Thibault Masson

Airbnb fee changes 2025 graphic showing “tax hike?” headline with upward arrow — representing Airbnb’s new 15.5% host-only commission and its tax impact for vacation rental managers

Airbnb’s 15.5% Host-Only Fee: Why It Feels Like a Tax Hike (But Isn’t One)

Thibault Masson

📌TL;DR- Airbnb fee changes in 2025 have some hosts worried about higher taxes. But despite the new 15.5% host-only commission, this shift is tax-neutral for most U.S. operators. Here’s why it feels like a tax hike, and how income, gross receipts, and occupancy taxes are actually affected.

2025-Airbnb-Professional-Host-Summit-Why-Property-Managers-Should-Care-scaled

2025 Airbnb Professional Host Summit: Why Property Managers Should Care

Thibault Masson

Where & when: Early October 2025, Airbnb headquarters, San FranciscoWho: ~150 invited professional hosts/property managers (per attendee reports)Why this was ...

How to Rank Higher on Airbnb Booking Probability and Guest Satisfaction Now Drive VisibilitY.

How to Rank Higher on Airbnb: Booking Probability and Guest Satisfaction Now Drive VisibilitY

Thibault Masson

📌TL;DR- At the 2025 Airbnb Professional Host Summit, the company revealed that listings now rank based on two key signals: how likely a guest is to book, and how likely they are to leave a 5-star review. This marks a major shift toward guest satisfaction as a core ranking factor. Airbnb’s algorithm now uses over 800 signals—including listing accuracy, cleanliness, communication, and even the likelihood of support issues, to predict the outcome of a stay before it happens. For property managers, this means maintaining visual quality, consistent operations, and perceived value is more important than ever, as these elements now directly impact visibility and bookings.

Airbnbs-Social-Push-Echoes-Gay-Travel-Platform-misterbbs-Playbook-1

Airbnb’s Social Push Echoes Gay Travel Platform misterb&b’s Playbook

Thibault Masson

Airbnb’s new feature, Connections, signals a push beyond bookings into social networking. But an LGBTQ+ niche player, misterb&b, has already ...

EU Signals Short-Term Rental Regulation as Part of Housing Crisis Response.

EU Signals Short-Term Rental Regulation as Part of Housing Crisis Response

Thibault Masson

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen briefly mentioned short-term rentals (STRs) in her 2025 State of the Union address, ...

Airbnb host-only fee concept with money bag labeled fees, red arrow, and calculator — symbolizing Airbnb’s 15.5% host-only fee for property managers

Airbnb Host-Only Fee at 15.5%: What It Means for Property Managers

Thibault Masson

Airbnb is ending its split-fee model for PMS-connected hosts and standardizing a 15.5% host-only fee worldwide (16% in Brazil). For property managers, this raises distribution costs — but margins can stay intact by adjusting rates and increasing PMS markups to about 18.34% to fully offset Airbnb’s new fee.

Airbnb’s “Reserve Now, Pay Later”: More Bookings, But Who Carries the Risk?

Airbnb’s “Reserve Now, Pay Later”: More Bookings, But Who Carries the Risk?

Thibault Masson

In August 2025, Airbnb introduced Reserve Now, Pay Later for US travelers. Guests booking eligible listings can now reserve with ...

Airbnb Talks Up Hotels Again — And This Time, It’s Strategic

Airbnb Talks Up Hotels Again — And This Time, It’s Strategic

Thibault Masson

During its Q2 2025 earnings call, Airbnb announced it expects moderate growth in Q3 and especially Q4. Alongside the cautious ...

Forget-Airbnbs-Flashy-New-Services-Expansion-—-Its-Time-to-Put-the-BB-Back-in-Airbnb-scaled

Forget Airbnb’s Flashy New Services Expansion — It’s Time to Put the B&B Back in Airbnb

Thibault Masson

Airbnb has been talking up new services, experiences, and hotels — but there’s a quieter, more strategic growth lever hiding ...

Airbnb earnings Q2 2025 visualized with a global travel network map over a cityscape.

Airbnb’s Platform Activity: What Vacation Rental Managers Need to Know for Q2, Q3, and Q4 2025

Thibault Masson

If you’re managing vacation rentals and rely on Airbnb, it’s key to understand how many bookings are happening on the ...

Airbnb’s Long-Term Bet on Experiences & Services Faces Short-Term Skepticism

Airbnb’s Long-Term Bet on Experiences & Services Faces Short-Term Skepticism

Thibault Masson

Airbnb is making one of its boldest strategic moves yet: expanding beyond homes to become a lifestyle brand. With its ...

Airbnb Strategy 2025 illustrated with a chess piece symbolizing strategic moves.

Airbnb’s New Strategic Pillars: From Vision to Execution

Thibault Masson

Airbnb has officially updated its strategic playbook. As revealed in the Q2 2025 Shareholder Letter and reiterated during the earnings ...

How Airbnb’s 2025 Ads Are Helping It Reinvent the Platform

How Airbnb’s 2025 Ads Are Helping It Reinvent the Platform

Thibault Masson

You may not have seen Airbnb’s newest advertising campaigns — and that’s by design. Many of these ads are targeted ...

French flags near the Eiffel Tower with the Airbnb logo, symbolizing France’s Airbnb law and new regulations impacting short-term rentals in 2025.

The Airbnb Squatter Phenomenon in France: Why the “Squatteurs Airbnb” are trending in 2025

Thibault Masson

In France, Airbnb hosts face a growing risk from “squatteurs” exploiting a legal loophole that grants tenant-like rights to guests who enter a property legally. Once a guest changes locks or receives mail, police cannot intervene without a court order—turning short stays into months-long eviction battles.

Taking the Pulse of European Short-Term Rentals: 2024's Record Highs and 2025's Uneven Start

Taking the Pulse of European Short-Term Rentals: 2024’s Record Highs and 2025’s Uneven Start

Thibault Masson

1. 2024: A Record-Breaking Year Europe welcomed 854 million guest nights via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, and Tripadvisor — a 19% ...

France’s Lost Holidays and the Shocking Impact for Rental Managers.

What If Someone Stole Labor Day? France’s Lost Holidays and the Shocking Impact for Rental Managers

Thibault Masson

By Thibault Masson, Product Marketing Lead, PriceLabs Executive Summary France’s proposal to eliminate two key spring public holidays—Easter Monday and ...

Airbnb-payment-terms-2025

Airbnb Payment Terms 2025: What’s Actually Changing for Hosts

Thibault Masson

Under the new Airbnb Payment Terms, effective immediately for new users as of June 26, 2025, and taking effect for ...

Airbnb email legitimacy graphic showing the official email address discover@airbnb.com with a security shield icon, representing safe and verified Airbnb communication.

Is [email protected] a Legitimate Airbnb Email? What Hosts Need to Know

Thibault Masson

Airbnb hosts are reporting emails from [email protected] — but is it a legitimate Airbnb address or a phishing scam? While Airbnb confirms that this address can send real platform updates, hosts should always verify messages by checking the sender domain, avoiding links, and logging in directly to their Airbnb account before taking any action.

Airbnb Ending “Strict” Cancellation Policy: Hosts Must Act Now to Retain It, Plus Important 24-Hour Cancellation Change Explained

Thibault Masson

Airbnb is phasing out its “Strict” cancellation policy by October 2025, moving most listings to the new “Firm” policy. A new “Limited” option and a universal 24-hour free cancellation period are also being introduced. Hosts who want to keep their Strict policy must manually opt out before the deadline, but even grandfathered listings will include the 24-hour grace period.

Joe Gebbia’s Role in Trump-Era DOGE Initiative Raises Questions About Airbnb’s Political Links

Joe Gebbia’s Role in Trump-Era DOGE Initiative Raises Questions About Airbnb’s Political Links

Thibault Masson

Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and long-time advocate for design-driven innovation, remains a key figure in the Trump administration’s Department ...

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