You have control over how service fees are handled and displayed to your guests. You can update your setup anytime under Direct > Booking Policies > Service Fees.
Direct Premium
Default setup:
Guests pay a 4% service fee.
Hosts are charged a 3% host fee (deducted from payouts).
Alternative option:
Hide the guest service fee and apply a 7% host-only fee instead.
👉 Recommendation: To keep your payout neutral, most hosts adjust their Direct markup rate to match the host fee. For example, if you select the 7% host-only fee, you can set your markup rate to 7% so that the impact on payouts is balanced.
Service Fee Examples
Let's walk through a real booking to see exactly how service fees are calculated.
Scenario: A guest books your property for 3 nights at $200/night, with a $150 cleaning fee and 10% tax.
Example 1: Split Fee Model (Default — 4% Guest + 3% Host)
Line item | Calculation | Amount |
Nightly rate | $200 × 3 nights | $600.00 |
Cleaning fee | Flat fee | $150.00 |
Subtotal before tax |
| $750.00 |
Tax (10%) | 10% × $750.00 | $75.00 |
Guest service fee (4%) | 4% × (nightly rate + fees) = 4% × $750.00 | $30.00 |
Guest pays |
| $855.00 |
Host payout calculation:
Item | Calculation | Amount |
Total guest payment |
| $855.00 |
Less: Guest service fee (→ Hospitable) |
| −$30.00 |
Less: Host service fee (3%) | 3% × (nightly rate + fees + taxes + GSF) = 3% × $855.00 | −$25.65 |
Your payout |
| $799.35 |
The guest service fee (4%) is calculated on the nightly rate + fees (before tax). The host service fee (3%) is calculated on the full amount paid by the guest, including taxes and the guest service fee.
Example 2: Host-Only Fee Model (7%)
With the host-only option, the guest sees no separate service fee — the full 7% is deducted from your payout.
Line item | Calculation | Amount |
Nightly rate | $200 × 3 nights | $600.00 |
Cleaning fee | Flat fee | $150.00 |
Tax (10%) | 10% × $750.00 | $75.00 |
Guest pays |
| $825.00 |
Host payout calculation:
Item | Calculation | Amount |
Total guest payment |
| $825.00 |
Less: Host-only fee (7%) | 7% × $825.00 | −$57.75 |
Your payout |
| $767.25 |
💡 Tip: To keep your payout neutral under the host-only model, set your Direct markup rate to 7%. This offsets the fee, so your effective earnings stay the same.
Comparing the Two Models Side by Side
| Split fee (4% + 3%) | Host-only (7%) |
Guest pays | $855.00 | $825.00 |
Hospitable total fee | $55.65 (GSF $30.00 + HSF $25.65) | $57.75 |
Your payout | $799.35 | $767.25 |
Guest sees a service fee? | Yes (4%) | No |
The split model results in a slightly higher guest total but a higher host payout. The host-only model gives guests a cleaner price but costs the host more unless offset by a markup.
How Cleaning Fees and Taxes Interact With Service Fees
Cleaning fees are included in the base used to calculate the guest service fee (4%). So a higher cleaning fee means a slightly higher guest service fee.
Taxes are not included in the guest service fee calculation, but they are included in the host service fee (3%) and host-only fee (7%) calculations, since those are based on the total amount paid.
The guest service fee itself is also included in the host service fee calculation — the 3% host fee is calculated on the total guest payment, which includes the 4% guest fee.
Direct Basic
Direct Basic does not include service fee options.
For new Hospitable Professional plan customers, a 1% host fee applies to Direct Basic reservations.
All customers also pay about 3% in Stripe processing fees.
⚡ Important: Guests will not see these fees. To make sure your payout stays consistent, we recommend adding 4% to your base price in your Direct markup rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
"Can I absorb the guest service fee?"
Yes. Under Direct → Booking Policies → Service Fees, you can switch from the default split model (4% guest + 3% host) to a 7% host-only fee. When you do this:
The guest no longer sees a separate service fee at checkout.
The full 7% is deducted from your payout instead.
To keep your earnings the same, set your Direct markup rate to 7% — this increases your nightly rate on Direct to offset the fee.
You can switch between the two models at any time. The change applies to new bookings only — existing reservations keep the fee structure that was in place when they were created.
"Are service fees charged on the cleaning fee too?"
Yes — the guest service fee (4%) is calculated on the nightly rate plus fees (including the cleaning fee). So if you have a $150 cleaning fee, the guest service fee is slightly higher than it would be without one.
The host service fee (3%) and the host-only fee (7%) are calculated on the total amount paid by the guest, which also includes the cleaning fee.
⚠️ Note: This is based on the current published formula. If you notice unexpected amounts, contact Hospitable Support to verify.
"Why does the total the guest sees differ from my listing price?"
The price your guest sees at checkout is higher than your base nightly rate because it includes additional components:
Cleaning fee — added as a flat amount on top of the nightly total.
Taxes — calculated based on your tax configuration (set by you on Direct Basic, auto-calculated on Direct Premium).
Guest service fee (Direct Premium, split model only) — 4% added on top of the booking subtotal.
For example, a 3-night stay at $200/night might show as $855 at checkout instead of $600, because it includes $150 in cleaning fees, $75 in taxes, and $30 in guest service fees.
If you've selected the host-only fee model, the guest won't see a service fee line item — but the total will still differ from your nightly rate due to cleaning fees and taxes.
💡 Note: OTA markups (the percentage you add for Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) do not apply to Direct bookings. Direct uses your base nightly rate from the Hospitable calendar.