In a game-changing move to better compete against Booking.com, Airbnb is eliminating guest fees for many property managers and hotels that sign up for its service beginning June 4.
Under the new business model, property managers that create accounts starting June 4 and connect to Airbnb via software in the Asia Pacific (except Japan), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will be charged a 14 percent host-only fee by default. Until now, the default was that Airbnb charged hosts a 3 to 5 percent fixed fee, and guests paid a fee of up to 20 percent of the rate for the listing.
Existing and newly enrolled property managers will have the choice to switch to a 14 percent host-only fee “or a shared host and guess fee,” Airbnb has informed hosts in an internal communication.
The fact that the business model change applies to property manager enrollees in Asia Pacific is significant. Siew Kum Hong, regional director of Airbnb Asia-Pacific, said the company now has more than 1 million listings in the region, which will be a key growth driver for the company.
Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Booking has never charged fees for consumers,” said Leslie Cafferty, a spokeswoman for Booking Holdings. “Our mission is to connect customers with great accommodations options all over the world, and at the same time, generate revenue for our partners. Our partners only pay a commission after Booking delivers revenue, in addition to handling customer service and content translation across 40-plus markets.”
In addition, now that Airbnb has acquired HotelTonight and is ramping up its boutique property and hotel business, all such properties around the world (except Japan) will be charged a 15 percent host-only fee. Boutique and traditional hotels previously signed up to list on Airbnb are not impacted by the change.
