Airbnb is running a limited test of direct booking links. Hosts in the test get a personal link to their listing, and when a guest books through that link, the host service fee drops below the usual 15.5%.

The link sits in the Listing editor. You share it wherever you already talk to people, such as your social profiles, your email list or your own network. The booking still happens on Airbnb, with the same payment processing and the same AirCover protection. The only thing that changes is what you pay.

Hosts in the test are seeing either 6% or 10% instead of 15.5%. The rate is not the same for everyone, and Airbnb has not explained why it differs.

Only a small group of hosts so far. There is no way to sign up for it, and Airbnb has not announced the test publicly.

If you have the link, check the fee terms in your Listing editor first. Then share it with the audience you already have, and watch how many bookings actually come through it before you change anything else.

If you do not have it, the useful move is to build the audience now. An email list and an active social profile are what make a link like this worth anything if access opens up.

Airbnb has not said how hosts were selected, why the rates differ between them, or whether the test will expand, change or stop.

We wrote the full breakdown on our blog: Airbnb's direct booking links: a lower fee when you bring the guest

- Joana & Tony