What you actually pay on booking platforms
Airbnb moved to a single host-only fee model across the UK in 2026. Under the current structure, hosts pay 15.5% commission on the booking subtotal, which includes the nightly rate plus any cleaning fees or extras you add. UK hosts also pay 20% VAT on top of that 15.5% fee, which means the effective cost is higher than the headline rate suggests.
Booking.com operates a similar model, charging hosts between 10% and 25% commission, with the UK average sitting at around 15%. Unlike Airbnb, there is no separate guest service fee, so the price guests see is the price they pay. However, additional costs can stack up quickly. Payment processing typically adds between 1.1% and 3.1%, and visibility programmes such as Preferred Partner or Genius can push the real cost to 20% or more per booking.
The key difference for guests is transparency. On Airbnb, the price you see as a guest now includes all fees. On Booking.com, the same applies. On both platforms, the host absorbs the commission, which usually means they have priced it into the nightly rate. When you book direct, that commission cost disappears, and many hosts will reduce the rate accordingly.
- Airbnb charges hosts 15.5% plus VAT, with guests now seeing an all-in price
- Booking.com charges hosts 15% to 25%, with no separate guest fee
- Payment processing, visibility programmes and Genius discounts add extra costs for hosts
- Hosts typically price platform commission into their nightly rates
How much direct bookings actually save
A direct booking removes the platform commission entirely. On a three-night stay priced at £405 gross (including a cleaning fee), a host paying 15% platform commission would net £344.25 after fees. The same booking taken direct, with only payment processing at around 3%, would net £392.85. That £48.60 difference per booking adds up across a year.
Many hosts pass some or all of that saving on to guests who book direct, because it gives them a pricing advantage and builds repeat business. The exact discount varies, but it is not unusual to see direct rates 10% to 15% lower than the platform price for the same dates, particularly for longer stays or repeat guests.
The trade-off is convenience and protection. Platforms handle payment security, dispute resolution, calendar synchronisation and guest verification. Direct bookings require you to trust the host's own systems, and if something goes wrong, your recourse is more limited.