To understand what changes from today, it is necessary to understand how the system worked until yesterday. And to do this, Airbnb itself provided an example: if you decided to rent an apartment for 100 euros per night, guests would see a figure equal to 115 euros after adding the costs they were responsible for. The host, on the other hand, would have earned 97, after deducting his costs.
From today, as mentioned, this system changes: Airbnb charges all costs in a single commission of 15.5% paid by the hosts. Therefore, still following the example provided by the company, if the host decides to set the price at 115 euros, guests will see exactly that figure on the platform, while the proceeds of those who rent the apartment will be 97 euros. The commission percentage, according to the platform, “is based on the global average of Airbnb service costs”.
Furthermore, the company has made available to hosts "a tool that allows you to simultaneously change the prices of all" adverts "to take individual management costs into account". In fact, Airbnb explained, "to keep the fees per night unchanged" it is necessary to change the prices. The deadline for this change for those residing in the European Economic Area and Switzerland is today, October 13th.
Finally, Airbnb reminds you that some countries “apply taxes on the costs of the service, often called value added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST)”. In this case, if you are a host in a region that has such taxes, the "price correction tool automatically includes them", unless the host has registered for VAT or GST and calculates the VAT independently. In Italy, Airbnb service costs are subject to a VAT rate of 22%.
In recent days, the topic of short-term rentals has come to the center of attention in discussions on the housing emergency in Europe, with various voices underlining or minimizing their impact on the growth in the cost of housing, particularly in large cities. According to a recent study by Federalberghi, in August 2026, 571,982 advertisements relating to accommodation in Italy were available on Airbnb, with exponential growth: 38,587 advertisements more than in August 2025, with an increase of 7.2%.
According to the Federalberghi study centre, "among the Italian cities most affected by the phenomenon we find Rome with 37,387 advertisements, Milan with 26,610, Florence with 13,902, Naples with 11,497 and Venice with 9,042. while as regards the regions, the pole position goes to Tuscany, with 72,771 advertisements, followed by Lombardy with 66,619, Sicily with 57,335 and from Lazio with 51,871. The highest density is recorded in Liguria (5.34 advertisements per square km), while the greatest increase occurred in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (+21.5% compared to August 2025)”.
The Aigab - Italian Association of Short-Term Rental Managers - explained in a note that "hotels and short-term rentals are not the same market. Those who go to hotels are a different customer from those who opt for a holiday apartment, who are typically families from the Italian or international middle class who" decide not to go, "for a series of reasons, to a 4 or 5 star hotel". According to Aigab "there are over 700 thousand Italian families (approximately 2.8 million individuals) for whom short-term rental often represents the main source of livelihood or the means to maintain the real estate assets owned".
