Question 1

What do Airbnb managers charge in Zurich?

Accepted Answer

The range is wider than you would expect. For full service, market rates in Zurich run from 20 to 30 per cent of rental income; premium providers charge up to 40 or 45 per cent of the booking total. Half service — listing and pricing without cleaning and guest support, say — sits at 10 to 15 per cent. Individual providers name concrete figures: GuestReady starts at 20 per cent, UpperKey works with a 20 per cent model, AlpineKeys names 20 per cent as its standard rate. We start at 18 per cent of booking turnover for the same scope of service. When comparing, it pays to look at the basis of assessment: 20 per cent of rental income and 20 per cent of the booking total are not the same thing, because the booking total can include cleaning fees and incidental charges.

Question 2

What does cleaning cost with short-term letting?

Accepted Answer

For a studio or one-room flat, CHF 80 to 130 per clean; for three rooms, CHF 160 to 250. Billing is usually by time spent at hourly rates of CHF 70 to 90; flat rates by floor area are also common. Laundry and replenishing consumables increase the amount. Here is the figure that surprises people: this item arises at every guest changeover, not monthly. At twelve changeovers a month, cleaning becomes the largest running cost block — larger than any management commission. Something practical follows: at the same nightly rate, longer stays are distinctly more profitable than short ones, because they mean fewer changeovers. Anyone who aims pricing at occupancy alone and overlooks changeover costs is optimising at the wrong end.

Question 3

How much commission does Airbnb keep?

Accepted Answer

From 13 October 2026 the host-only model applies in Switzerland: 15.5 per cent on the booking subtotal, borne by the host. Previously it was around 3 per cent from the host and 14 to 16.5 per cent from the guest. At Booking.com it is about 20 per cent. The important difference from the earlier model: guests no longer pay a separate service fee — the price shown is the final price. In practice this means the fee has to be built into the nightly rate rather than added on top for the guest. Anyone who leaves the price unchanged loses around 13 per cent of the payout; and raising it by 15.5 per cent is not enough, because the fee applies again to the increased amount. For your own calculation a sequence follows: booking turnover minus platform commission, minus cleaning and laundry per changeover, minus consumables, minus management. What remains is the return before tax. Anyone looking at booking turnover alone overestimates the return by a substantial amount.

Question 4

Is short-term letting worthwhile compared with long-term renting?

Accepted Answer

That can only be answered for a specific property, and the answer comes out in favour of long-term renting more often than providers admit. Short-term letting achieves higher nightly rates but carries cleaning costs of CHF 80 to 250 at every changeover, platform fees of 15 to 20 per cent, vacant periods and an administrative burden that long-term renting does not have. Four figures decide it. The achievable occupancy at the specific location. The average length of stay — it determines the number of cleaning changeovers and therefore the largest cost block. The initial investment in furnishing, which does not arise with long-term renting. And whether the use is admissible under zoning law at all: if that comes out negative, the other three are moot. One point that rarely comes up: long-term renting ties the flat up under tenancy law, short-term letting does not — which makes things easier for anyone wanting to use or sell the flat in two years. We work through both variants and say so when long-term renting comes out better.

Question 5

Are there hidden costs with you?

Accepted Answer

No, and you can check that on three points. First: no basic fee and no set-up costs. If the flat stands empty you pay us nothing — our commission is measured on booking turnover, not on a month. Second: cleaning and laundry run as a flat rate per changeover, staged by size of flat and known before the first booking. You see every changeover individually, not one aggregate figure — and no item that changes after the fact. Third: no minimum term and no notice period beyond one month. What we do not claim: that no costs arise apart from the commission. Consumables, wear on textiles and small appliances, minor repairs and the platform commission all arise — with us as with anyone. We name them in the calculation instead of hiding them under «other costs».

Question 6

What return can I expect from my flat?

Accepted Answer

We do not name a percentage, and that is deliberate. The return depends on location, size, fittings, length of stay and season — two flats with the same turnover can produce very different returns, because the number of cleaning changeovers differs. What does serve as a guide: Swiss hotels reached room occupancy of 51.1 per cent in 2025 at an average room rate of CHF 268; in Zurich the price increase exceeded 5 per cent and was therefore above the national average. Those figures concern hotels, not short-term letting, but they indicate how demand is developing. For your flat, the calculator on this site gives a first approximation of turnover; we work through the cost side, and therefore the return, in conversation with your figures.

Question 7

What are the initial investments?

Accepted Answer

Reckon with furnishing, textiles, kitchen equipment and an electronic lock. The amount depends heavily on size and condition, and part of it can be taken over from existing furniture. What experience shows pays off and what does not can be ranked by effect: an electronic lock makes key handover independent of anyone being present and is therefore the purchase that relieves you most. A washing machine in the flat saves logistics at every changeover. A workspace with a desk, chair and light — not the kitchen table — widens the guest circle to business travellers, who stay longer. Conversely, expensive design achieves less than solid textiles in duplicate: bed linen has to be ready at the changeover, not in the wash. We put a list together before you buy anything.

Question 8

What does an initial consultation cost?

Accepted Answer

Nothing, and it commits you to nothing. We look at the flat, assess what is achievable with short-term letting, and work through the cost side. We do not examine the zoning position — the building authority (Bauamt) is responsible for that, and information there is free. We tell you where you have to ask. At the end you have a figure you can work with — or the view that we advise against working together. The latter does happen: with strict house rules, with layouts that have no separable sleeping area, or where long-term renting comes out better. We say so at the initial consultation, not after three months of operation. The reason is simple: a property that does not add up costs us more effort than it brings in — our commission depends on turnover, not on a basic fee.

Question 9

When do I get my money?

Accepted Answer

The platforms pay out booking turnover after the guest checks in, usually within a few days. With us a monthly statement follows: you receive a breakdown with all bookings, the platform fees, the cleaning costs per changeover and our commission — every item individually, not as a balance. What you also see: bookings, income and costs are available continuously, not only in the annual statement. The reason for this is practical: anyone who first learns in January how the previous year went can correct nothing during it. For your tax return we supply the documents in a form your tax adviser can use — broken down into income, deductible costs and occupied days for the imputed rental value (Eigenmietwert).

Question 10

Can you guarantee me an occupancy rate?

Accepted Answer

No, and we consider any such assurance disreputable. Occupancy depends on factors nobody controls: how demand develops, competition in the neighbourhood, the events calendar, the weather, the economy. Anyone guaranteeing an occupancy rate either sets it so low that the guarantee is worthless, or charges a premium that prices in the risk — and then you are paying for security you could have afforded more cheaply yourself. What we do instead: adjust prices continuously to demand, season and events. That is the lever which actually influences occupancy. And we do not tie you in: if the figures do not convince you, you cancel monthly. That is a more honest form of security than a guarantee in the small print.

Question 11

Why is your commission lower than the others?

Accepted Answer

Because we are a small team and do not have to finance a structure that justifies itself through the price. Market rates for full service in Zurich run from 20 to 30 per cent of rental income, and premium providers charge over 40 per cent of the booking total. We start at 18 per cent of booking turnover, and for the same scope of service: listing, photography, ongoing pricing, guest support, cleaning arrangements. You file the cantonal guest notification yourself — the duty is not transferable; we supply you with the occupancy data for it. What that means we say just as plainly, because it belongs to the decision. We are not a customer service centre reachable around the clock in five languages. We do not manage a hundred properties at once, and when someone is on holiday or ill there is no team of ten to step in. We answer guest enquiries around the clock — they are time-critical. Your enquiries within one working day. Anyone who needs a large organisation behind them, or who has several dozen properties, is better served by one of the large providers and pays the higher commission for it.

Question 12

What happens if the flat stands empty?

Accepted Answer

Then you pay us nothing. Our commission is measured on booking turnover; with no booking, no claim arises. Cleaning does not arise either, because it is tied to the guest changeover. What continues are your own fixed costs: mortgage interest, service charges, insurance, internet. This is exactly why vacancy is the item most often missing from income calculations — it produces no invoice but an absence of income, and that is less noticeable. In practice this means, for planning: do not reckon with full occupancy. There is no such thing as 100 per cent occupancy, and anyone calculating with it is planning past reality. It is more realistic to set fixed costs against a cautiously assumed occupancy and check whether the calculation still holds.

Question 13

Does short-term letting add up for a small flat too?

Accepted Answer

Often better than for a large one — which surprises many people. The reason lies in cleaning costs: a studio costs CHF 80 to 130 per changeover, a three-room flat CHF 160 to 250. Nightly rates rise with size, but not in the same proportion, because the number of guests is limited and demand for small units in Zurich is high. On top of that: one- and two-room flats meet the most frequent demand — business travellers, couples, individuals on project assignments. What matters is not the floor area but the usability: a separable sleeping area turns a two-room flat into an offer for two people who are not related to each other, and that widens the guest circle considerably. A room you have to walk through does not.

Question 14

Do I have to invest in furniture if the flat is empty?

Accepted Answer

Yes, short-term letting is not possible without furnishing — but the amount can be steered. What is strictly necessary: beds with proper mattresses, bed linen in duplicate, towels, a working kitchen with crockery for the maximum number of guests, a table and chairs, curtains or blinds. What has effect without being expensive: good lighting, enough sockets in the right places, a workspace. What is expensive and achieves little: designer furniture. Guests rate cleanliness, fittings and location — not where the sofa came from. One practical note from the calculation: textiles in duplicate are not waste but a precondition. At the changeover one set has to be ready while the other is in the wash. Anyone economising there pays at every changeover with time pressure.

Question 15

What does a letting mandate cost in Zurich?

Accepted Answer

A letting mandate for short-term rental costs between 18 and 30 per cent of revenue in Zurich. The published rates of Zurich providers are 20 to 21 per cent for full service; internationally the range goes higher. With us it is 18 per cent on the basic package and 25 per cent on full service, in each case on accommodation revenue after deduction of platform fees, with no base fee and cancellable monthly. The term «letting mandate» (Vermietungsmandat) comes from long-term letting, where a management company charges four to five per cent of rental income — that figure cannot be compared with short-term letting, because there one tenant change a year arises and here around seventy-eight stays. In any case percentages are only comparable together with the basis of calculation.

Question 16

From how many flats is a management company worth it?

Accepted Answer

It depends on occupancy, not on the number of properties — put that way, the question misleads. A single flat let continuously in the city of Zurich justifies a management company sooner than three properties occupied eight weeks a year each. The reason lies in the cost structure: the commission arises on revenue, not per property — when the flat is empty you pay nothing, but neither do you save anything. Where the number of properties really tells is in your own workload: from the second property onwards, cleaning and laundry can hardly be coordinated on the side, because the changeovers overlap. Anyone self-managing hits a limit there that no amount of care will solve.

What does Airbnb management cost and what is left over?