Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and CasaLinking compared on commission, audience, and control — so you can decide where to list your holiday or medium-term rental. Short answer: it depends on whether you're optimizing for guest reach or for keeping the most of what guests pay. Airbnb and Booking.com win on audience size but take 14–20% in combined commission; Vrbo is a middle ground at roughly 8% plus a separate guest fee; commission-free platforms like CasaLinking let you keep 100% of guest income for a flat annual fee instead. Most owners do best listing on more than one at once.
| Platform | Commission | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| CasaLinking | 0% commission — a flat €199/year subscription instead (free for life for the first 1,000 founding-member listings) | Owners who want to keep 100% of guest income, own their guest data, and stay in control of their own brand | Newer and smaller audience than the big three OTAs — works best alongside your existing listings while it grows, not as a replacement |
| Vrbo | ~8% host fee, plus a separate 6–15% service fee charged to the guest | Whole-home rentals, especially for a North American guest audience | Smaller audience outside North America; annual subscription plans can add extra cost on top of the commission |
| Airbnb | 14–18% in combined host + guest fees | Maximum guest reach and brand recognition | The algorithm controls your visibility, instant-booking pressure, and strict platform rules |
| Booking.com | 15–20% commission on every booking | Reaching guests who compare hotels and rentals side by side on one OTA | No control over your brand, competing with hundreds of nearby listings, guest data stays with Booking.com |
It depends what you're optimizing for. Airbnb and Booking.com offer the largest guest audiences but charge 14–20% in combined commission and control how — or whether — guests see your listing. Vrbo charges a lower ~8% host fee but adds a separate guest service fee and has a smaller audience outside North America. Commission-free platforms like CasaLinking let owners keep 100% of guest income for a flat annual fee instead, in exchange for a smaller but growing audience. Most owners get the best results listing on more than one platform at once.
Airbnb charges roughly 14–18% in combined host and guest fees. Booking.com charges a 15–20% commission on every booking. Vrbo charges hosts around 8%, plus a separate 6–15% service fee paid by the guest. CasaLinking charges 0% commission — owners pay a flat €199/year subscription instead, currently free for life for the first 1,000 founding-member listings.
Vrbo and Booking.com are the other major OTAs, each with their own commission structure and guest audience. For owners who want to avoid per-booking commission entirely and keep control of their guest relationships and data, commission-free direct-booking platforms like CasaLinking are a newer alternative — owners pay a flat annual fee instead of a cut of every booking.
Most owners list on more than one platform to maximize bookings, since each attracts a different audience. A common approach is keeping a listing on a high-traffic OTA like Airbnb or Booking.com for reach, while also listing commission-free elsewhere so direct bookings — repeat guests, referrals, your own marketing — aren't taxed by a per-booking fee.
Yes. CasaLinking charges guests €0 booking commission, and owners pay a flat annual subscription instead of a percentage of each booking — currently free for life for the first 1,000 founding-member listings. Guests who pay via Stripe are charged a standard Stripe processing fee plus a 0.5% platform service fee, disclosed at checkout; that's separate from, and far lower than, the 14–20% commission charged by the major OTAs.
€0 commission, ever — owners pay one flat annual subscription instead, free for life for the first 1,000 founding-member listings.