How much does Airbnb management cost in Australia?

By Jake Falkinder, co-founder of Let Minder Last reviewed

Illustrated house split into the Airbnb, manager and owner shares of a holiday rental booking
Where a booking goes with a 20% fee plus GST charged on gross, after Airbnb takes 15.5%.

Full-service Airbnb managers usually charge 15% to 30% of booking revenue, and Australian quotes commonly sit between 15% and 25%. Most add GST, which holiday home owners generally cannot claim back. Guests usually pay for cleaning, but setup, linen and maintenance are often extra, so compare the yearly dollar cost rather than the percentage.

Every manager leads with a percentage, so that is what owners compare. Two quotes with the same percentage can be thousands of dollars apart by the end of the year, and the lowest percentage is often not the cheapest. This guide covers what the rate buys you, what tends to sit outside it, and how to turn any quote into a number you can compare.

What do Airbnb managers charge in Australia?

Full-service managers usually charge between 15% and 30% of booking revenue (Guesty, July 2026). Houst, which manages homes in several Australian cities, puts the local range at 15% to 25% (May 2026). Co-hosts who handle less of the work usually charge 10% to 20%.

Typical rates by service level. Most managers add GST.
ServiceWhat they doTypical fee
Full-service managerListing, pricing, guests, cleaning, linen, maintenance and owner reporting15% to 30%
Co-hostListing, pricing and guests. You often organise cleaning and repairs10% to 20%
Long-term letting agent, for comparisonOne tenant on a lease, rent collection and routine inspectionsabout 7.5%

The long-term figure is the national average of about 7.5% of weekly rent (Local Agent Finder, 2026). It is there for scale, not as a target.

Why do holiday rental managers cost more than letting agents?

Because the work never settles into a routine. A long-term tenant signs a lease and pays rent for a year. A holiday home can change guests every few days in peak season, and each stay needs its own price, messages, check-in, clean, linen change and a check for damage. Most of a short-stay manager's cost is people turning the home over, which is why the percentage looks high next to a letting agent's.

It is also why a manager's distance from your home matters. Every turnover is a trip.

What should the management fee include?

There is no standard list, which is the main reason quotes are hard to compare. Most full-service managers include the work of running the listing and guests in the percentage. The physical costs of turning a home over are where they differ.

Usually in the percentageOften charged separately
Creating and updating the listingOnboarding or setup fee
Nightly pricing and minimum staysProfessional photos and styling
Guest messages, screening and check-inLinen hire and laundry
Booking cleans between staysToiletries, coffee and cleaning products
Handling reviews and guest issuesMaintenance call-outs, or a margin on trades
Monthly statements and payoutsLockbox or smart lock, deep cleans and cleans after your own stays

None of the right-hand column is unreasonable to charge. It just needs to be in the quote, so you can price it.

How does GST change what you pay?

If your manager is registered for GST, their fee carries 10% GST on top. A quote of 20% plus GST is 22% of whatever it is charged on.

Most owners cannot claim that GST back. The ATO treats renting out an individual holiday home or apartment as an input taxed supply of residential premises, so you do not charge GST to guests and generally cannot claim GST credits on costs like management fees. Treat the GST as part of the fee.

Can you claim Airbnb management fees on tax?

Generally yes. The ATO lists property agent fees and commissions as a rental expense you can claim, including fees paid before the home is available to rent. If you also stay in the home yourself, many other costs, like interest, insurance and rates, have to be split between the time it was rented or available and the time you used it. Commission paid only on bookings is generally deductible in full.

Tax rules depend on your circumstances, so check how this applies to you with your accountant.

What do booking platforms take on top?

The platform's fee comes out before the manager's in most cases, and it changes what a fee on gross or net is worth.

  • Airbnb. Hosts who price through property management software, which covers most professional managers, pay a single host fee. Most pay 15.5%. Other hosts are on a split fee of about 3%, with guests paying their own service fee, but Airbnb is phasing the split fee out.
  • Booking.com. Commission usually runs between 10% and 25% of the booking (Beyond Pricing, February 2026).
  • Vrbo. Pay-per-booking costs about 8%, including card processing (Beyond Pricing, February 2026).

Ask each manager whether their fee is calculated before or after the platform takes its share. On a 15.5% Airbnb fee, the difference is large. Our guide on how to choose an Airbnb property manager works through a month of bookings both ways.

Which quote is cheapest over a year?

Turn every quote into a yearly dollar figure at the revenue you expect. Here are three quotes for the same home, earning $80,000 a year in bookings, with guests paying cleaning fees and Airbnb taking 15.5%.

Bar chart comparing the yearly cost of three Airbnb manager quotes at 15%, 18% and 20%
Three quotes for a home earning $80,000 a year. The lowest rate costs the most once extras are added. Let Minder worked example, November 2026.
Yearly manager cost on $80,000 of bookings. All fees include GST.
QuoteTermsYearly cost
A, 15%On gross. Linen and consumables at $45 a stay over 90 stays, and a 10% margin on $3,000 of repairs$17,550
B, 18%On gross. Linen included, $1,500 onboarding fee$17,340
C, 20%On your payout after Airbnb's fee. Linen included, no setup fee$14,872

The 20% quote is about $2,700 a year cheaper than the 15% one. That is not always how it falls, but it happens often enough that the percentage alone tells you very little.

How do you compare quotes fairly?

  1. Ask every manager for a full schedule of charges, not just the rate.
  2. Check whether the rate is on gross bookings or your payout, and whether it includes GST.
  3. Estimate your yearly bookings and number of stays. Ask the manager what similar homes nearby earned last year.
  4. Add up the commission, setup, per-stay charges and any maintenance margin for a full year.
  5. Compare the totals, then compare what each manager does for the money.

Price is one part of the decision. Licensing, local experience and the terms of the agreement matter at least as much, and the choosing guide covers those.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage do Airbnb managers take in Australia?

Full-service Airbnb managers usually charge 15% to 30% of booking revenue (Guesty, July 2026), and Houst puts the Australian range at 15% to 25% (May 2026). Co-hosts who do less usually charge 10% to 20%. Most managers add GST on top.

Is GST charged on Airbnb management fees?

Yes, if the manager is registered for GST, which most are. The ATO treats renting out an individual holiday home as an input taxed supply of residential premises, so owners generally cannot claim that GST back. A fee of 20% plus GST costs you 22%.

Are Airbnb management fees tax deductible in Australia?

Generally yes. The ATO lists property agent fees and commissions as a rental expense you can claim. If you also use the home yourself, some other costs have to be split between rental and private use. Check your own situation with your accountant.

Who pays for cleaning on a managed Airbnb?

Usually the guest, through the cleaning fee on the listing. Ask whether that fee covers the full clean and linen, or whether the manager charges you the difference, and who pays for deep cleans and cleans after your own stays.

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This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Fees, platform charges and tax rules change, so check the current position with your accountant and the relevant agency before you decide.

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