An Airbnb alternative for hosts who would rather be booked direct
The listing sites take a share of every booking. HustleHub charges a flat price per unit and takes 0% of what you earn. Here are the published numbers, side by side.
What each one costs a host
| Airbnb | Vrbo | HustleHub | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the platform takes per booking | Most hosts pay 15.5% (host-only service fee) | About 8%: 5% commission plus 3% payment processing | 0% |
| What you pay to be listed | Nothing up front, the fee comes out of each booking | Nothing up front on pay-per-booking | $20 per unit per month, $15 per unit at 5 or more |
| Extra fee charged to your guest | No separate guest service fee under host-only | Yes, a separate service fee paid by the guest | None |
| Card processing | Included in the service fee | The 3% is the processing fee, and it does not apply to hosts using property management software | Charged by your own payment provider, paid to them, not to us |
| Where the booking lives | On their marketplace | On their marketplace | In the platform you already run your business on |
Airbnb and Vrbo figures were read from each company's own help centre in September 2026 and are their published rates, not our estimates. Airbnb's help centre states that most hosts pay 15.5% under the host-only structure, with the remainder typically paying 14% to 16%. Rates change, so check the current figures with each platform. Airbnb and Vrbo are trademarks of their respective owners and are not affiliated with HustleHub.
Why book direct
A booking made directly with the host does not have a platform commission taken out of it.
The host keeps the booking
No booking fee comes out of the nightly rate, so what the guest pays is what the host was asking.
You book with the person, not a listing
You are messaging the host who runs the place, on their own booking page.
It stays local
Money that would have gone to a platform commission stays with the person hosting you.
What moving over gets you
- Your own booking page, with your own link to share.
- 0% booking fee, so the nightly rate you set is the nightly rate you keep.
- Payments to your own Stripe or Square account.
- A calendar that syncs with the listing sites by calendar link, so you can run both while you move across.
- Bookings, invoicing, clients and payments in the same place as the rest of your business.