Study: The Worst Cities for Rip-Off Airbnb Fees This Holiday Season Revealed

We’ve all been there – you find the perfect Airbnb, only to watch the price balloon at checkout as service fees and cleaning charges pile up. That exciting $200-per-night dream rental suddenly becomes a budget-busting nightmare. But just how bad are these fees, and do they vary depending on where you’re staying? A new analysis of Airbnb listings across 84 major U.S. cities reveals some surprising answers about these controversial charges.

Key Findings:

• Some cities pile on average fees of up to 41% on top of the base room rate
• Columbia, SC leads the nation with the highest relative fees (40.78%), adding $207 in fees to a $505 five-night stay
• While California cities show the lowest fee percentages, they often have the highest dollar amounts in fees
• The average combined service and cleaning fees across all cities is approximately $250 for a five-night stay
• Florida dominates the high-fee percentage list with multiple cities in the top 10

The Full Results

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City	State	Average Service Fee	Average Cleaning Fee	Rental Price Per Night	Rental Price 5 Nights (net of fees + taxes)	Fees as % of Rental Price For 5 Nights
Columbia	South Carolina	$114	$93	$101	$507	40.78%
Cape Coral	Florida	$266	$210	$234	$1,172	40.67%
Clearwater	Florida	$113	$87	$99	$494	40.61%
Phoenix	Arizona	$125	$93	$110	$549	39.79%
Honolulu	Hawaii	$171	$129	$151	$754	39.73%
Scottsdale	Arizona	$179	$139	$160	$798	39.73%
San Antonio	Texas	$143	$108	$126	$632	39.72%
Las Vegas	Nevada	$127	$96	$114	$569	39.18%
Wilmington	North Carolina	$142	$104	$126	$628	39.14%
Houston	Texas	$93	$70	$83	$416	39.12%
Baltimore	Maryland	$97	$67	$84	$419	39.10%
Colorado Springs	Colorado	$124	$103	$116	$581	39.03%
Raleigh	North Carolina	$127	$87	$110	$548	38.98%
El Paso	Texas	$97	$70	$86	$431	38.95%
Detroit	Michigan	$122	$84	$106	$530	38.92%
Virginia Beach	Virginia	$158	$121	$143	$717	38.91%
Cleveland	Ohio	$109	$77	$96	$479	38.79%
Jacksonville	Florida	$140	$103	$125	$627	38.75%
Atlanta	Georgia	$108	$81	$98	$490	38.61%
Vancouver	Washington	$131	$89	$114	$570	38.52%
Corpus Christi	Texas	$134	$99	$122	$608	38.26%
Omaha	Nebraska	$116	$81	$103	$515	38.20%
Tampa	Florida	$97	$68	$87	$435	38.03%
Charlotte	North Carolina	$146	$101	$130	$649	37.99%
Miami	Florida	$114	$78	$101	$507	37.97%
Tucson	Arizona	$167	$110	$146	$731	37.93%
Anchorage	Alaska	$110	$84	$103	$517	37.57%
Austin	Texas	$128	$85	$115	$574	37.06%
Kansas City	Missouri	$145	$90	$128	$642	36.61%
Flagstaff	Arizona	$200	$135	$183	$915	36.61%
Jersey City	New Jersey	$114	$72	$102	$510	36.53%
Dallas	Texas	$82	$77	$87	$434	36.53%
Indianapolis	Indiana	$114	$81	$107	$535	36.50%
Reno	Nevada	$180	$109	$158	$791	36.46%
Tulsa	Oklahoma	$151	$96	$136	$679	36.35%
Salt Lake City	Utah	$110	$69	$99	$494	36.35%
Lubbock	Texas	$135	$90	$124	$622	36.31%
Richmond	Virginia	$130	$84	$118	$590	36.26%
Columbus	Ohio	$108	$73	$100	$501	36.23%
Washington	District of Columbia	$129	$85	$118	$589	36.22%
Albuquerque	New Mexico	$114	$77	$105	$526	36.18%
Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	$149	$93	$134	$669	36.07%
Denver	Colorado	$113	$77	$106	$528	36.05%
Memphis	Tennessee	$122	$81	$113	$566	35.92%
Seattle	Washington	$121	$83	$114	$570	35.81%
Portland	Oregon	$92	$57	$84	$420	35.55%
Chicago	Illinois	$103	$85	$106	$529	35.45%
New Orleans	Louisiana	$121	$84	$116	$578	35.45%
Chattanooga	Tennessee	$151	$89	$136	$678	35.41%
Santa Fe	New Mexico	$227	$142	$209	$1,044	35.40%
Cincinnati	Ohio	$121	$79	$114	$568	35.29%
Fort Lauderdale	Florida	$128	$89	$123	$616	35.23%
Orlando	Florida	$108	$67	$99	$497	35.22%
Carmel	Indiana	$228	$99	$186	$932	35.04%
Savannah	Georgia	$168	$98	$152	$762	34.94%
Fort Collins	Colorado	$182	$114	$170	$850	34.80%
West Palm Beach	Florida	$161	$98	$150	$748	34.68%
Milwaukee	Wisconsin	$117	$68	$107	$536	34.56%
Fort Worth	Texas	$129	$76	$119	$597	34.30%
Salem	Oregon	$92	$53	$84	$421	34.26%
Boulder	Colorado	$115	$66	$106	$531	33.90%
Knoxville	Tennessee	$139	$78	$129	$645	33.75%
Asheville	North Carolina	$143	$82	$137	$685	32.90%
New York	New York	$140	$97	$146	$728	32.54%
Boston	Massachusetts	$135	$90	$139	$695	32.40%
Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	$93	$61	$96	$478	32.27%
Waco	Texas	$172	$95	$168	$839	31.83%
Duluth	Minnesota	$213	$106	$203	$1,014	31.50%
Charleston	South Carolina	$196	$116	$200	$1,000	31.27%
San Marcos	California	$164	$105	$183	$916	29.40%
Minneapolis	Minnesota	$79	$43	$85	$424	28.86%
Sacramento	California	$130	$87	$153	$766	28.39%
Oceanside	California	$208	$146	$252	$1,261	28.06%
Newport Beach	California	$309	$206	$369	$1,844	27.95%
Anaheim	California	$163	$122	$210	$1,050	27.17%
Carlsbad	California	$226	$155	$282	$1,412	27.03%
Los Angeles	California	$123	$68	$142	$708	27.01%
San Jose	California	$88	$55	$108	$542	26.43%
Santa Barbara	California	$293	$138	$327	$1,634	26.38%
Long Beach	California	$155	$94	$189	$945	26.36%
Temecula	California	$306	$175	$370	$1,851	25.98%
San Francisco	California	$129	$77	$161	$806	25.55%
San Diego	California	$141	$90	$181	$906	25.50%
Santa Monica	California	$174	$89	$217	$1,086	24.17%
Huntington Beach	California	$194	$132	$275	$1,374	23.74%
Napa	California	$338	$135	$408	$2,040	23.19%
Santa Rosa	California	$211	$117	$296	$1,481	22.16%

Southern Cities Lead with Highest Percentage Fees Relative to Price

Columbia, South Carolina tops the list with combined service and cleaning fees reaching 40.78% of the total room price for a five-night stay. In real dollars, this means paying $207 in fees on top of a $505 base price. Florida cities feature prominently among locations with the highest fee percentages, with Cape Coral and Clearwater following closely at 40.67% and 40.61% respectively. In Cape Coral, this translates to a whopping $476 in fees on a $1,170 five-night stay.

The California Paradox: Lower Percentages, Higher Dollar Amounts

While California cities consistently show the lowest fee percentages, the actual dollar amounts tell a different story. Take Napa, for example: while its 23.19% fee rate seems modest, guests actually pay $473 in fees ($338 service fee + $135 cleaning fee) on a five-night stay. Santa Barbara charges $431 in total fees, and Newport Beach adds $515 in fees, despite their lower percentage ratings. This apparent paradox is explained by California’s significantly higher base room rates – Napa averages $408 per night compared to Columbia’s $101.

Major Metropolitan Areas: Middle Ground in Both Percentages and Dollars

Major metropolitan areas maintain moderate fee structures in both percentage and dollar terms. New York City charges about $237 in total fees on a $728 five-night stay (32.54%), Boston adds $225 in fees to a $695 stay (32.40%), and Philadelphia keeps fees to $154 on a $478 stay (32.27%). These figures suggest bigger cities have found a middle ground in their fee structures.

Airbnb Fee Examples

Let’s look at some concrete examples for a five-night stay:

• Columbia, SC: $101/night → $505 base + $207 fees = $712 total
• Cape Coral, FL: $234/night → $1,170 base + $476 fees = $1,646 total
• Napa, CA: $408/night → $2,040 base + $473 fees = $2,513 total
• New York City: $146/night → $728 base + $237 fees = $965 total

Consumer Implications

These findings highlight why it’s crucial to look beyond both percentage rates and base prices. While California’s fee percentages might look attractive at first glance, the actual dollar amounts can be significantly higher than in other regions. Conversely, while Columbia, SC’s 40.78% fee rate sounds steep, the actual fee amount ($207) is lower than many California cities charging half that percentage rate.

The data suggests that savvy travelers should consider both the percentage and dollar amount of fees when comparing locations. A high fee percentage in a budget-friendly city might actually cost less than a low fee percentage in an expensive destination. This nuanced approach to evaluating costs could lead to significant savings when planning your next Airbnb stay.

Methodology

In October 2024, we analyzed the 150 most searched for cities for Airbnbs according to Google search data, by searching for a five-night stay for 1 person for an entire home from December 16 to 21, 2024 in each of these locations on Airbnb. We then removed any city from our list with an insufficient amount of available rentals, to leave only the cities with a sufficient quantity of rentals to provide a fair average for each location. We collected the room price, cleaning fee and service fee for each rental, then calculated the average for each city.