When you send a pre-approval on Airbnb, per-stay fees like pet fees are bundled into the accommodation total rather than shown as separate line items. The fees are still charged correctly — Airbnb just displays them differently.
💡 All fees are still charged correctly. The difference is only in how Airbnb displays the breakdown for pre-approved bookings.
How Airbnb Pricing Works with Pre-Approvals
When a pre-approval is sent, Airbnb creates a special offer to the guest.
🚨 Note: This "Special offer" for pre-approvals is different to a Special offer created by a host and sent to a guest who previously booked with them.
The things mentioned in this article do not apply to actual special offers created by the host.
As part of this process, Airbnb:
Combines the nightly rates and any per-stay fees (such as pet fees and extra guest fees) into one price
Displays them as a single base price (special offer price)
Does not show per-stay fees as separate line items in the breakdown
This can make it seem like a fee was not applied, even though it is included in the total price. Hospitable cannot control or change how Airbnb displays this pricing.
Pass-through fees (such as cleaning fees) are not bundled — they still appear as separate line items in the reservation breakdown.
Example: Standard Booking vs Pre-Approved Booking vs Special Offer
Line Item | Standard Booking | Pre-Approved Booking | Special offer |
Accommodation | $254 (both nights) | $310 (both nights + pet fee) | $365 (both nights + pet fee + cleaning fee) |
Pet Fee | $56 | Bundled into accommodation | Bundled into accommodation |
Cleaning Fee | $55 | $55 | Bundled into accommodation |
In this example:
The pet fee is automatically bundled in with the accommodation fee for a pre-approved booking.
The cleaning fee remains a separate line item.
The host will need to manually include the pet fee and cleaning fee in the total cost of the reservation, sent to a guest in a Special offer.
What Hosts Should Know
Fees are still charged correctly, even if not itemized
The total payout includes all applicable fees
The difference is only in how Airbnb presents the breakdown
This only applies to reservations created from pre-approved/special offer inquiries
If you need to confirm whether a fee was included, compare the total price against your configured nightly rates and fees in Hospitable.