Revenue management, answered

When a short-term-rental platform moves to a host-only fee structure, what markup do I add in the channel manager so the owner's net payout stays the same?

Divide your current net rate by one minus the platform's host fee percentage to get the gross rate you need to display. Push that grossed-up rate through your channel manager so the owner's net payout is unchanged after the platform deducts its fee.

By Jack Murphy, Head of Revenue Management at UpRev. Running pricing for US vacation rental managers since 2017.

Why the Math Works This Way

A host-only fee is deducted from the displayed rate before the owner is paid, so you cannot simply add the fee percentage on top. Dividing by the complement of the fee rate builds the deduction into the price correctly. Getting this wrong even slightly compounds across a full portfolio and erodes owner net over time.

Channel Manager Execution

Most channel managers let you set a rate markup or pricing rule per channel. Apply the grossed-up multiplier at the channel level rather than editing base rates, so your core pricing stays clean and the adjustment travels with any future rate changes. Verify mapped rates by spot-checking the platform's displayed price against your expected net on a handful of listings before you go live. Recheck whenever the platform adjusts its fee tier, which has happened more than once since major platforms shifted fee structures starting around 2019.

Owner Communication

Brief your owners before the markup goes live so they do not see a higher displayed price and assume you changed their rate strategy. Frame it clearly: the gross price is higher, the net to them is identical, and the platform is now collecting its fee from the owner side instead of the guest side. Document the change in your rate notes for each property so your team has a clean audit trail.