When a $104-a-night vacation rental more than doubles with an $89 cleaning fee and a $42 service fee, it’s time to ask: Is there a better way?
You’re unlikely to get around that pesky cleaning fee — so ubiquitous as to make rental periods of a night or two discouragingly inflationary — but you can save the service fee, which is paid to the booking platform, by making a reservation directly with a host.
Here’s how to find and vet short-term rental listings that avoid service fees.
The appeal of direct bookingsBooking platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo make money by charging users service fees.
Terms can be complex and vary, but experts say they generally run 12 to 16 percent of the total.
Persons:
pesky