Airbnb co-host guide: permissions, payouts, and how to find one

You've taken on a unit you can't reach in twenty minutes, or you're about to travel in peak season, and you need someone else to answer guests, open the door and chase the cleaner. An Airbnb co host is the built-in way to give that person access without handing over your login.

Start with one action before you invite anyone: write down, per listing, every hosting job you do in a normal week and mark each one "online" or "on site." That list decides which permission level to grant, how to structure pay, and whether you need a co-host at all.

What does an Airbnb co-host do, and what can they access?

An Airbnb co-host is a person you invite to your listing who can help run it, with access limited to one of three permission levels you choose: full access, calendar and messaging, or calendar only.

According to Airbnb's Co-hosts: An introduction, a co-host can help you manage the listing, respond to inquiries or message booked guests. What they can actually touch depends on the level you pick. Airbnb's What co-hosts can do article sets it out:

Three details in that article matter more than the table suggests:

• You stay responsible. Airbnb says the listing owner is responsible for co-hosts, including ones added by a full-access co-host.
• Old co-hosts may have full access. Co-hosts added before May 3, 2023 have full access by default. If you've had helpers for years, check their level today.
• Payout details stay with you. Co-hosts can't view or change the listing owner's payout method or taxpayer info.

Our recommendation: give each person the lowest level that covers their job. A cleaner who only needs turnover dates gets calendar only. Someone answering guests while you travel gets calendar and messaging. Keep full access for a person you'd trust to reprice your peak week and cancel a booking.

How do Airbnb co-hosts get paid?

Airbnb lets the listing owner share part of each booking's payout with a co-host, using one of four options, and the co-host must confirm the proposal before any payouts start.

Airbnb doesn't set a co-host rate. On the Co-Host Network, Airbnb says co-hosts choose what services they offer and how much they charge, so the number is a negotiation between you. What Airbnb does define is the mechanism, in How co-host payouts work:

• Cleaning fee: the co-host gets the cleaning fee you set on the listing.
• Cleaning fee plus percentage: the cleaning fee, plus a percentage of the booking that excludes the cleaning fee.
• Percentage: a percentage per booking, with the cleaning fee included or excluded.
• Fixed amount: a set amount per booking.

The percentage is calculated on your "potential earnings," not the guest's total. Airbnb describes that as the nightly price times nights, plus charges such as cleaning, minus the host service fee and any applicable taxes and fees. To see how Airbnb's service fee changes that base, run your numbers through the Airbnb fee calculator.

Here's a worked example using hypothetical inputs, not typical rates. Say one booking leaves you €500 in potential earnings, of which €100 is the cleaning fee:

The same headline percentage produces different paychecks depending on whether cleaning is included, so write that choice into your agreement. A few other rules from the same article:

• Only the listing owner can set up or edit co-host payouts.
• The co-host has 14 days to confirm or decline a proposal.
• Changes only apply to bookings that start after the co-host confirms them.
• Co-hosts are paid first. If their payouts add up to more than your potential earnings, you may receive less than expected, or nothing.
• Only Airbnb stays are shared. Resolution Center payouts and host damage protection reimbursements aren't included.

How do you find and add a co-host to your Airbnb listing?

You add a co-host from the listing editor by sending an invite to their phone number or email, choosing their permission level, and waiting for them to accept after verifying their identity.

Airbnb's Add co-hosts to your home listing gives the desktop path: Listings, choose the listing, then Co-hosts under Listing editor, then Get started. You enter their contact details, pick permissions and send. You can have up to 10 co-hosts per listing. Only the listing owner can invite someone to several listings at once, and the permissions must be the same across all of them.

If you don't know anyone suitable, the Airbnb co host network is Airbnb's marketplace of local co-hosts. From the same Co-hosts screen, you submit a request describing whether you want full-service support or individual services, and interested co-hosts reply in Messages. To join the network, a co-host needs an account in good standing, verified identity and an overall co-host rating of 4.8 or above, per the Co-Host Network article.

Check coverage first. As of this update, Airbnb lists the network in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. If your rental is elsewhere, you'll be recruiting locally and adding that person by invite.

Whichever route you take, a rating doesn't tell you how someone handles your building. Before you send an invite, ask:

• Who covers for you when you're sick or away, and how do I reach them?
• How fast do you reply to guests at night, and what happens after a lockout?
• Which cleaners and repair people do you already use near this address?
• Can I speak to a host you currently work with?

Put the answers, the payout option and the permission level in one written agreement. Airbnb's own introduction says hosts and co-hosts should be clear about who does what, how much of the income goes to the co-host, and how expenses are reimbursed.

Do you need an Airbnb co-host, or better systems?

You likely need a co-host when on-site work can't be covered by you or a local cleaner, and you may not need one when most of the gap is messages and calendar admin you can automate.

Go back to your "online" and "on site" list. This diagnostic sorts each job:

Airbnb itself offers quick replies and scheduled messages, mentioned in its co-host permissions article, and our guide to automating guest messaging walks through setting up a message schedule.

If your "on site" jobs are mostly cleaning, a dependable cleaner with calendar-only access plus a remote turnover routine may cover them.

This suggests a rough rule, not a law: the more of your list sits in the bottom three rows, the stronger the case for a local co-host. If you're weighing an Airbnb co-host against a property manager, compare scope and control rather than titles. A co-host on Airbnb works inside your listing with the permissions you set; a manager's role depends entirely on the contract you sign. Our recommendation: get both offers in writing, listing duties and cost, before you choose either.

When this advice does not apply

• Services and Experiences: co-hosts on those listings get full access by default and work differently, so this permission table doesn't apply.
• Regional limits: Airbnb says co-host payouts may be limited by the host's or co-host's location, and listings in Japan have different damage-claim rules.
• Other platforms: Booking.com and Vrbo don't use Airbnb's co-host system. A helper there needs access set up on that platform.
• Licensing: Airbnb reminds network co-hosts they may need local permits to offer services. Check your local rules before paying someone to manage a rental.

What to do next

1. List every hosting job per listing and mark it "online" or "on site."
2. Check the permission level of every existing co-host, especially anyone added before May 3, 2023.
3. Decide which jobs you'll automate and which need a person.
4. Agree on duties, response times, payout option and expense rules in writing.
5. Send the invite with the lowest permission level that fits, then set up the payout proposal the same day.

FAQ

How many co hosts can you have on Airbnb?

Up to 10 per listing, according to Airbnb's help article on adding co-hosts to a home listing.

Can an Airbnb co-host see my earnings?

A full-access co-host can review the Earnings dashboard and view co-host payouts set up by the listing owner. Airbnb says listing owners don't see a co-host's transaction history, and co-hosts can't see your payout method or taxpayer info.

Who pays tax on co-host payouts?

Airbnb says the listing owner gets a tax document on the full booking amount and co-hosts get one for the amounts they receive. Ask a local tax adviser how to treat the split where you file.

Can I remove a co-host?

Yes. Airbnb says you can change permissions or remove a co-host's access at any time. Removing them also stops their payouts, and they're notified.

Sources

• Airbnb Help Center, "Co-hosts: An introduction" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Airbnb Help Center, "What co-hosts can do" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Airbnb Help Center, "How co-host payouts work" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Airbnb Help Center, "Add co-hosts to your home listing" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Airbnb Help Center, "Co-Host Network: An introduction" — Verified 2026-09-30