner agreement

HomeToGo

Best for

European vacation rental aggregator traffic, supplementary channel.

Watch out

Meta-search model — guests can re-route to other OTAs. Not a primary distribution channel.

Source: HomeToGo Partner Center

Direct booking

Best for

Returning guests, word-of-mouth, brand-built demand, multi-night & shoulder-season fills.

Watch out

Cold acquisition is hard — only economic once you have OTA-built reputation and returning-guest flow.

Source: Stripe published fee schedule
Questions hosts ask

The fee math, decoded.

Which OTA takes the lowest commission from hosts?

Airbnb on the split-fee model takes the lowest single line at 3% from the host — but then takes another ~14% from the guest, so the total cut is comparable to Booking.com's 15-18% host-only fee. Vrbo's 5% + ~3% payment fee is the lowest true 'host-paid' commission among major OTAs, but volume is concentrated in the US and matters less in EU markets. Direct booking via your own widget is 0% commission, with only Stripe's ~1.5% + €0.25 payment processing on EU cards.

Which OTA pays hosts fastest?

Airbnb is the fastest: payout is released 24 hours after check-in, then settles to your bank within 0-5 days depending on payout method (PayPal/Payoneer same-day, SEPA/ACH 3-5 days). Vrbo follows at ~3 business days after check-in. Booking.com, Expedia and Agoda all run on Net 15-30 schedules — you receive a consolidated payout for the month's stays. Direct booking via Stripe is the fastest if you don't count the OTA float: Stripe pays out 2 business days after capture, which is when the guest pays you (not when they arrive).

Should I list on every OTA?

No. The optimal mix for most short-stay hosts is Airbnb + Booking.com (covers ~80% of demand) + a direct booking widget for returning guests. Adding Vrbo/Expedia makes sense for US-leaning markets; Agoda for APAC. Each additional OTA adds calendar-sync complexity and the marginal demand drops fast. The cost of double bookings rises non-linearly with the number of channels — running 5+ channels without a channel manager that polls every 60 seconds is asking for a relocation incident.

How does Booking.com's commission compare to Airbnb's?

Booking.com charges 15-18% commission from the host and 0% from the guest, with higher rates (20-25%) for Genius and Preferred Partner programs. Airbnb's split fee is 3% from host + ~14.2% from guest = ~17.2% total — comparable in aggregate but distributed differently. The host-net difference: on Booking.com, the guest sees a clean price and you absorb the full cut; on Airbnb (split), the guest sees a higher checkout total and your net per booking is slightly higher. Booking.com tends to win on stay length (its guests book longer) while Airbnb tends to win on weekend leisure traffic.

Who controls cancellations — host or guest?

Airbnb tilts most strongly toward the guest: even on 'strict' policies, Airbnb's Extenuating Circumstances clause regularly overrides host policies. Booking.com is more host-friendly by default but the platform's flexible policy is the standard most listings opt into for ranking reasons. Vrbo and Expedia let hosts set firmer policies that the platform honors more consistently. Direct booking gives the host full policy control — you set the terms, you enforce them, no third-party override.

When is direct booking worth it?

Direct booking starts to pay off once two conditions are met: (1) you have a base of returning guests or word-of-mouth referrals — typically after 18-24 months of OTA-built reputation; (2) you have a working widget on a domain guests can find. Cold acquisition via direct booking is hard — you're competing with OTAs' billion-dollar marketing budgets. The realistic mix for year 2+ is 50-60% OTAs + 30-40% direct, with the direct share growing as your guest list does. A 0% commission widget like BookBed's pays for itself after 2-3 direct bookings per month.

Want a line-by-line breakdown of just one channel? Run a nightly rate through the Airbnb fee calculator to see what Airbnb takes, what your guest pays, and what lands in your account.

Stop the per-booking cut

Add a 0% commission direct widget alongside the OTAs.

BookBed runs your direct booking widget at 0% commission, syncs its calendar to Airbnb and Booking.com every 60 seconds, and takes Stripe payments natively. See pricing.