If you’ve been following Airbnb’s news lately, you’ve probably heard about the major commission changes rolling out this fall. Starting October 27th for properties connected to a property management system (PMS), and December 1st for everyone else, Airbnb is fundamentally changing how they charge hosts.
And if you’re managing this yourself or working with a company that isn’t staying on top of these details, you could be losing money without even realizing it.
Let me break down what’s happening, why the “obvious” solution doesn’t work, and how we’re handling this for our Corzly partners.
What’s Actually Changing
Airbnb is moving to a host-only commission model of 15.5%. This means they’re eliminating the guest service fees (the ones guests used to see at checkout) and passing all those costs directly to you, the property owner.
Think of it like how hotels operate, the guest sees one price, and the property pays the booking platform’s commission on the backend.
This shift started on October 27th, 2025 for properties connected through a PMS like Guesty, Hostfully, or Streamline. By December 1st, every single Airbnb host will be paying this new commission structure.
Why 15.5% Markup Doesn’t Actually Work
Here’s where most property owners (and frankly, a lot of property managers) are getting this wrong.
The natural assumption is: “Okay, Airbnb is now charging me 15.5%, so I’ll just mark up my prices by 15.5% and we’re even.”
That math doesn’t work.
Here’s why: if you were earning $100 before this change and you mark your price up by 15.5%, your new price becomes $115.50. But when Airbnb takes their 15.5% commission from that $115.50, you end up with $97.60.
You just lost $2.40 per $100 you were earning before.
The actual markup you need is 18.34%.
With an 18.34% markup, your $100 becomes $118.34. After Airbnb takes their 15.5% cut, you’re left with your original $100. That’s the math that actually protects your earnings.
CAUTION: Your Other Fees Aren’t Protected
That 18.34% markup only applies to your nightly rate when you set it up in your property management software.
Your cleaning fees? Not covered.
Extra guest charges? Not covered.
Pet fees, event fees, or any other add-ons? None of those get the markup.
Let’s say you charge a $200 cleaning fee. If you don’t adjust that fee separately, Airbnb’s 15.5% commission is coming straight out of it. You’re now only netting $169 on that cleaning fee instead of the full $200 you were getting before.
That means every single fee structure on your property needs individual attention and adjustment, or you’re leaving money on the table with every single reservation.
What We’re Doing for Corzly Partners
Our team has already gone through every property in our portfolio and made the necessary adjustments.
Here’s what we’ve done:
- Applied the correct 18.34% markup across all nightly rates in our PMS system. Not the 15.5% that doesn’t work—the actual number that protects your revenue.
- Recalculated cleaning fees to account for the commission so you’re not losing money on every turnover.
- Adjusted all other charges—extra guests, pets, events, anything that wasn’t your base nightly rate—to make sure Airbnb’s commission doesn’t eat into those either.
- Verified everything is competitive because here’s the good news: guests don’t see any of this.
Thanks to recent pricing transparency laws (California led the way on this), Airbnb now displays one total price to guests. No breakdown of service fees. No separate cleaning fee line item. Just one number.
That means when we apply the 18.34% markup, your listing stays just as competitive in search results as it was before. Guests aren’t comparing your “cleaning fee” to another property’s, they’re just seeing total prices. And we’ve made sure yours is positioned right.
Why This Matters Beyond October 27th
Let’s zoom out for a second.
Airbnb started back in 2008, renting out air mattresses in a San Francisco apartment. Back then, they charged hosts a 3% commission. That’s it. Just enough to cover credit card processing fees.
That low commission was a huge part of how they grew so fast. Hosts were paying 15% on VRBO and Booking.com, so Airbnb’s 3% was incredibly attractive.
Fast forward to today, and Airbnb is now charging 15.5%—right in line with Booking.com, VRBO, Expedia, and every other major platform.
The platforms will keep changing the rules. They always have, and they always will.
That’s exactly why our approach at Corzly has always been diversification. Your property isn’t just sitting on Airbnb hoping for the best. We’ve got you listed across multiple platforms—VRBO, Booking.com, and others—so you’re not at the mercy of any single company’s policy changes.
And we’re constantly working on direct booking strategies where you keep even more of the revenue because there’s no platform commission at all.
The Difference Between Reacting and Being Prepared
Here’s what I’ve seen happen with property owners over the years:
Some are DIY hosts who manage everything themselves. Not everyone has crunched the numbers carefully. They’re just slapping on that 15.5% and forgetting to adjust the other costs.
Others are working with management companies that are slow to adapt or don’t fully understand the implications. They might apply the 15.5% markup and call it a day, not realizing their clients are losing money on every booking.
And then there are property owners who have a team that handles this before it even becomes a problem.
That’s what we do at Corzly. More income, less hassle—even when the platforms decide to shake things up.
The property owners who stay profitable long-term aren’t the ones reacting to every policy change. They’re the ones with systems and teams in place that can adapt automatically, protect their revenue, and keep everything running smoothly in the background.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re managing your own property:
- Log into your PMS or adjust your prices on your Airbnb account
- Apply the 18.34% markup to your nightly rates (not 15.5%)
- Go through every fee individually—cleaning, extra guests, pets, everything—and adjust each one
- Double-check your total pricing against competitors to make sure you’re still positioned well
If you’re working with a property management company:
- Ask them specifically what markup percentage they applied
- Ask if they adjusted your cleaning fees and other charges separately
- Request a breakdown showing your earnings before and after the change
If you’re a Corzly partner:
- You don’t need to do anything. We’ve already handled it. But if you want to see the specifics of what we adjusted for your property, just reach out to your account manager.
And if you’re not a Corzly partner but you’re tired of handling these kinds of changes yourself, let’s talk. We manage over 200 properties, and our team of 20+ experts has been navigating these platform shifts for years.
Final Thoughts
Airbnb’s commission change isn’t the end of the world, but it does require attention to detail and the right math to protect your profits.
The bigger lesson here is about control—or rather, the lack of it. You don’t control what Airbnb charges. You don’t control when VRBO changes their policies. You don’t control what Booking.com decides to do next quarter.
What you can control is having a strategy that doesn’t depend on any single platform playing nice forever.
Diversify your listings. Build your direct booking channel. Work with a team that stays ahead of these changes instead of reacting to them.
That’s how you build a short-term rental business that’s profitable for the long haul, no matter what the platforms decide to do.
Corzly manages short-term rental properties across 50+ cities. If you’d like to understand how your current setup compares to what’s working in your market today, we’re happy to take a look. Contact us here.