Setting Up Booking Channel Fees for Owners
When booking channel fees are charged to owners, VRTrust allows you to record these fees on owner statements at the time of the reservation, rather than when the bill is later received from the booking channel.
This article walks through how to correctly set up Booking.com and Vrbo channel fees in VRTrust.
Note: This setup is not required for Airbnb, as Airbnb channel fees are captured automatically through customer invoices.
If booking channel fees are paid by the property manager, you can skip this entire setup.
Why Set Up Booking Channel Fees? 0:03
Creating booking channel fees in VRTrust allows you to:
Accurately charge owners for channel fees
Align fees with the reservation date on owner statements
Avoid timing mismatches caused by delayed booking channel bills
Maintain clean, auditable owner statements
1. Accessing the Fees and Commissions Page 0:37
Navigate to the fees and commissions page.
Select 'Booking Channel Fees' to see pre-filled templates for booking.com and VRBO.
Each channel includes two options:
Actual Channel Fee
Estimated Channel Fee
2. Deciding Between “Actual” vs “Estimated” Channel Fees 0:48
Actual Channel Fee (Recommended when PMS data is accurate)
The Booking.com – Actual template:
Pulls the channel fee directly from the PMS reservation line item
Requires a reference account mapping
Ensures the owner charge exactly matches the PMS fee
Use this option if:
Your PMS channel fee line is accurate
You want exact fee values per reservation
The Estimated Channel Fee (Formula-Based):
Uses a percentage formula (e.g. 5%)
Applies when PMS fee data is unreliable or unavailable
Is commonly used for Vrbo
Use this option if:
The PMS channel fee is not consistent
You prefer a predictable percentage-based calculation
Using the Actual Channel Fee 1:02
To use Actual Channel Fees, you must confirm your reference account setup.
Go to Settings
Select Reservations
Search for Channel Commission
You should see:
Channel commission mapped to a reference account 1:12
Mapping applied for all booking channels except Airbnb
This mapping allows VRTrust to:
Read the PMS channel fee line item
Create the corresponding owner charge automatically
💡 For a deeper explanation, watch the Reference Accounts support video.
1. Setting Up the Actual Channel Fee
Return to Fees & Commissions → Booking Channel Fees
Open the Booking.com – Actual template 1:24
Confirm the following:
Reference account is selected
Fee is set to 100%
Applied only to Booking.com reservations
Revenue and expense accounts are pre-filled
2. Advanced Settings Configuration 1:43
Revenue Recognition: Set according to your reporting preferences
Reservation Scope:
All reservations or
Only booked reservations
Save the fee once reviewed.
3. Applying Fees to Listings 2:00
Go to Fees & Commissions
Select the Listings tab
Choose the listings the fee applies to
Click Add New
Select the appropriate Booking Channel Fee
Set the Start Fee From Date:
Use the first day of your initial owner statement reporting period in VRTrust
Click Submit
4. Confirming Fee Creation for Reservations 2:19
Go to Reservations
Filter by Booking.com
Open a Booking.com reservation
You should see:
A channel fee created from the PMS line item
A struck-through line type (this line is excluded from guest charges but used to calculate the owner fee)
This confirms the setup is working correctly.
Using the Estimated Channel Fee (Example: Vrbo)
1. Set Up Estimated Channel Fee:
If using a formula-based fee: 2:47
Go to Fees & Commissions → Booking Channel Fees
Select the Estimated Channel Fee template
Choose a Vrbo reservation to test
Select all revenue accounts used to calculate the fee
Enter the percentage (e.g. 5%)
Confirm:
Fee applies only to booked reservations
Revenue recognition follows your reservation mapping defaults
Account Behavior
Revenue Account:
Channel Commissions – Rebilled to Owner
(appears on the property manager income statement)Expense Account:
Channel Commissions – Non-Airbnb
(appears on owner statements)
Save the fee once the calculation looks correct.
2. Test the Fee with a VRBO Reservation 2:57
Select a VRBO reservation to test the fee.
Set the rate (e.g., 5%) for VRBO.
3. Save the Fee and Applying to Listings 3:33
Go to Fees & Commissions → Listings
Select applicable listings
Click Add New
Choose the estimated channel fee
Set the start date to:
The first day of the month for your initial owner statements
Click Submit
4. Confirm Fee Accuracy 3:53
To ensure accuracy:
Compare VRTrust fees against Booking.com and Vrbo bills
Confirm totals match expected charges
If channel fee bills are paid from the trust account:
Categorize the bank feed expense to the property manager
This offsets revenue posted to:
Channel Fees – Rebilled to Owner
on the property management income statement
5. Final Notes on Revenue Accounts 4:13
Ensure the revenue account is correctly recorded on the property manager's income statement.
Summary
By setting up booking channel fees in VRTrust, you ensure:
Accurate owner charges
Correct timing on owner statements
Clean reconciliation between PMS data, bank feeds, and channel bills
This setup is essential when booking channel fees are passed through to owners and helps maintain trust, transparency, and audit-ready financials.