How do I price Airbnb, Vrbo, and direct to keep the same amount?

Divide your target take-home by (1 minus each channel's fee) and round up to the cent.

Why is my direct price lowest?

Direct bookings usually only cost card processing and software, often 2.5% to 4%, so the price can be lower for the same take-home.

Airbnb vs Vrbo vs Direct Price Matcher: Same Take-Home

What you want to keep

Take-home per night ($) Direct booking cost (%)

Card processing and booking software, often 2.5% to 4%.

Airbnb host fee (%) Vrbo fee (%)

Prices to set

Channel	Price	You keep

Price = take-home ÷ (1 − channel fee), rounded up to the cent.

How to use it

Each channel takes a different cut. To keep the same amount no matter where a guest books, each channel needs its own price. Use this for nightly rates and for cleaning or pet fees.

One catch. Reports on Vrbo's new Host Terms, effective Oct 29, 2026, describe a parity clause (Section 4.5.7) saying your Vrbo offer must be at least as favorable as other channels, including your own site. Read your terms before pricing direct below Vrbo.

Sources

Airbnb Help: Service fees
Vrbo Help: How is the booking fee calculated
The Host Report, Oct 7, 2026 (parity clause summary)

Last checked Oct 13, 2026.

Copy this prompt into your AI

Paste it into ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Grok. Change the inputs. It uses the same formula as this page, so you should get the same answer.

Act as a calculator. I want to keep the same amount per night no matter where a guest books.
My inputs (change these):
- Take-home per night: $200
- Direct booking cost: 3%
- Airbnb host fee: 15.5%
- Vrbo fee: 12%
Rule: price for each channel = take-home / (1 - channel fee), rounded UP to the next cent. You keep = price x (1 - fee), rounded to the cent.
Show the price and what I keep for Direct, Airbnb, and Vrbo, with your math.
Check: with the inputs above the prices are Direct $206.19, Airbnb $236.69, Vrbo $227.28.

Agents and developers: JSON API, OpenAPI spec, llms.txt.