Listing a Vacation Home on Booking.com: An Owner's Guide (2026)

How Booking.com Charges You

Booking.com's partner help center says commission is "a set percentage of the total booking amount" for each reservation. It applies to:

• the room rate and any additional fees you charge, such as cleaning and service fees;
• fees you charge for no-shows or for cancellations after the free cancellation period;
• non-refundable and partially refundable bookings, whether or not the guest stays.

Booking.com does not charge commission on local taxes such as a city tax. Its page notes that in most countries commission is charged on VAT or GST; check your own reservation statement for how it applies to you.

What percentage? Booking.com does not publish one figure. It says the exact percentage "depends on your country, property type, and the accommodation agreement you signed," and you can see it during registration. If your statement shows a higher rate than your contract, Booking.com says you may be in a marketing program such as Preferred Partner or Visibility Booster, which adds a percentage on top.

Monthly Invoices and the 48-Hour Rule

Unlike Airbnb, which deducts its fee from your payout, Booking.com can bill commission by monthly invoice. It covers stays where the guest checked out in the previous month. A guest who arrives on 31 January and leaves on 1 February appears on the March invoice.

The rule that costs owners money: mark no-shows, cancellations and other reservation changes in the Extranet within 48 hours of checkout. Booking.com says if you miss that window, you are charged full commission on the original booking. Unpaid invoices can temporarily close your property.

U.S. hosts can pay invoices by ACH from a U.S. bank account, among other methods. If you use Payments by Booking.com, commission may be settled from your payouts automatically.

Payments by Booking.com

With Payments by Booking.com, guests pay through the platform and Booking.com pays you after checkout, by bank transfer or virtual credit card depending on location and settings. Booking.com says:

• there is no setup fee;
• a payment service fee applies as a percentage of each completed reservation paid out by bank transfer, and the rate depends on your property's location;
• you are paid for reservations that guests paid online and completed;
• for non-prepaid reservations, it validates guest cards and handles cancellation or no-show fees you may be owed.

If you opt out, you collect every guest payment yourself.

Instant Bookings or Request to Book

You can let guests book instantly or turn on Request to Book, which Booking.com says is now available globally for vacation rental partners. Guests send a request, and you have 24 hours to accept or decline before it expires. You can also chat with guests before approving through pre-booking messaging. Booking.com asks you to review its non-discrimination guidelines before declining.

Request to Book is useful if your home has steep stairs, a long dirt road or a strict guest limit, and you want to confirm the guest understands before you accept.

Damage and Liability Coverage

Booking.com's host page advertises, for vacation rentals in the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico:

• up to $1 million in property damage protection (Host Property Insurance) at no extra cost;
• up to $1 million in liability protection against claims by guests and neighbors (Partner Liability Insurance).

It says this is provided by Generali, is a group travel insurance policy, "isn't a substitute for homeowners or renters insurance," and is subject to full policy terms and exclusions. Keep your own short-term rental policy; see insurance and safety.

Reviews

• After checkout, Booking.com emails guests asking for a review, and they have 90 days to leave one.
• Guests give an overall score from 1 to 10; that is the only required question.
• Since January 2025 your Guest Review Score is weighted by recency, so recent reviews count most, and it uses reviews from the last three years.
• Reviews stay on your page for 36 months, then are archived.
• You can respond to reviews that have a title or comments, in the review's language or English. Booking.com moderates responses, which can take up to 72 hours.

Calendar Sync

Booking.com's calendar sync uses iCal links and imports connected calendars every two hours. It is not real time, and Booking.com says delays can lead to double bookings. It is available only to properties with no more than 20 room types and one unit per room type, which covers a typical single vacation home. More connected setups use a channel manager; see multichannel listing management.

Getting Started

Booking.com asks new hosts to verify the property's location; an unverified location can lead to a temporary closure. You can require bookers to have a verified phone number or home address, and you can pause the listing after going live, though existing bookings must be honored. New listings get a "New to Booking.com" label, and review scores from other travel sites can be shown until your first Booking.com reviews arrive.

Before you list, register for your state's lodging taxes and check whether the platform collects them for you; start with permits and licenses.

Where New England Host Co Fits

New England Host Co lists the homes it manages on Booking.com alongside Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, Tripadvisor and Furnished Finder. Start at the owner hub or contact us.

FAQ

What Commission Does Booking.com Charge?

It depends on your country, property type and accommodation agreement. You see your rate during registration, and marketing programs such as Preferred Partner add to it.

When Do I Pay Booking.com?

Commission is invoiced monthly for stays that checked out the previous month, or settled from payouts if you use Payments by Booking.com.

Can I Approve Guests Before They Book on Booking.com?

Yes, with Request to Book. You have 24 hours to accept or decline each request.

Does Booking.com's Coverage Replace My Insurance?

No. Booking.com says its coverage is not a substitute for homeowners or renters insurance.