Looking for an alternative to Airbnb?
Here is how to rent out without commission
More and more owners are looking for an alternative to Airbnb — not because the platform is bad, but because the commission, the rules and the dependency start to grate over time. The good news: the best alternative is usually not another platform, but your own booking website alongside Airbnb. This article compares the options, with a concrete worked example.
Why owners look for an alternative to Airbnb
Short answer: three reasons keep coming back — the commission, the lack of a real guest relationship, and dependency on a single platform. Between guests and hosts, Airbnb takes roughly 15 to 20% of the booking value. On a €1,400 booking that is over €200 that never reaches you.
On top of that, Airbnb decides how and when you communicate with guests, and contact details stay largely hidden behind the messaging button. That makes it hard to get returning guests to book directly. And anyone relying entirely on one platform has no safety net when an account is suspended, an algorithm changes or a policy is rewritten.
None of this makes Airbnb worthless — it remains a strong place to be discovered by new guests. But sensible owners increasingly treat it as one channel next to their own commission-free booking website, rather than as the only channel.
The main alternatives compared
From another platform to a channel that is entirely yours
| Alternative | Does it solve the commission problem? | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Booking.com | No — it moves the problem | 15–18% commission |
| Vrbo | No — comparable structure | Around 15% commission |
| Rental agency | No — usually pricier than Airbnb | 20–35% of revenue |
| Your own booking website | Yes — no commission per booking | Fixed monthly fee, from €12,50 |
Indicative figures for 2026; rates differ per provider and region.
Booking.com and Vrbo are just as easy to be found on as Airbnb, but with a comparable or sometimes higher commission structure — so they do not solve the underlying problem, they relocate it. A rental agency takes the management off your hands entirely, but generally costs more than Airbnb itself. Only your own booking website removes the per-booking commission altogether.
What your own booking website gives you
Your own website does not necessarily replace Airbnb as a place to be discovered, but it does replace it as a booking channel. Once a guest knows your property — through Airbnb, through word of mouth, through a previous stay — they can book directly with you from that point on, without commission.
- Your own calendar, synchronised with Airbnb and Booking.com through iCal, so nothing is ever double booked
- Direct emails to guests in their own language, without platform restrictions
- Reviews that belong to you, not tied to a platform account
- A long-term SEO advantage: your own domain builds authority with Google that stays entirely yours, unlike a profile page on Airbnb
How to bring in more of those direct bookings — without a large marketing budget — is covered in 12 proven tips for more bookings.
Worked example: turning commission into income
An apartment on the Costa Blanca, 20 bookings a year at an average of €800. What changes when part of that runs through your own site?
Simplified; based on €16,000 rental revenue, 20% average Airbnb commission and €12,50 per month for the booking website. Tax not included.
Shift even a third of your bookings — often returning guests, or people who look up the name of the property on Google — to your own site, and you keep over €1,000 extra per year. Which software fits that shift is compared in holiday rental software compared.
Is your own website complicated to set up?
This is the most common worry, and usually an unfounded one. Platforms like Casa Hero generate a complete, multilingual booking website from your existing Airbnb details and photos within minutes — calendar, enquiry form and reviews included. There is no coding involved and no separate hosting to arrange. Already using rental software such as Lodgify and looking for something simpler? Read switching from Lodgify.
- Import your existing listingYour Airbnb listing (photos, text, amenities) forms the basis and is converted into a site of your own automatically.
- Connect your calendariCal keeps availability in sync everywhere, so double bookings do not happen.
- Connect your own domain nameOr start for free on a subdomain and upgrade later.
- Move guests across graduallyFor example with a card in the property or a link in the final invoice.
Ready to rent out on your own terms, without commission?
Casa Hero gives you a professional booking website for your holiday home in about five minutes — calendar, booking requests, reviews and multiple languages included. Free to try, no strings attached.
Alongside Airbnb, or replacing it?
For most owners this is not an all-or-nothing choice. The most commonly chosen approach winds things down gradually:
- New guests keep arriving through Airbnb and Booking.com — those platforms are and remain strong at reaching people who do not know your property yet
- Returning guests and word-of-mouth referrals book directly through your own site from now on, without commission
- As your own website builds authority with Google, the balance shifts further towards direct bookings
Tip: do not say goodbye to Airbnb straight away. Wind down risk-free by running your own site in parallel — occupancy stays protected while your commission percentage drops.
Everything about alternatives to Airbnb
As a place to be found by new guests, Airbnb is hard to replace. As a booking channel it is not: your own booking website lets guests who already know your property book directly with you, without commission. Most owners combine the two rather than replacing Airbnb entirely.
Usually not. A booking website costs a fixed, modest monthly fee from 12,50 euros, while Airbnb commission scales with every single booking. For an apartment with 20 bookings a year, the commission you save quickly adds up to several times the annual cost of the website.
No. Reviews on Airbnb stay on your Airbnb profile, even if you run your own website alongside it. Your own site builds a separate review history, independent of the platform.
No, and it is not advisable. The most common approach is to keep attracting new guests through Airbnb and Booking.com, while returning guests and word-of-mouth referrals book directly through your own site. Your effective commission percentage drops gradually, without putting occupancy at risk.
Not with a platform built specifically for holiday rentals. Casa Hero generates a complete, multilingual booking website from your existing Airbnb listing within minutes, including calendar, enquiry form and reviews — no coding required.
Yes, as long as the channels are linked through iCal synchronisation. A booking on Airbnb then automatically blocks the same dates on your own website and the other way round, which prevents double bookings.