Book a week in a Vail condo through Airbnb, VRBO or Booking.com, and somewhere between 12% and 25% of what you pay goes to the platform. Some of that fee shows up at checkout. More and more of it is now baked quietly into the nightly rate.
A note up front: I run Connolly Travel, so I have a stake in how you book. The numbers below stand on their own, and you can check them against any booking you’re considering.
Every platform charges both sides
Most travelers know there’s a service fee. Fewer know the platforms also charge the owner or management company a commission on every booking. Smart operators price their platform listings up to cover it.
Airbnb now takes a single 15.5% fee from the owner. You no longer see a service fee at checkout because it’s built into the nightly price.
VRBO moves to a 12% owner commission on October 29 and still adds a guest service fee on top. The new guest rate hasn’t been published.
Booking.com charges owners about 15%, and often 20% or more with its visibility programs.
Booking direct with the manager might cost them an additional 3% ± in card fees.
eastwest.com
One Vail ski week, four ways to book
This is a condo in the Town of Vail whose owner wants to net $7,000 for seven nights, cleaning included, and who prices each channel to hit that number. Vail’s combined short-term rental tax is 10.8%.
Booking channel | You pay, taxes included | Extra vs. direct |
Direct with the manager | $7,996 (1) | — |
VRBO | $8,814 + guest fee | +$818 + guest fee |
Booking.com | $9,125 | +$1,129 |
Airbnb | $9,179 | +$1,183 |
(1) assumes an additional 3% fee if paying by credit card. More often encountered when renting directly from an owner rather than through a management company.
You also pay tax on the commission. On Airbnb, that’s about $115 in Vail taxes on the platform markup alone.
The gap isn’t always this wide. Some owners don’t pass the full commission through, and platforms sometimes run promotions. The same math applies wherever you’re headed, whether it’s a beach house or a villa abroad. The lesson is to compare final totals, not nightly rates.
The costs that aren’t on the receipt
Someone else sets the rules. Cancellations and disputes run through platform call centers. When I-70 closes on your arrival day or a flight is canceled, you should be able to get to the person who manages the property for information - but you might very well find that to do so you have to go through some distant call center to be transferred.
The fee hits every line. Platform commissions apply to cleaning and pet fees too, and that cost gets priced back in somewhere.
The top result isn’t neutral. Search placement often favors owners paying extra commission or offering platform discounts. The best unit for your group may be on page three.
Colorado makes comparing easier
Since January 1, Colorado’s HB25-1090 requires the first price you see to include every mandatory fee, including cleaning fees and platform service fees. Only government taxes and truly optional extras can be added later. For a Colorado stay, the total is the number to compare.
How to book smarter
Search on the platforms to see what’s available.
Note the building and management company, which most listings show or hint at.
Check the manager’s own website for the same unit and dates.
Compare the all-in totals, taxes included.
Ask about direct-booking perks and cancellation terms before you commit.
All of the management companies in the valley that I have worked with over time take direct bookings. A short list of my favorites to work with:
movingmountains.com
If you own a place and rent it out
The same math runs the other way. If you are handling your own reservations, on an $8,000 booking, you net about $7,000 (after the credit card fee and paying sales & lodging taxes) when the guest books direct and about $6,000 if the booking comes through Airbnb.
If you are a management company, the numbers above are typically what you allocate your split with the property owner on - not surprising that direct bookings are better for all involved - but you already know that!
VRBO’s changes on October 29 matter to owners and managers in particular. The commission rate rises to 12%, and VRBO’s new terms require your rates and fees on VRBO to be at least as good as on other channels. After pushback from property managers, VRBO says it plans to let hosts price lower on their own websites, but your VRBO rates will still need to match Airbnb and Booking .com. VRBO enforces that largely through search ranking, so pricing it above the other platforms can quietly cost you bookings. It’s worth reviewing your pricing before the change, and checking VRBO’s final terms once they are out. My firm Dunedin Ventures helps owners and managers run exactly these numbers.
Where I come in
When you plan a vacation rental with me, I start with what you need: the right resort, the right neighborhood, the right layout for your group, and the right dates and budget. Then I:
Find the property and the professional management company that runs it.
Book directly with that company.
Compare the all-in totals so you see the real price, taxes included.
Ask about perks, flexible terms and anything the listing doesn’t say.
Arrange the rest of your trip if you’d like; transfers, activities off the mountain, groceries, and dinner reservations
Stay your point of contact if something goes wrong.
How I’m paid
I book with professional management companies rather than individual owners. They pay travel advisors a standard 10% commission on the rent only, not on taxes, cleaning or other fees. Managers typically don't raise their rates to cover it, so in most cases you pay the same nightly rate that you'd pay booking directly with them yourself. Compare that with the 12% to 15.5% or more a platform takes on the entire booking.
I can also handle the rest of your trip: airport transfers and ground transportation, activities off the mountain, groceries stocked before you arrive, and dinner reservations. For that concierge work, I'm paid two ways. Some vendors pay me a referral fee, which, like the management commission, they don't add to your price. And I charge $50 an hour for the time it takes to make the arrangements, so you always know exactly what you're paying for.
The goal is simple: you come out ahead of booking it yourself on a platform, and you have a real person in your corner.
When a platform is the right call
Sometimes a platform runs a promotion that beats the direct rate, or a unique property is only listed in one place. When that happens, I’ll tell you. The point isn’t to avoid the platforms. It’s to make sure you’re paying for the stay, not the search.
Planning a trip?
Whether it’s a ski week in Vail or Beaver Creek (or a villa abroad!), let’s talk. Book a planning call and I’ll help you find the right place, at the right price, with someone local on your side. Reach me on [email protected], or on +1.970.390.2467.
Figures are illustrative and current as of October 2026.
