Markup rates let you adjust the price Hospitable sends to each booking channel. When you set a markup rate, Hospitable applies that percentage to your nightly rate before pushing it to the channel.
This article covers what markup rates are, why they exist, how to set them at the platform and listing level, and how the math works.
What Is a Markup Rate?
A markup rate is a percentage that Hospitable adds to (or subtracts from) your nightly rate when sending it to a specific booking channel (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Agoda, or Direct).
Example:
Your base nightly rate in Hospitable: $100
Markup rate for Vrbo: 15%
Price Hospitable sends to Vrbo: $115
The markup is applied to the nightly accommodation rate only — not to cleaning fees, taxes, or other charges. Each booking channel adds its own service fees and taxes on top of the price Hospitable sends.
💡 Markup rates only affect the price Hospitable pushes to the channel. They do not change the rate shown on your Hospitable calendar.
Why Use Markup Rates?
Markup rates serve two main purposes:
1. Offset booking platform commissions
Different booking channels charge different commission rates. Markup rates let you set different prices per channel without manually managing separate calendars.
Markup rates can be set to increase the nightly rate so that after channels deduct their commission, your net payout stays close to your intended base price.
For example, you might set a higher markup for booking platforms than Direct bookings, to make sure your Direct prices reflects the lower cost of those bookings to you.
To completely offset a commission, the markup should exceed the commission rate because the fee is deducted from the gross price.
Markup % = Commission ÷ (1 − Commission)
For example, for Airbnb with a 15.5% commission, take 0.155 ÷ (1-0.155) which equals 0.1834 or 18.34%.
Commissions can vary by region and other factors, but on average:
Booking platform | Avg. Commission | Markup rate to offset |
Airbnb | 15.5% | 18.34% |
Booking.com | 15% | 17.65% |
Vrbo | 12% | 13.64% |
Direct Premium | 7% | 7.53% |
Direct Basic | 4% | 4.17% |
This markup is not a Hospitable fee — it's a pricing adjustment you control and can change at any time.
2. Price differently across channels
Some hosts have different channel strategies, and markup rates can be used to apply an across the board discount or premium on a channel.
Making your pricing more or less competitive compared to other channels is one way of expressing a channel preference. However, some hosts find discounts a more effective way to lean into specific channels as part of their strategy.
Since a markup is built into the price, guests never see it. If you want guests to notice a better deal on a channel, a discount usually works better. Channels often display discounts as a deal with a badge and/or strikethrough pricing.
How Markup Rates Are Set
There are two levels of markup rates in Hospitable:
Platform-level markup (applies to all listings on a channel)
This markup applies to all listings connected through that channel by default.
To view or change your platform-level markup:
Go to Settings → Preferences → Properties
Find the Pricing markup rates section
Enter your desired percentage (positive, negative, or zero)
Click Save at the top
Listing-level markup (overrides the platform markup for a specific listing)
If you need different markups for different listings on the same channel, you can set a listing-level markup that overrides the platform default for that specific listing.
If a listing-level markup is set, it overrides the platform-level markup for that listing.
To view and set a listing-level markup:
Go to Properties → click on the property name
Click on Pricing in the left-hand menu
Under Base price, find the Listing markups section
Enter a negative, zero, or positive value for each channel
Changes save automatically
Adding or changing a markup rate will automatically update prices on your calendars.
On the property pricing page, listing-level markups are displayed in black text, and platform-level markups are displayed in grey text.
How the Math Works
Understanding exactly how markup rates affect pricing helps avoid confusion when comparing prices across Hospitable and your booking channels.
What Hospitable sends vs. what the guest sees
The price guests see on a booking channel includes several components beyond your nightly rate:
Your nightly rate in Hospitable — what you set on your Hospitable calendar
PLUS Markup rate — the percentage you configured in Hospitable for that channel or listing
PLUS Channel fees — charged by the channel to the guest, if applicable
PLUS Fees — if applicable (for example: cleaning fee, pet fee etc)
PLUS Taxes — if applicable
Example
Component | Amount |
Hospitable nightly rate | $100/night |
Markup rate (15%) | $100 × 1.15 = $115 sent to the platform |
Cleaning fee | $75 |
Guest sees (before taxes) | $190 |
Always compare your nightly rate in Hospitable (plus your markup) to the nightly rate shown on the channel’s hosting dashboard — not the guest-facing total. The guest-facing total includes the channel’s own fees, which Hospitable does not control.
Setting promotions or other discounts on the booking platforms will affect your pricing. If your pricing isn't what you expect to see on the booking platform, use this troubleshooting guide.
FAQs
Can I set negative markups?
Can I set negative markups?
You can set a negative markup to reduce the price sent to a channel. For example, a -5% markup on a $100 base rate sends $95 to that channel. This can be useful if you want to offer lower prices on one platform to attract more bookings.
Does Hospitable automatically set or update a markup for me?
Does Hospitable automatically set or update a markup for me?
When you first connect a channel, Hospitable suggests a markup to offset the platform commission. You can customize or opt out of this suggested markup at any time in your settings.
Why does my listing on Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, or Agoda show a higher or lower price than what's in Hospitable?
Why does my listing on Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, or Agoda show a higher or lower price than what's in Hospitable?
The price guests see on Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, or Agoda includes your markup plus the channel's own fees and taxes. The price in Hospitable is your nightly rate only. Use this quick decision tree:
Higher than your Hospitable calendar by a clean percentage → it's your markup. Check Properties → Pricing → Markup rates.
Higher with no clean percentage match → it's channel fees + taxes on top of markup (Vrbo guest service fee, Booking.com city/occupancy tax, etc.). The math in How the Math Works above applies.
Lower than your Hospitable calendar → it's a promotion or discount on the channel (Airbnb new-listing/weekly/monthly, Booking.com Genius, Vrbo deals). See your channel's promotions UI.
Still not matching after checking all three? See Troubleshooting Pricing Sync Issues.
Can I set a 0% markup?
Can I set a 0% markup?
Yes. Setting the markup to 0% sends your exact base rate to the channel with no adjustment.
Does the markup affect cleaning fees or other charges?
Does the markup affect cleaning fees or other charges?
No. The markup is applied only to the nightly accommodation rate. Cleaning fees, extra guest fees, taxes, and other charges are handled separately. Most booking platform take commission on fees as well, but not taxes.
I use a dynamic pricing tool (PriceLabs, Beyond, etc.) — how do markups interact with it?
I use a dynamic pricing tool (PriceLabs, Beyond, etc.) — how do markups interact with it?
Your dynamic pricing tool sends a base rate to Hospitable. Hospitable then applies the markup on top of that rate before pushing it to the booking channel.
If you want to send different rates to different channels, you must set those markup rates in Hospitable. Some dynamic pricing tools additionally allow you to enter your markup rates in their system, but this is only so the model has awareness of your rates.
Example: PriceLabs sends $120 → Hospitable applies a 15% markup → Hospitable pushes $138.
If you’re seeing unexpected prices on a channel while using a dynamic pricing tool, check both the price your tool is sending and the markup rate in Hospitable.
See Troubleshooting Pricing Discrepancies Between Hospitable and External Dynamic Pricing Software for more troubleshooting tips.
What happens if I set both a platform-level and listing-level markup?
What happens if I set both a platform-level and listing-level markup?
The listing-level markup overrides the platform-level markup for that specific listing. The platform-level markup still applies to all other listings that don’t have a listing-level override.
Can I set different markups for different channels on the same listing?
Can I set different markups for different channels on the same listing?
Yes. On the property's Pricing page, each channel has its own markup field.
What is the "Hospitable" markup percentage I see on the Pricing page?
What is the "Hospitable" markup percentage I see on the Pricing page?
The Hospitable platform is for your Direct bookings.
I increased my cleaning fee to offset Airbnb fees, but it's not showing on my listing. Why?
I increased my cleaning fee to offset Airbnb fees, but it's not showing on my listing. Why?
Markup rates only apply to the nightly accommodation rate, not to cleaning or other types of fees. Learn how to manage your fees here.
How do markups affect my Owner Statements and revenue reporting?
How do markups affect my Owner Statements and revenue reporting?
Markups increase the nightly rate Hospitable sends to the booking channel. Airbnb (or other channels) then deducts its commission from the higher gross amount.
Learn more about Owner Statements and Metrics.
Booking.com shows a lower price than what Hospitable sent. Why?
Booking.com shows a lower price than what Hospitable sent. Why?
Booking.com applies its own automatic discounts that can reduce the guest-facing price below what Hospitable pushed:
Genius rates: If your property participates in the Genius program, Genius-level guests may see a discount.
Mobile discounts: Booking.com may apply a mobile-only discount.
Child rate plans / occupancy-based pricing: Booking.com's rate plan means your pricing may be lower than what Hospitable sends. See more here.
These discounts are applied by Booking.com, not by Hospitable. The guest-facing price may be lower due to Booking.com promotions.
My pricing on Airbnb does not reflect my nightly rate in Hospitable.
My pricing on Airbnb does not reflect my nightly rate in Hospitable.
Make sure to compare the calendar rate on Airbnb to Hospitable, rather than the guest-facing rate (which includes fees). Also, promotions and other discounts set directly on Airbnb can affect your rates. See more here.
My Vrbo listing shows "Partially Managed." Does this affect markup rates?
My Vrbo listing shows "Partially Managed." Does this affect markup rates?
Vrbo listings connected to Hospitable via the legacy connection display a "Partially Managed" badge. Hospitable manages calendar data (availability, nightly price, minimum nights), but listing content (description, photos, amenities, fees) must be managed directly in Vrbo.
For pricing, Hospitable does push nightly rates and markups to Vrbo.
Do rule-set prices include the markup?
Do rule-set prices include the markup?
Yes. If you use Rule-Sets in Hospitable to set pricing, the rule-set overrides your base nightly rate for those dates. The markup is then applied on top of the rule-set price before being pushed to the channel.
Example: Rule-set sets a weekend rate of $150 → Airbnb markup of 15% → Hospitable pushes $172.50 to Airbnb.
Where do I find my markup rates?
Where do I find my markup rates?
You can find your markup rates in Hospitable under:
Settings → Preferences → Properties
Properties → Select your property → Pricing
From there you can:
See the markup rates currently applied across your listings
Adjust rates per channel (where supported)
Review how each markup affects the prices pushed to your connected platforms
Smarty does not need to know the exact property ID in order to answer this question for you. It can guide you to where you can find your markup settings without needing any further details from you.