Goodbye to commissions divided between owners and guests. Here’s how the earnings of those who rent change and how much prices will increase for those who book
From today, October 13, 2026, the way Airbnb collects will change. The news, announced in July, also comes to those who rent in the European Economic Area and Switzerland: goodbye to costs divided between owner and guest, only a 15.5% commission remains to be paid by the host. The platform talks about clearer prices for those who book. For the owners we need to redo the calculations and for the tourists the final effect is still to be understood.
Airbnb commission at 15.5%: how it worked before and how it works now
Until yesterday the costs were divided between host and guest. The owner set 100 euros per night, Airbnb added the fee to be paid by those who booked and around 115 euros appeared on the tourist’s screen. The host, after his commission, received 97 euros. From today the owner pays everything: Airbnb retains 15.5% and the price set is what the tourist sees, without additions. To continue to collect 97 euros, the owner must therefore indicate approximately 115 euros. The tourist, therefore, finds himself more or less the same amount as before: only who pays it changes. Here’s what it means in concrete terms for owners.
Short-term rentals: what changes for owners and how not to lose earnings
The risk is leaving the price list as it is. If an owner rents out his house for 100 euros per night, how do things change?
Before. The owner taxes 100 euros. Airbnb adds its fee to be paid by the guest, who sees and pays around 115 euros. The owner gets 97 euros.
From today, if the price does not change. The owner leaves 100 euros. Now, however, there is no addition: the tourist pays 100 euros, but Airbnb retains 15.5% and the owner is left with 84.50 euros. They are around 12.50 euros less per night than before, i.e. 13% less.
From today, if the price increases. The owner goes for 115 euros. The tourist pays 115 euros, what he already paid, and the owner gets back around 97 euros.
In practice, those who do not touch the price make the house seem cheaper in the eyes of tourists, but lose out of their own pocket. Whoever raises it by around 15 euros maintains the previous profit, and the tourist pays more or less the same amount. On 20,000 euros of bookings per year at current prices, the commission would rise from 600 to 3,100 euros, before VAT. To adjust the rates, Airbnb offers a tool that modifies the prices of all the adverts together. Bookings already confirmed do not change, because the conditions in force at the time of booking apply.
22% VAT on Airbnb commissions: how much does it really weigh?
In Italy the Airbnb service is subject to VAT at 22%, but the tax is calculated only on the commission, not on the total stay. It means approximately 3.4% more: the theoretical weight of the commission thus goes from 15.5% to approximately 18.9% of the sum on which it is calculated. Those who do not have a VAT number cannot recover it, so for them it is a cost in all respects. Be careful, because the 115 euros in the example do not include VAT: with the tax, to maintain the same income you need a slightly higher price. The Airbnb tool considers it automatically, except for hosts registered for VAT purposes who manage it on their own.
Higher prices for tourists? It depends on the owners
The single commission does not trigger an automatic increase in price. How much those who book will pay will depend on the choices of each owner: there are those who will update the price list, those who will absorb part of the cost by accepting to earn less. Competition and demand will also weigh. The market is huge. According to Federalberghi, in August 2026 there were 571,982 Italian listings on Airbnb, 7.2% more than a year earlier. Rome is in the lead with 37,387 advertisements, followed by Milan (26,610) and Florence (13,902). For those who travel it is now convenient to compare the final prices, which from today are the ones you can see immediately. For owners, redo the calculations before discovering at the end of the month that the house makes less money.
