Direct booking vs Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo: what you keep

What each channel costs on a €1,000 stay

The same €1,000 stay (nights plus cleaning fee), fees before VAT:

Booking.com sets the rate per country and property: about 15% is common for vacation rentals in Europe, visibility programmes such as Preferred Partner add a few points, and Payments by Booking.com can add a payment fee. Card prices in the table are Stripe's eurozone list prices; premium and business cards cost a little more, and other countries have their own price lists.

VAT makes platform fees bigger in Europe

In the EU, the UK, Norway and Switzerland, Airbnb charges VAT on its service fee. If you are not VAT-registered, you pay it, so in Spain (21% VAT) the real Airbnb fee is 18.76% and you keep €812.45 of the €1,000. In Germany it is 18.45%, in Italy 18.91%. Booking.com also adds VAT to its commission in many countries for hosts without a VAT number. Card processing fees carry no VAT.

Use the Airbnb fee calculator, the Booking.com commission calculator and the Vrbo fee calculator with your own prices and country.

What a direct booking really costs

A direct booking is not free, but most of its cost is time and risk rather than a percentage:

• Card processing: about 1.5% to 3% of the booking, paid to Stripe or PayPal. The money goes to your own account.
• Your website: Stayveo costs €9 per property per month ($9 outside Europe), with 0% commission. Other booking-website builders charge from under €10 to about €40 a month for one property, some with a booking fee on top.
• Taxes and paperwork: platforms collect tourist or occupancy taxes for you in many cities. For a direct booking you collect and pay them yourself, and guest registration rules apply in the same way.
• Damage and disputes: there is no platform damage programme. Use a clear rental agreement, house rules and a security deposit you state up front. A guest can still dispute a card payment with their bank, so keep your messages and the signed agreement.
• Finding guests: platforms bring demand. Direct bookings come from people who already know you or find you by name.

What platforms give you for their fee

Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo bring guests you would not reach alone, handle payments and refunds, verify guests, mediate problems and offer damage programmes. For many hosts they stay the main channel. Direct bookings work best as a second channel that grows over time: every stay that comes direct saves you most of a 12% to 19% platform fee.

How many direct bookings make a website worth it?

At €9 a month, a booking website costs €108 a year. Moving a single €1,000 stay from Airbnb to a direct booking keeps about €140 more for you, more than a year of the website. A €400 weekend keeps about €56 more, so two direct weekends a year already pay for it.

How to grow direct bookings without breaking Airbnb's rules

Airbnb's off-platform policy forbids, among other things:

• asking or encouraging guests to move current, future or repeat bookings off Airbnb;
• links that take people off Airbnb in listings or messages;
• offering discounts to book off Airbnb;
• using guests' contact details from Airbnb for marketing.

Breaking these rules can cost you your listing. Direct bookings should therefore come from channels you own:

1. Your own website, with your property's name in the title so that people who search for it find it. Guests who liked a stay often search for the place by name later.
2. Search and maps: a clear website with real photos, prices and availability can rank for your property name and your area.
3. Social media and local partners: your own Instagram or Facebook page, local businesses, event organisers and companies that send staff.
4. Guests who booked direct: they are your customers, so you may invite them back.
5. Word of mouth: friends of past guests asking for "the place you stayed in".

Booking.com and Vrbo have their own rules about contacting and marketing to their guests, so read them before you do anything with their bookings. In Stayveo's digital guest guide, the "book direct next time" box is off by default, and when you switch it on it hides itself while an Airbnb guest is staying (with your Airbnb calendar connected).

Checklist for your first direct booking

1. A website with real photos, the full price including cleaning and taxes, and live availability.
2. Calendar sync with every platform you use, so a direct booking blocks the dates everywhere.
3. Card payments into your own Stripe or PayPal account.
4. A cancellation policy, a rental agreement and house rules the guest accepts when booking.
5. Your local registration number, tourist tax and guest registration handled as on the platforms.

Sources: Airbnb service fees, VAT on Airbnb fees and the off-platform policy in the Airbnb Help Center; Stripe pricing (eurozone list prices); Vrbo's commission change as reported by Rental Scale-Up. Checked 10 October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.