Most rental agencies take over your Booking.com account, collect the money themselves, and pay you whatever they decide to. HOSTDIRECT works differently: your accounts stay in your name, guests pay you directly, and we simply handle the day-to-day operations for a transparent fee. Think of us as a property manager who works for you — not instead of you.
We deliberately keep pricing simple. There are four costs — and each one is fully predictable before the season starts. There are no percentages on cleaning, no commissions on extras, and no costs beyond what is listed here. The maintenance subscription is the only recurring item, and it is optional for properties that do not require on-site support during the off-season.
When a guest books your apartment for €900, the room rate is the €900 they pay for the nights. Cleaning fees, linen fees, the platform's own commission, and city tax are all separate line items — and none of them are included in our 10% calculation. So for a €900 stay, our fee is €90. You can verify this number yourself in your Booking.com or Airbnb payout report any time.
Traditional rental agencies often ask you to hand over your Booking.com account — which means they control your listing, your reviews, and your revenue. If you ever want to leave, switching is painful. HOSTDIRECT's model is deliberately different: you stay the account owner from day one.
These are real Booking.com payouts for a one-bedroom apartment in Zell am See — the full calendar year 2025. The figures show what Booking.com actually transferred to the owner's bank account each week, already net of the platform's own commission. The highest month was January (ski season at €4,262), the lowest was October (shoulder season at €589).
These are actual Booking.com payouts — already net of the platform's own commission. The payout includes the room rate, cleaning fee, and linen fee combined. Cleaning and linen are guest charges that flow through to the cleaning company — they do not affect the owner's income. The owner's only real costs are the HOSTDIRECT management fee (10% of the room rate portion) and the optional maintenance subscription (€60/month). The example below shows exactly how it works for one real booking.
Source: Booking.com "Payout info" — one-bedroom apartment, Zell am See, 2025. Amounts are weekly payouts as transferred to owner's bank account. No guest names or booking IDs are published.
Cleaning and linen fees are fixed standard amounts — set once in your Booking.com listing as separate line items, so guests see them clearly at booking and pay them on top of the room rate. They are never deducted from your nightly income and are never included in our 10% management fee. The calculator below shows what a typical stay costs to service, so you know exactly what to enter in your listing settings.
Not sure whether your current prices are too low, too high, or simply wrong for the season? Share your property link and your contact details — we will look at your market, compare similar listings in the region, and send you a personalised price recommendation by email within 24 hours. No strings attached.
Free & no obligation · We reply within 24 hours
Starting is straightforward. For properties already listed on Booking.com or Airbnb, we are typically ready to go live within a few days of the first call. For new listings, we allow a little extra time for photos, registration, and listing setup — we guide you through each step. Either way, we do not ask you to commit to anything until you have understood the fees and are comfortable with how everything works.
We start with a 15–20 minute conversation — by WhatsApp, Zoom, or in person if you are nearby. We talk through your property, what kind of bookings you want, your personal use dates, and any questions you have about how the arrangement works in practice.
We configure your listing together: nightly rates by season, cleaning and linen fees, minimum stay lengths, check-in and check-out instructions, and the emergency contact workflow. Nothing goes live until you have reviewed and approved everything.
From this point, we handle all guest messages, coordinate cleaning after each checkout with one of our four partner cleaning companies, and do a quality check before every new arrival. You receive a notification for the things that matter — a new booking, an issue worth knowing about — and can check your live calendar any time.
These are the questions we hear most often from property owners who are new to professional rental management. If something is not covered here, just ask us directly — the fastest way is WhatsApp.