In most cases, on both. Booking.com and Airbnb reach different guests, handle payments differently and have their own cancellation and review rules, so being on only one usually leaves dates empty. The conditions are a synchronised calendar, so you don't sell the same night twice, and listings in your own name.
In short
- Airbnb charges the guest and sends you the money after arrival. With Booking.com it depends on how your payments are set up.
- Commissions aren't the same for everyone: they depend on the fee model, the country, the type of property and your contract.
- Booking.com scores out of 10 and Airbnb uses stars out of 5. On both, the first reviews carry a lot of weight.
- If you use both platforms, the real risk is a double booking. A properly synchronised calendar prevents it.
- In the Canary Islands, every listing must show the property's registration number.
How the money reaches you on each platform
On Airbnb the guest pays the platform when booking and Airbnb transfers your share to you afterwards. According to its help page, consulted on 05/10/2026, for most stays of 27 nights or fewer the payout is sent before the end of the business day after the scheduled check-in date. On top of that comes however long your bank or payout method takes.
On Booking.com there are two ways of working. With Payments by Booking.com, the platform charges the guest and pays you, and the commission can be deducted from those payments. If the guest pays you directly, Booking.com sends you a commission invoice once a month for stays that ended the previous month. That is what its help pages for properties explain, consulted on the same day.
For your accounts the difference matters: in one case you receive the net amount, and in the other you receive the total and pay the commission separately. It's worth checking each month that what you've received matches the bookings.
What each one charges
Plenty of second-hand figures do the rounds here. These are the ones the platforms themselves publish on their help pages, consulted on 05/10/2026:
| Platform | Model | What its help page says |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | "Single fee" (host-only) | The whole fee is deducted from the host's payout. Most pay 15.5% and others between 14% and 16%. It is compulsory for most hosts, including those who use property management software. |
| Airbnb | Split fee | Most hosts pay 3% and the guest pays a service fee of between 14.1% and 16.5% of the subtotal. Airbnb says it is phasing it out gradually. |
| Booking.com | Commission per booking | A percentage of the total booking amount, including cleaning and other charges. The exact percentage depends on the country, the type of property and the agreement signed. Programmes such as Preferred Partner or Visibility Booster add an extra percentage. |
Booking.com doesn't publish a general percentage: yours appears in your partnership agreement and in the extranet. Before comparing, look at your own terms in each account. In our fees examples we use 16.3% as an illustrative value, not as the commission of any particular platform.
Cancellations: each with its own rules
On Airbnb you choose between standard cancellation policies: one for short stays and another for stays of 28 nights or more. You can also offer a discounted non-refundable option. Its help pages point out that there are situations in which the platform may refund the guest even if your policy says otherwise.
On Booking.com the conditions are set for each rate: refundable, partially refundable or non-refundable. Watch out for one detail on its commission page: on non-refundable bookings you pay commission even if the guest doesn't turn up, unless you decide to waive the charge.
A very strict policy gives peace of mind but can cost you bookings. A very flexible one fills the calendar sooner but leaves more last-minute gaps. The sensible approach is to decide according to the time of year and how far ahead people book in your area.
Reviews and guest profile
Booking.com shows a score out of 10 and Airbnb a star rating out of 5. Both ask guests to rate aspects such as cleanliness, location or value for money. A home with few reviews and a bad one early on takes a while to recover, which is why the first stays are looked after down to the last detail.
In our experience, in the south of Gran Canaria Booking.com brings many travellers who compare the property with a hotel or a tourist apartment and decide quickly on price and location. Airbnb appeals more to people looking for a home with a kitchen, terrace or pool, who ask more questions before booking. There are exceptions both ways, and the split changes with the property and the season.
Why almost everyone uses both
Each platform has its own audience and its own peak periods. Being on both widens the number of people who see your home, and if one has a quiet week the other can make up for it. Many owners also add direct bookings from returning guests.
The problem is double bookings. If a guest books on Airbnb and the Booking.com calendar isn't updated in time, someone else can book the same nights. Basic calendar syncing isn't always instant, and when demand is high a few minutes is enough. According to Booking.com's help pages, in an overbooking the commission is charged and you are asked to cover the costs of relocating the guest. That's why professional management usually connects everything to a management system that updates availability and prices on all channels at once.
The registration number, compulsory in listings
The Canary Islands' Ley 6/2025 requires every holiday home listing to show its registration number (art. 8.6). Airbnb and the Government of the Canary Islands signed an agreement, announced on 04/04/2025, under which Airbnb requires a registration number in a valid format for new short-term rental listings on the islands. If you don't have your authorisation yet, start with our guide to the holiday rental licence.
Whose name should the accounts be in?
Yours. A listing's reviews, history and ranking are worth money and take months to build. If the listing is in a manager's account and one day you switch, you can lose all of it and start from scratch.
With Canarias Prime Homes, listings are created or optimised in your own Booking.com and Airbnb accounts, and remain yours during the management and afterwards. Normally you receive payments directly from the platforms and we send you a monthly statement and our invoice. If you're coming from another manager, we explain how to switch without losing bookings, and if you're unsure whether to do it yourself or hand it over, read self-management or a company.
Sources and notes
- Airbnb, "Airbnb service fees": help page, consulted on 05/10/2026.
- Airbnb, payout timing: help page, consulted on 05/10/2026.
- Airbnb, cancellation policies for hosts: help page, consulted on 05/10/2026.
- Booking.com for Partners, "Understanding your commission": help page, consulted on 05/10/2026.
- Ley 6/2025, de 10 de diciembre, de ordenación sostenible del uso turístico de viviendas: text in the BOE.
- Airbnb Newsroom, agreement with the Government of the Canary Islands (04/04/2025): press release.
- Platform commissions and terms change. Always check your own in each account or extranet.
- Observations marked "in our experience" come from our day-to-day work; they are not statistics.