How do I turn a net minimum into a guest price?

Divide the net amount by what is left after every deduction. With a 15.5% channel fee, 10,000 net needs a guest price of about 11,834, because 10,000 divided by 0.845 is 11,834. Add each further share the same way.

Should the cleaning fee count towards the minimum?

Only if the owner agreed that it does. Most owners mean the nightly price for the stay, so keep cleaning separate unless they say otherwise.

Does this matter on Booking.com as well as Airbnb?

Yes. Booking.com takes its commission from the price the guest pays, so the same conversion applies with your contract's commission rate.

Villa owner minimums loaded as guest prices underpay the owner

Answer

Owners often give their minimum as the amount they want to receive, not the price the guest pays. If you load it into your pricing tool as a guest price, every booking at the floor pays the owner less than they asked, because commission and fees come off first.

What we saw

A group of managed pool villas came to us with a rate card of minimum prices per night: one figure for weekdays, higher ones for weekends, public holidays and the two biggest holidays of the year. Before loading them as floors, we asked one question: is this what the guest pays, or what you want to receive? The answer was what they want to receive.

The same week, a second operator told us an owner had agreed to let them market a set of villas on one condition: the owner's price stays whole and the operator adds its own commission on top.

Both are the same problem. The number on the rate card is net. A pricing tool sets the price the guest sees. If the two are mixed up, a booking at the floor pays the owner less than the minimum by the whole channel fee, and by more once any management or agency share comes off. The answer changes how the floors are set: as guest prices built up from the owner's net, while the owner's rate card stays as it is.

How to check yours

Ask the owner, in writing: "Is this the amount you want to receive, or the price the guest pays?" Keep the answer with the rate card.
List every deduction between the guest price and the owner's payout: channel commission or service fee, payment fees, your management share, any agency share.
Work out what is left of 1 after each deduction, and multiply them together. A 15.5% fee leaves 0.845. A further 10% share leaves 0.9. Together: 0.845 x 0.9 = 0.76.
Divide the owner's net minimum by that figure. That is your floor as a guest price.
Do it per channel. Each channel takes a different share, so the same net minimum gives a different guest price on each.
Check one recent booking at or near the floor end to end: guest price, deductions, payout. If the payout is below the owner's minimum, the floors are loaded as net.

The number

Worked example. The 15.5% is Airbnb's published host-only service fee. The 10% agency share is an example only; use your own.

Owner's minimum, net per night	Deductions	What is left	Floor as guest price
10,000	Airbnb host-only fee 15.5%	0.845	11,834
10,000	Airbnb fee 15.5%, then a 10% agency share	0.7605	13,149
10,000 loaded as the guest price	Airbnb fee 15.5%	0.845	Owner receives 8,450

Source for the fee: Airbnb Help Center, Airbnb service fees, read 6 Nov 2026. Most hosts on the host-only fee pay 15.5%; others typically pay 14% to 16%.

When not to do this

If the owner confirms in writing that the rate card is the guest price, load it as it is.
If the owner's payout is a fixed monthly rent, not a share of each booking, the floor protects your margin, not the owner's minimum. Build it from your own costs instead.
Do not raise the floor above what the market will pay on low-demand dates without telling the owner. A floor that never sells pays nothing.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn a net minimum into a guest price?: Divide the net amount by what is left after every deduction. With a 15.5% channel fee, 10,000 net needs a guest price of about 11,834, because 10,000 divided by 0.845 is 11,834. Add each further share the same way.
Should the cleaning fee count towards the minimum?: Only if the owner agreed that it does. Most owners mean the nightly price for the stay, so keep cleaning separate unless they say otherwise.
Does this matter on Booking.com as well as Airbnb?: Yes. Booking.com takes its commission from the price the guest pays, so the same conversion applies with your contract's commission rate.