Optimize for Airbnb is a new pilot program available exclusively to select software-connected Airbnb hosts. Hospitable is excited to be the first global property management software (PMS) to launch the program.
Airbnb identifies specific date ranges (called opportunity windows) that represent peak stay periods for high-demand destinations, and offers you a 1% rebate on each qualifying booking (calculated on the User Payout) if you briefly make that listing exclusive to Airbnb and Direct.
If any of your properties qualify and you choose to participate, your listing are available exclusively on Airbnb and your Hospitable direct booking site during the defined booking window — other channels (Booking.com, Vrbo, Agoda, iCal) are temporarily blocked.
This is a limited-time pilot. The rebate applies to opportunity windows falling between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026. Qualifying stays must be checked in by 1 June 2026 and completed by 31 October 2026. Based on your feedback and the success of this pilot, we will be reviewing future iterations of this program with Airbnb with the intention to bring you more demand and higher earnings.
This article explains how to find and activate opportunities in Hospitable and how the rebate works.
How Optimize for Airbnb works
Airbnb's system reviews historical demand data and identifies destinations and dates that they predict will experience high traveler traffic. These appear in Hospitable as Optimize for Airbnb opportunities on your property's Overview page.
When you opt in to an opportunity:
The selected stay dates become exclusive to Airbnb and your Hospitable direct site for a defined booking window.
Hospitable blocks your availability on other channels (Booking.com, Vrbo, iCal exports) during those dates.
If a stay is booked through Airbnb during the booking window and the guest completes the stay, you receive a 1% rebate on Airbnb's host service fee — reducing your effective fee from 15.5% to 14.5%.
Any dates that aren't booked by the end of the booking window are automatically reopened to your other channels.
You're in control: you choose which opportunity dates to participate in and you can opt in or out anytime.
Note: Existing bookings on the selected dates are not affected. Optimize for Airbnb only blocks new bookings on other channels for the duration of the booking window.
Eligibility
To see Optimize for Airbnb opportunities for a property, the following must be true:
The listing is connected to Airbnb via Hospitable's API integration.
The listing is in good standing on Airbnb (not suspended, paused, or flagged).
The listing has sufficient history with Airbnb for their system to identify opportunity windows.
Airbnb has identified at least one opportunity for the property in the current cycle.
Eligibility is determined entirely by Airbnb, not by Hospitable. We surface opportunities as they're shared with us through Airbnb's API.
How To Activate An Opportunity
Go to Properties and select the property you want to optimize.
On the Overview page, look for the opportunities available banner near the top.
Click into the opportunity (e.g. "Optimize for Airbnb in June") and select See how to open the details panel and read what activating does.
Review:
The exclusive stay dates (the date range that will be blocked on other channels).
The booking window (the period during which guests must book on Airbnb to qualify for the rebate).
Choose how to apply the offer:
Apply to the full period (on by default) — all opportunity nights become exclusive to Airbnb and your direct site.
Remove specific dates — toggle off the full-period switch and tap individual dates on the calendar where you don't want the promotion to apply.
Click Apply to all [N] nights (or the equivalent button for your selection) to activate.
Once activated, the affected dates are immediately blocked on your other connected channels.
How The 1% Rebate Works
The rebate is 1% of the User Payout for each Qualifying Booking, effectively reducing the standard Airbnb host service fee from 15.5% to 14.5%.
Example: A guest books a $1,000 stay on Airbnb during the booking window for an active opportunity.
Standard payout (15.5% fee): $845
With the 1% rebate (14.5% fee): $855 ($845 + $10 rebate)
Airbnb sends payments to your account on a monthly basis, by the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which a Qualifying Booking is completed.
Which bookings qualify
A booking qualifies for the rebate when all of the following are true:
The booking is made during an Optimize for Airbnb opportunity that you have accepted.
At least one stay date falls within an accepted opportunity window between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026.
The stay is checked in by 1 June 2026 and completed by 31 October 2026.
The booking is not on the excluded list (see below).
Editing Or Canceling An Active Opportunity
Once an opportunity is active, you'll also see an Optimize for Airbnb panel on the side of the property's Calendar view, showing the affected date range. You can adjust dates from either place:
From the property Overview, click Edit dates in [month] in the Optimize for Airbnb section.
From the Calendar view, open the Optimize for Airbnb side panel and click Edit dates in [month].
From there, add or remove dates from the exclusive selection, or turn the opportunity off completely.
Changes apply only to nights that haven't yet been booked. If a guest has already booked an Airbnb stay during the booking window, that reservation is unaffected.
What This Looks Like On Your Other Channels
When an opportunity is active, the affected dates are blocked on:
Booking.com
Vrbo
Any iCal exports
Any other connected OTA (unless explicitly exempted by Airbnb's terms)
Airbnb and your Hospitable direct booking site remain open and bookable as normal. When the booking window passes, Hospitable automatically re-opens availability on your other channels.
Seeing Which Reservations Came From Optimize For Airbnb
Once a stay is booked through an active opportunity, Hospitable marks it on both the reservation detail page and the calendar reservation preview.
Look for the Optimize for Airbnb badge in the right-hand sidebar with the note: This reservation was made through Airbnb Optimized Availability.
FAQs
Where can I read Airbnb's full terms?
Airbnb's official help article and terms are here: airbnb.com/e/optimize-for-airbnb.
How can I see if I have opportunities available?
Go to Properties → select a property → Overview. If Airbnb has identified opportunities for that property, you'll see a banner near the top of the page (e.g. "1 opportunity available") with the active month and a countdown showing how long you have left to activate. Click into the banner to see details and activate.
I'm not seeing any opportunities available — why not?
Opportunities only appear when Airbnb identifies your listing as a good fit for an upcoming opportunity window and sends that signal to Hospitable.
Ultimately, eligibility for Optimize for Airbnb is determined by Airbnb, not by Hospitable. We only surface the opportunities Airbnb sends us through their API. If Airbnb hasn't identified an opportunity for your listing, there's nothing for us to show.
Will I see opportunities for a listing on a limited connection?
No. Optimize for Airbnb requires Hospitable to manage your listing's pricing and availability on Airbnb. Listings on a limited connection (where pricing and availability stay on Airbnb's side) won't show opportunities, because we can't make the selected dates exclusive to Airbnb on your behalf.
To use the feature, upgrade the listing to a full connection.
When does Airbnb release new opportunities?
Airbnb identifies opportunity windows on a rolling basis as their demand model spots strong booking periods. Hospitable surfaces them as soon as they're shared via Airbnb's API.
When do I receive the rebate?
Rebates are paid by Airbnb, not by Hospitable, monthly — by the 15th of the month following the month the stay is completed, sent to your default Airbnb payout method.
Can I opt in for some dates but not others?
Yes. When activating an opportunity, turn off the Apply to the full period toggle, then tap the specific dates on the calendar where you don't want the promotion to apply. The remaining dates will be exclusive to Airbnb and your direct site.
Does this affect my existing bookings?
No. Optimize for Airbnb only blocks new bookings from other channels on the selected dates. Reservations that already exist (on any channel) are unaffected.
Can I use this with Hospitable Dynamic Pricing?
Yes. Optimize for Airbnb controls availability on the selected dates; pricing continues to be set by your existing pricing strategy (Hospitable Dynamic Pricing, manual prices, or a third-party tool).
Does opting in affect my Airbnb Superhost status, reviews, or ranking?
According to Airbnb, increased engagement on opted-in listings can help improve rankings, since popular listings tend to rank higher. Optimize for Airbnb does not directly affect Superhost status, reviews, or other ranking signals — those continue to work as they always have.
What if a booking spans both promotional and non-promotional dates?
The full booking qualifies as long as at least one stay date falls within an accepted opportunity window. The 1% rebate is calculated on the full User Payout for that booking — it is not prorated to only the in-window nights.
What happens if the guest cancels?
If the guest cancels before check-in, the booking does not qualify.
If the guest cancels after check-in (and there's a valid User Payout), the booking still qualifies.
What if the booking dates are changed?
If the booking is altered so that the stay no longer overlaps the opportunity window at all — by the guest or by you, before or after check-in — the booking is excluded from the rebate.