Summary
Fees are the charges you add on top of the nightly rate, such as a cleaning fee, a pet fee or a linens fee. You manage them in the Fees tab of the listing editor. Each fee has a Type picked from the fee types your listing's channels understand, a Name guests read on a direct booking quote, and an amount with a unit that says how it is charged. Host Tools uses your fees to price direct booking quotes and your Google Vacation Rentals listing, and, when Sync Listing Content is on in the listing's settings, sends them to Airbnb and VRBO as the fee type you picked.
đĄ Pro tip: The Type decides where a fee goes; the Name is only what guests read. Pick the type that matches the charge, then word the name however you like.
Adding a fee
Click Listings in the side menu from the settings page and open the listing's content.
Open the Fees tab and click Add Fee.
Choose a Type. The list shows the fee types at least one of your listing's channels supports, such as Cleaning fee, Pet fee, Linens fee, Resort fee or Hot tub, plus Other for a charge no channel has a type for. Each type shows the logos of the channels that receive it.
Check the Name. Host Tools fills it in from the type you picked, and you can change it. This is the label guests see on a direct booking quote.
Set the Tax Type to Taxable or Not taxable, depending on whether your taxes apply to the fee.
Pick a Unit: Per stay, Per day, Per person, Per day per person or Per day per person extra. A pet fee offers Per stay, Per day, Per pet and Per day per pet instead.
Enter the Amount. The dropdown beside it switches between a fixed Amount in your listing's currency and a Percent of the booking.
For a Per person or Per day per person extra fee, enter the number of Guests without fee: how many guests are included before the fee applies.
Click the check mark to save the row, then save the listing. With content sync on, the Review changes page opens first; check what will change on each channel and click Save and send.
Which channels receive a fee
Airbnb and VRBO each accept a fixed set of fee types, and the logos beside each Type show you which of them accept that one. With content sync on for the listing, Host Tools sends each fee to the channels that have its type, so a Pet fee goes to Airbnb but not to VRBO, and a Hot tub fee goes to VRBO but not to Airbnb. A fee of type Other is used on your direct booking site only. Renaming a fee changes nothing on your channels; only the type and amount are sent.
A channel can have a fee's type and still not take the fee the way you charge it. Airbnb takes no per-night fees, VRBO takes no percentage fees, and each takes only one fee of each type. On a fee row like that, the channel's logo is faded with a warning mark. Hover it to see why, for example Airbnb charges it per booking, not per night, so it won't be sent. The Review changes page lists the same fee under Won't be sent to Airbnb, named as a fee with its type, such as Fee "Deposit" (Security deposit).
â ď¸ Important: Taxes are never sent to your channels. Airbnb and VRBO each manage their own taxes, so the Taxes tab affects your direct booking quotes only.
Why isn't my fee showing on a channel?
The channel has no type for it. Check the logos beside the fee's Type; a fee of type Other is never sent to a channel.
The channel can't charge the fee the way you set it up. Look for a faded logo with a warning mark on the fee's row and hover it for the reason, then change the Unit or the amount type if you want the fee sent.
Sync Listing Content is off in the listing's settings. Without it, fees are used for direct booking and Google Vacation Rentals only.
The listing is on Booking.com or Houfy only. Fees are sent to Airbnb and VRBO.
Can I set fees with the Host Tools API?
Yes. A listing's fees and taxes are included when you read a listing through the API or the MCP server, and you can replace them when you update a listing. See the API documentation for the field details.