Airbnb security deposits, pet fees and extra fees: what you can charge

Airbnb does not hold a security deposit. There is no money set aside, no authorization on the guest's card, nothing to release. When a guest breaks something you file a claim, and AirCover for Hosts covers up to $3 million in guest-caused damage. Every other fee you charge, cleaning, pets, extra guests, early check-in, is set by you and shown to the guest before booking.

Hosts coming from long-term rentals expect a deposit to exist because it always has. It does not here, and understanding what replaced it changes how you price and how you document.

What happened to the security deposit

You can display a security deposit amount on your listing. It is a stated figure, not a held one. Airbnb does not charge the guest, does not freeze funds, and does not hand you anything to draw from.

What you actually have is a claims process. Something breaks, you document it, you request payment from the guest through the resolution center. If they decline, you escalate to AirCover for Hosts, which Airbnb describes as up to $3 million in host damage protection plus $1 million in liability insurance.

Two things follow from that.

The damage protection is Airbnb's program, not an insurance policy you hold. It has its own conditions, its own exclusions and its own deadlines, and it is not a substitute for a short-term rental policy on the property.

And the claim depends entirely on your evidence. There is no deposit to keep, so the whole thing rests on dated photographs, a clear inventory and a message thread. Hosts who document nothing collect nothing.

Filing a damage claim without losing

The mechanics are unforgiving about timing and generous about nothing.

1. Photograph the damage the day you find it, with the timestamp intact.
2. Message the guest through Airbnb, not by text, so the exchange is on the platform.
3. Open a resolution center request with the repair quote or the replacement receipt.
4. If the guest declines or ignores it, escalate to AirCover within Airbnb's stated window.

Two habits make claims work. Photograph the property after every turnover, not only when something goes wrong, because a before shot is what turns your claim into evidence. And keep your house rules in the listing, because a claim about something your rules never mentioned is a much harder argument.

Cleaning fees, and what guests will accept

Airbnb shows the total price including fees before booking. A cleaning fee out of line with your nightly rate is now visible at the moment of comparison, not buried at checkout.

The practical ceiling in most US markets is roughly half a night. A $150 cleaning fee on a $300 night reads as normal. The same $150 on an $80 night reads as a trick, and guests say so in reviews.

Remember that Airbnb charges its service fee on the cleaning fee too, so pricing it at exactly what your cleaner charges loses you money on every stay. Our host fee guide has the arithmetic.

Pet fees

Two ways to charge, and they behave differently.

A flat pet fee per stay is simple and easy for guests to accept. Common range in US markets is $50 to $150, depending on how much extra cleaning a pet actually creates in your property.

A per-pet, per-night fee scales with the risk and irritates guests on long stays. It suits properties where a pet genuinely costs you more each day, such as anywhere carpeted.

Whichever you pick, say what it covers. A pet fee that reads as a deposit will be contested when you also file a claim for a chewed table leg.

And decide the rule, not just the price. Weight limit, number of pets, rooms they are allowed in, whether they can be left alone in the property. Those belong in the house rules, not in a message after the booking.

Extra guest fees, early check-in, late check-out

These are the three that actually move revenue, because they are sold to a guest who already wants them.

An extra guest fee above a threshold is standard and expected. Set the threshold at the number your property comfortably sleeps, not at one. Price it against the marginal cost of another person, which is linen and utilities, not a second room.

Early check-in and late check-out are the two most reliable paid add-ons in short-term rental. The guest is asking anyway, and the marginal cost to you is scheduling. The upsell revenue calculator models what a portfolio earns from them across a year, on published US acceptance rates.

The mistake is offering them for free by reflex. A host who grants every early check-in has trained guests to expect it, and has also made the cleaner's day impossible.

What you cannot charge for

Anything that was not disclosed before the booking.

You cannot invent a penalty after the fact, you cannot charge a fee that appears nowhere in the listing, and you cannot ask a guest to pay outside the platform. All three end the same way in a resolution case, and the last one can cost you the account.

If you want a charge to be enforceable, it goes in the listing, in the house rules, and in the guest's confirmation. That is the whole rule.

Frequently asked questions