Contents
Key facts
- From 13 October 2026 Swiss hosts face a single rate of 15.5 per cent instead of the previous host share of around 3 per cent.
- The 15.5 per cent also hits the cleaning fee: of CHF 150 you receive CHF 126.75 — CHF 1,628 a year over 70 stays.
- The formula against that gap: actual cost divided by 0.845. CHF 150 becomes CHF 177.50.
- On the nightly rate 15.5 per cent is not enough: the same net amount needs plus 18.34 per cent. Do nothing and you lose around 13 per cent.
What changes
Until now Airbnb split the service fee: around 3 per cent was borne by the host, 14 to 16.5 per cent by the guest. From 13 October 2026 a single rate of 15.5 per cent applies for Swiss hosts, borne by the host.
The guest sees a lower final price as a result, because their share falls away. For you it means: 15.5 centimes go out of every franc of booking revenue, instead of around 3 as before.
Reservations already confirmed keep the old model. So this concerns everything booked from 13 October onwards.
The point that gets overlooked: the cleaning fee
The 15.5 per cent is charged on the entire booking subtotal — including the cleaning fee you charge the guest.
That produces a gap visible on no statement: you charge CHF 150 as a cleaning fee but receive only CHF 126.75 of it in the payout. You still pay the cleaning service CHF 150. Loss per stay: CHF 23.25.
Over 70 stays a year that is CHF 1628 — money nobody notices, because it does not appear as a line item but as a smaller payout.
The cleaning fee therefore has to be grossed up. The formula is simple: actual cost divided by 0.845. CHF 150 becomes CHF 177.50. Only then does the amount the cleaning really costs remain after the fee is deducted.
Your figures, not our examples
The calculator takes the number of rooms, the neighbourhood and the fit-out and shows you a range — with the arithmetic beside it, not as a single figure you have to take on trust.
Estimate the returnAnd the nightly rate: 15.5 per cent is not enough
The second error of arithmetic many will make: charging 15.5 per cent more does not produce the same payout. The reason is that the fee is charged on the new, higher price.
There are two sensible objectives, and they lead to different factors.
- To receive the same net amount per night as before: price divided by 0.845, that is plus 18.34 per cent.
- To receive the same payout as under the old model with the 3 per cent share: price times 1.1479, that is plus 14.8 per cent.
- Doing nothing: around 13 per cent less payout at the same price.
What this means for demand
The most important point last, and it gets overlooked in the excitement: the final price for the guest does not necessarily rise. Their fee share of 14 to 16.5 per cent falls away, after all. If you raise your nightly rate by 18 per cent and the guest no longer pays their fee, the final price for them is roughly the same.
Anyone omitting the adjustment is therefore giving away not demand but income. And anyone making it should do so before 13 October — prices for autumn and winter are booked earlier.
Airbnb’s own adjustment tool aims by default at the more conservative of the two factors. Anyone wanting full compensation has to calculate it themselves.
Frequently asked questions
On 13 October 2026 Airbnb switches Swiss hosts to the host-only model. Until now the host bore around 3 per cent and the guest 14 to 16.5 per cent; in future the host pays 15.5 per cent on the booking subtotal and the guest no service fee at all. For the guest the final price stays roughly the same if the host adjusts their price. Anyone doing nothing loses around 13 per cent of the payout. Reservations already confirmed keep the old model.
That depends on the objective, and both factors are larger than 15.5 per cent — because the fee is charged on the new price. For the same net amount per night: price divided by 0.845, that is plus 18.34 per cent. For the same payout as under the old split model: price times 1.1479, that is plus 14.8 per cent. Airbnb’s own tool aims by default at the more conservative figure. Make the adjustment before 13 October, because autumn and winter bookings arise earlier.
Yes, and that is the point most frequently overlooked. The 15.5 per cent is charged on the entire booking subtotal, including the cleaning fee. Anyone charging CHF 150 receives CHF 126.75 in the payout and still pays the cleaning service CHF 150 — a loss of CHF 23.25 per stay, and over 70 stays a year CHF 1628. The fee has to be grossed up: actual cost divided by 0.845. CHF 150 becomes CHF 177.50. A large proportion of hosts will not do this calculation in the autumn.
And for your property?
Sources
State of our research: 31 July 2026. Official rules change — check the current position with the competent authority.
