Short answer: Most full-service Airbnb managers charge somewhere between 15% and 35% of booking revenue, depending on whose numbers you read and how much the manager does. Our standard fee in Kansas City is 15%. Before comparing quotes, find out what each percentage is taken from and which costs get billed on top of it.
What managers charge, by the numbers
There's no official rate card for this industry, so the best you can do is compare published estimates. Three companies that sell software and data to hosts have written about it recently:
| Source | Range they publish |
|---|---|
| AirDNA, updated September 2026 | 15% to 40% of rental income; most companies charge 15% to 25% |
| PriceLabs, updated August 2026 | 20% to 35% of gross revenue for full service; 20% to 30% as the standard |
| Hostaway, updated December 2025 | Co-hosts charge 10% to 30%, averaging about 20% |
The lower numbers usually come from co-hosts who handle messages and the calendar but leave cleaning, supplies and repairs to the owner. The higher numbers are for luxury homes and managers who take on everything.
We charge 15% as our standard fee, which puts us at the bottom of AirDNA's range.
What our 15% covers
These are included in the fee:
- Listing setup and writing, and the listing's upkeep after that
- Nightly pricing that moves with demand, seasons and local events
- Guest messages at any hour, including late check-ins and lockouts
- Screening every guest before the booking is confirmed
- Scheduling and checking cleaning after every checkout
- Arranging repairs through local contractors, with your approval on costs
- A monthly owner statement
The full list is on our services page. Across the homes we've run, that work adds up to more than 8,000 stays and a 4.8 star average rating over 5 years. We carry $1M in liability coverage and $100K in damage coverage.
Costs that sit outside any management fee
Ask every manager you talk to for a written list of what they bill separately. The common ones:
- Setup or onboarding. AirDNA puts one-time onboarding fees at $200 to $1,000. PriceLabs lists onboarding at $100 to $500 and photography and setup at $150 to $400.
- Cleaning. Airbnb lets hosts add a cleaning fee that the guest pays, which can cover the cost of each turnover.
- Supplies and repairs. Toilet paper, coffee, linens and broken things cost money whoever manages the home.
- Platform fees. Airbnb's service fee page says most hosts on the split fee pay 3%, and hosts on the host-only fee mostly pay 15.5%. That comes out before anyone's percentage is figured.
- City registration and taxes. In Kansas City, Missouri, the city's BizCare guide lists a $200 short-term rental registration fee, and the tax FAQ sets a 7.5% transient tax plus $3 per room night, filed quarterly. Suburbs have their own rules. Our Kansas City owner's guide compares them.
Three questions that matter more than the percentage
What is the percentage taken from? Some managers take it from the total the guest pays, cleaning fee included. Others take it from your payout after platform fees. On the same booking, the dollar amount can be quite different. Airbnb's co-host payout page shows how a co-host's share is calculated from the host's earnings after the service fee.
Who pays for the cleaners? If cleaning is billed to you rather than covered by the guest's cleaning fee, a low percentage can end up costing more.
How do you leave? Read the notice period and any early-exit fee before you sign. A good manager doesn't need a long lock-in to keep your business.
A low fee also doesn't help if the calendar sits empty. Ask for the occupancy and nightly rate the manager expects for your home, and ask how they arrived at those numbers.
If you're comparing managers for a home in the suburbs, our Olathe page shows how the work and the rules look in one Johnson County city.