Answers for short-term rental hosts
Straight answers to the questions that come up when you run a rental: bookings and calendars, direct bookings and fees, turnovers, co-hosting, guests, add-ons and the books. Each one has the numbers, its sources and a tool you can try.
Bookings and calendars
- Why did I get double booked on Airbnb and Vrbo, and how do I stop it?
Why Airbnb and Vrbo double book through calendar sync delays, how long you are exposed after each booking, and five steps that stop it, plus what to do if it already happened.
- Do I need a channel manager for one or two rentals?
When free calendar links are enough, when a channel manager earns its monthly fee, and what changes with Airbnb's fee when you connect software, with a decision table.
- How do I fill gap nights between bookings?
Lower the minimum stay for the gap, offer a deal and show it where guests can book, then check with a calculator that filling the gap beats leaving it empty after the extra clean.
- How do I sync my Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com calendars?
Answered in our full guide.
Direct booking and fees
- How do I get repeat guests to book direct without breaking Airbnb's rules?
What Airbnb's policies allow and forbid when you take bookings direct, where direct guests come from instead, and how to bring them back with a booking page and promo codes.
- What are Vrbo's host fees after the October 29, 2026 change?
Vrbo moved pay-per-booking hosts to a single 12% commission on October 29, 2026. What it is charged on, what it costs on a real booking, and a calculator for your own stays.
- How much do Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com charge hosts in 2026?
Each booking site's host fee in 2026 from its own help pages, what each fee is charged on, and a calculator that shows your payout on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and direct.
- How do I take card payments for a direct booking?
The ways to take payment for a direct stay, what each costs, how to keep card details out of messages, and a calculator that shows what reaches your bank.
- How do I screen guests who book directly?
Direct guests come with no platform reviews or ID checks. How to take requests, what to ask, the signs to decline, and how to show your guidelines before anyone books.
- How do I make one booking page for all my rentals?
One page where guests pick dates and see which of your places are free, for hosts with several places and property managers who run places for many owners, with live demos.
- How do I collect a damage deposit on a direct booking?
The ways hosts protect a direct stay: a refundable deposit, a card hold or damage protection, how long a card hold lasts, and why time-stamped turnover photos matter either way.
- How much does a direct booking website cost?
Answered in our full guide.
- What does Airbnb charge hosts in 2026, single fee or split fee?
Answered in our full guide.
Cleaning and turnovers
- How much should I pay my Airbnb cleaner per turnover?
Work out a fair flat rate per turnover from your cleaner's time, local hourly rate, laundry and supplies, with a worked example, what hosts report and a calculator for your own home.
- What photos do I need for an Airbnb damage claim?
The before and after photos, estimates and receipts Airbnb asks for, the deadline to file, and a turnover routine that gives you evidence for every stay, not only when something breaks.
- How much should I charge for an Airbnb cleaning fee?
Set a cleaning fee that covers the clean after the booking site takes its share, compare it with nearby listings, and work out your own with a cleaning fee calculator.
- How do I schedule my cleaner from my Airbnb calendar?
Give your cleaner every checkout and the time until the next arrival without forwarding bookings by hand, with Airbnb's calendar-only co-host access or one calendar for every site.
- How do I prove my cleaner did the job?
Answered in our full guide.
- What goes on a vacation rental turnover checklist?
Answered in our full guide.
Co-hosting and owners
- What should a co-host's monthly owner report include?
The lines an owner report needs each month, from nights booked to the owner's payout, a worked example that adds up, and a sample report you can open.
- How do I write a co-hosting proposal for a property owner?
What a co-hosting proposal needs to win an owner: an estimate for their place, your fee and how it is worked out, what you handle, how you report and how either side can end it, with a sample to open.
- What should an Airbnb co-host agreement include?
The clauses a co-host agreement needs, from your fee and how Airbnb pays it to costs, damage, access and ending the arrangement, with Airbnb's payout and permission options.
- How do I give a co-host or cleaner access to my rental without sharing my password?
Who needs which access to run your rental, Airbnb's three co-host permission levels, and how to give cleaners and owners what they need without an account or your login.
- How much should an Airbnb co-host charge?
Answered in our full guide.
- What tools does an Airbnb co-host need?
Answered in our full guide.
Guest communication and guidelines
- Can I still use a printed welcome book and signs after Airbnb's November 20, 2026 rules?
What can stay in your welcome book, guest guide and signs under Airbnb's new policy, what must move into your listing, and what to remove, with a free checker for your wording.
- What are normal check-in and checkout times and rules for vacation rentals?
The check-in and checkout times most vacation rentals use, how much time they leave your cleaner, and which checkout requests are normal, including what Airbnb allows from November 20, 2026.
- What can't I ask guests to do at checkout from November 20, 2026?
Answered in our full guide.
- What should a vacation rental welcome book include?
Answered in our full guide.
- What should I message guests before check-in?
Answered in our full guide.
- How do I write check-in instructions for guests?
Answered in our full guide.
- How do I share Wi-Fi with guests using a QR code?
Answered in our full guide.
- What is the difference between a digital guidebook and a guest manual?
Answered in our full guide.
Add-ons and revenue
- How much should I charge for early check-in or late checkout?
What hosts charge for early check-in and late checkout, when to give it free and when to charge a full night, and a calculator that prices it from your nightly rate.
- What add-ons can a vacation rental sell?
Answered in our full guide.
Money and bookkeeping
- How do I read my Airbnb earnings CSV (gross earnings versus payout)?
How to download Airbnb's earnings report, what gross earnings, the host service fee, the cleaning fee and the payout each mean, and how to make the report match your bank.
- How long should I keep records for my short-term rental taxes?
How long the tax authorities in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand ask you to keep rental records, counted from when, and which records to keep.
- How do I track Airbnb income and expenses for taxes?
Answered in our full guide.
- Is my rental profitable, and what occupancy do I need to break even?
Answered in our full guide.
Getting started
- What do I need to set up before my first short-term rental guest?
A checklist for a new rental, from insurance, permits and safety to calendars, a cleaner, check-in details and a booking page, with a free tool for each step.
- Is there free software to run a vacation rental?
What you can run a vacation rental with for free, how to tell a free plan from a free trial, and what StayPerk does and doesn't do, with a link to dated prices for other tools.
- How does StayPerk make money if it's free?
Answered in our full guide.