Lots of people like to travel, and as the growth and popularity of Airbnb has shown, travelers like to have more ‘home-like’ accommodations to make traveling easier (and more family friendly). While traveling with two kids, having a separate bedroom for the kids to sleep in makes for a much more enjoyable trip. But the fees for using Airbnb have gotten a little pricey.
How much does Airbnb cost you?
Have you ever noticed the ‘Service Fee’ that Airbnb charges? According to Airbnb: The ‘Service Fee’ “helps us run our platform and offer services like 24/7 support on your trip.” I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall ever contacting Airbnb directly. So is my money really a ‘convenience fee’ for their website? Based on my calculations, Airbnb’s ‘Service Fee’ surcharge is 14.1% just for using their platform. For every $1,000, you spend on Airbnb, you’re paying Airbnb $141. Is Airbnb worth that much for convenience?
Below are a couple of example stays at two random places in different locations. You can see that the ‘Service Fee’ is a sizeable cost.
Can you avoid the Airbnb ‘Service Fee’? In many cases, you can absolutely avoid the ‘Service Fee’.
Avoid the ‘Service Fee’
It is definitely possible and becoming more common to be able to avoid the Airbnb ‘Service Fee’. More and more small vacation rental companies are listing their rentals on Airbnb. However, (this is the important part) many of these vacation rental companies have their own independent websites that you can book through, or you could even call them to book. If you book through directly through the rental company’s website or over the phone, you completely eliminate the ‘Service Fee’ charged by Airbnb. Sometimes, the rental rate is even cheaper if you don’t use Airbnb. Below is an example of booking through Airbnb or directly though the rental website for the exact same place with the exact same dates one block from the ocean in a vacation destination.
EXAMPLE –Comparison between Airbnb & direct booking
Another Option
Another way to potentially find rentals is to use Google Maps. When using Google Maps on the app or website you can zoom in to find their logo for ‘Hotels’ (as shown below) or you can search for hotels or lodging while using Google Maps.
The feature image for the post was taken from a house we stayed at in Dillon, Colorado. Our family saved over $1,000 going through the private company website for our week long vacation!
Have you used this or any other travel hack to save money? Leave a comment below!
Sign Up for the Weekly Off Ramp! And send in a topic you want to hear about on the Contact Us page. Follow me on Twitter 
Facebook 
and Pinterest 
Wow, it is crazy how much they take from you in service fees! Talk about needing to read the fine print. I have used Airbnb in the past, but only when they offer a 15%+ discount. My favorite travel hack is that they offer discounts for stays of 1 week plus and even better discounts for 1 month+… other than that, it is way better to find another way to book like you did! It is amazing that your family was able to save $1k by booking privately! It is so important to look into a variety of different options instead of always booking with your usual company. Great job!