Airbnb is testing lower fees for hosts who bring their own guests
Airbnb is testing a new model where hosts who generate their own demand can pay a noticeably lower fee. The reservation still remains within Airbnb's system, so the boundary between an OTA reservation and direct booking is becoming increasingly blurred.
Airbnb has started offering select hosts special booking links through which the platform fee, according to information available so far, is reduced from the standard 15.5% to 6% or 10%. The pilot was first reported by Skift at the end of August, after hosts shared Airbnb's messages on social media and in host communities.
The guest comes from the host, but the reservation remains Airbnb's
The host can share the new link via social media, email or other marketing channels of their choice. If a guest books through it, a lower fee applies.
However, it is a “direct booking” only in the marketing sense. The payment, reservation and customer support still go through Airbnb, and the host retains benefits such as AirCover. Meanwhile, Airbnb remains the intermediary and controls the transaction.
The 15.5% fee takes on a new perspective
The timing of the test is particularly interesting. Over the course of 2026, Airbnb is rolling out a single-fee model paid by the host. For most hosts under that model it amounts to 15.5%, while Airbnb states that some users of property and channel management software will switch to the new structure on 13 October.
If the host pays only 6% or 10% for a guest they have sourced themselves, the platform effectively begins to value the distribution and the booking infrastructure itself differently. For professional property managers, this provides a more concrete benchmark when calculating the cost of their own direct-booking channel.
New competitor to own direct-booking channels
For apartment and villa managers in Croatia and the Adriatic region, the model could be particularly interesting as many already have databases of previous guests, social media channels and their own websites.
Instead of choosing between a full OTA commission and a completely direct booking, Airbnb is testing a third option: the host brings the guest, while the platform provides payment processing, infrastructure, and protection for a lower fee.
The pilot is not yet available to all hosts, nor has Airbnb published public documentation with complete rules. Therefore, it is more important as a signal than as a new standard fee. If it is rolled out more widely, it could change how professional property managers calculate distribution costs and generate revenue.
