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How Commission, Taxes, and Payout Work
How Commission, Taxes, and Payout Work
- 10 nights × $100 = $1,000 lodging
- $150 cleaning fee
- 14.45% tax rate on lodging
- Payment processing fee = 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
- Capehost management fee varies by contract. This example uses 18%
- Airbnb platform fee in this example = 15.5% of (lodging + cleaning)
- VRBO/HomeAway platform fee in this example = 5% of (lodging + cleaning)
| Step | Airbnb | VRBO/HomeAway | Direct booking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lodging | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
|
| Cleaning fee | $150.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 |
|
| Tax charged to guest | $144.50 | $144.50 | $144.50 |
|
| Total paid by guest | $1,294.50 | $1,294.50 | $1,294.50 |
|
| Platform fee | -$178.25 | -$57.50 | $0.00 |
|
| Payment processing fee | $0.00 | -$37.84 | -$37.84 |
|
| Cleaning payout | -$150.00 | -$150.00 | -$150.00 |
|
| Taxes remitted by platform | $144.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
|
| Capehost commission | -$147.92 | -$169.65 | -$180.00 |
|
| Owner payout (includes taxes on some channels) | $673.83 | $879.51 | $926.66 |
|
| Owner revenue after taxes | $673.83 | $735.01 | $782.16 |
|
Security deposit
- Airbnb. Not used in this example
- VRBO/HomeAway and direct bookings may place an authorization hold on the guest card
- If the hold is released, there is no payment processing fee
- If part of the deposit is captured for damages, payment processing fees apply only to the captured amount
Why VRBO/HomeAway and direct look higher
- Tax funds remain inside the payout
- Those funds are not extra profit
- Owners still need to send tax payments to the local authority
How to read this example
- This is a simplified owner-facing example
- Real reservations may use installment payments
- Platform fees, tax rules, and management fee percentages can vary by property and contract
