How Hostu Works The Maths Pricing About Trust & Safety FAQ My Dashboard

Keep More of What You Earn
From Your Holiday Home

Hostu helps you turn past guests into direct bookings — with zero commission.

Join Hostu
🇳🇿 Proudly built for New Zealand hosts

How Hostu Works

Hostu is a holiday home booking platform designed to help hosts keep 100% of their repeat bookings for a simple annual subscription of $199 + GST.
Subscription not due until you send your first quote.
No hidden fees, no 15.5% commission.

01

Book Direct & Save

Keep your existing listings and reviews, but stop paying commission on repeat stays. Guests rebook through your free Hostu page, and you pick up their direct contact details every time.

02

Build Your Guest List

Your guests, your relationships. Hostu captures contact details during or after each stay so you own the connection instead of a platform.

03

Stay Top of Mind

Send genuine, human follow-ups. Whether it’s a quick thank you, a local event heads-up, or a seasonal offer, ensure guests think of you first when they plan their next trip.

04

Take New Bookings

Over time new guests will start searching and booking with you over Hostu - still at zero commission.

See how we protect your home and your payments →

Costs of a Single Booking

Same property. Same guest. How much do the platforms charge?

Booking scenario: 3 nights × $450/night + $120 cleaning fee = $1,470 total
Airbnb
15.5% simplified pricingiReflects the mandatory 15% Simplified Pricing (Host-only fee) plus standard regional service fees and processing costs applicable to New Zealand hosts.
Booking total $1,470
Host fee (15.5%) −$228
Guest fee $0
Host Receives
$1,242
Guest Pays
$1,470
Platform Fee
$228
Booking.com
15.5% host commission
Booking total $1,470
Host fee (15.5%) −$228
Guest fee $0
Host Receives
$1,242
Guest Pays
$1,470
Platform Fee
$228
Bookabach
8% host fees + ~10% guest fee
Booking total $1,470
Host fee (8%) −$118
Guest fee (~10%) +$147
Host Receives
$1,352
Guest Pays
$1,617
Platform Fee
$265
You Keep It All
Hostu
$0 commission · 1.5% secure booking fee
Booking total $1,470
Host fee $0
Secure booking fee (1.5%) +$22
Host Receives
$1,470
Guest Pays
$1,492
Platform Fee
$22

On a single 3-night stay, Airbnb takes $228. Booking.com takes $228. Bookabach takes $265.
On Hostu, the platform takes $0 commission.

*Airbnb calculation based on the mandatory 15.5% Simplified Pricing model for professional hosts. Costs for other platforms reflect standard 2026 commission rates for New Zealand holiday homes.

Run Your Holiday Home Business
from a Single Dashboard.

Booking management, financial information, and guest communication at your fingertips.

Join Hostu

Pricing

Hostu is a subscription-based service. For a low annual membership of $199+GST, you get access to all our services, including unlimited bookings, availability calendar and automated email follow-ups. No hidden fees and no commission.

💡
The annual subscription is less than the commission on most single Airbnb stays. Subscription not due until you send your first quote.

FAQ

See FAQ on our plans to grow Hostu, trust and payments and how to streamline your holiday home business.

FAQ

Built by a Host and a Guest.

Andy

Whangarei Heads

Andy

I live at Whangarei Heads on a lifestyle property. In 2025 we renovated a cottage on the property for family, guests and to rent out on Airbnb. I was surprised by the high commissions Airbnb and the other global platforms charged on every stay. It would be much fairer to charge a single annual subscription. I pitched the idea to Julian, and Hostu is the result.

andy@hostu.co.nz

Julian

Plimmerton

Julian

I live in Plimmerton with my partner and daughter. As an active family keen on mountain biking and tramping, we always choose holiday homes over hotels. Talking to friends who rent out holiday homes, I realised the biggest barrier was that US platforms own all the ‘eyeballs,’ trapping hosts in 15.5% commissions. We built Hostu to focus on what the big guys ignore: building and marketing to your repeat business through a proactive, low-cost system.

julian@hostu.co.nz

You pay the mortgage.
You make the beds.
Stop paying 15.5% commission.

Join Hostu