In this article, we break down the common operating costs across several Airbnb business models and provide a comprehensive chart of accounts you can use to set up QuickBooks or Xero.
These chart of accounts applies to multiple business types, including property owners, rental arbitrage operators, and co-hosts. If you’re a property manager handling listings on behalf of an owner, some of these costs may be absorbed by the owner rather than your business—but understanding them is still essential for strong financial decision-making.
By knowing these numbers, you’ll be better equipped to negotiate property deals, manage suppliers effectively, and hold your ground with service providers. Staying informed and optimizing these expenses will position you for long-term success.
NOTE: This article focuses solely on cost accounts—not income accounts. For templates covering Airbnb income categories across different business models, see the following articles:
For QuickBooks & Xero following is a list of chart of accounts representing various Airbnb costs for QuickBooks & Xero:
| No. | Account | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 51100 | Airbnb Costs: Airbnb Service Fee | Cost of Service |
| 53000 | Airbnb Costs: Janitorial & Turnover Costs | Cost of Service |
| 53100 | Airbnb Costs: Laundry Cleaning Costs | Cost of Service |
| 53200 | Airbnb Costs: Consumable Supplies | Cost of Service |
| 53300 | Airbnb Costs: Electrical & Gas Utilities | Cost of Service |
| 53400 | Airbnb Costs: Water & Sewage Utilities | Cost of Service |
| 53500 | Airbnb Costs: Cable, Internet & Streaming Services | Cost of Service |
| 62000 | Airbnb Costs: Management Software | Expenses |
| 53600 | Airbnb Costs: Commercial General Liability Insurance | Cost of Service |
| 53700 | Airbnb Costs: Property Management Fees | Cost of Service |
| 53800 | Airbnb Costs: Move-In, Setup, Photography & Listing Costs | Cost of Service |
| 53900 | Airbnb Costs: Small Appliances, Furniture & Fixtures | Cost of Service |
| 54000 | Airbnb Costs: Linens Stock | Cost of Service |
| 54100 | Airbnb Costs: Teardown, Moveout & Storage Costs | Cost of Service |
| 14000 | Large Appliances, Furniture & Equipment Assets | Fixed Assets |
| 62100 | Airbnb Costs: Depreciation on Large Appliances, Furniture & Equipment Assets | Expenses |
| 54200 | Airbnb Costs: Rent Payments for Leases | Cost of Service |
| 54300 | Airbnb Costs: Mortgage Loan Interest | Cost of Service |
| 54400 | Airbnb Costs: Building Depreciation | Cost of Service |
| 54500 | Airbnb Costs: Property Taxes | Cost of Service |
| 54600 | Airbnb Costs: Repairs, Maintenance & Gardening | Cost of Service |
| 54700 | Airbnb Costs: Property Renovations | Cost of Service |
| 54800 | Airbnb Costs: Property Insurance | Cost of Service |
| 54900 | Airbnb Costs: Property Automation, Locks & Security Costs | Cost of Service |
| 55000 | Airbnb Costs: Home Owners Association Costs | Cost of Service |
Here’s how to import the above chart of accounts template. The chart of accounts discussed in this article can be imported into QuickBooks and Xero automatically using Tallybreeze setup tools. Here’s how to access this utility…
NOTE: This article focuses only on cost accounts, not income accounts. To explore templates for different Airbnb business models, refer to the following articles:
This account represents the 3% service fee Airbnb charges hosts for each reservation (or up to 15% in some cases). This fee (often called the “Host Fee”) is a direct cost of acquiring guests through the Airbnb platform.
Tracking this expense helps you understand exactly how much you’re paying Airbnb for each booking. Some hosts also treat guest service fees as a cost of doing business with Airbnb, and if you use Tallybreeze, you can automatically track both host and guest fees with ease.
With accurate data on these fees, you can compare the cost of acquiring guests on Airbnb versus other platforms, and you can more effectively evaluate the value of generating bookings directly through your own website.
It’s also important to note that Airbnb reports gross earnings on the 1099-K, meaning these service fees are not deducted in what they report to the IRS. To avoid overpaying taxes, you must track Airbnb Host Service Fees separately and expense them properly. For more details, see the article: “What You Need to Know About Airbnb’s 1099-K IRS Filings for Hosts.”
In the accommodation business, janitorial and turnover operations are a core part of your success, especially as your operation grows. This account covers the cost of sending staff to clean and prepare each listing between guest stays. You only get one chance to make a strong first impression, and the quality of your turnover process has a direct impact on guest reviews and your long-term brand reputation. At the same time, it’s essential to manage these costs carefully to protect your margins.
Some companies hire 1099 contractors and pay a fixed rate per job, while others employ full-time W-2 staff at hourly wages. Knowing your exact turnover cost per listing and per staff member gives you valuable insight into staffing efficiency and helps you identify which team members are worth keeping and which may be underperforming.
As your business grows, you may also need cleaning supervisors or inspectors to maintain quality. Additionally, if you manage buildings with shared common areas, those cleaning expenses may warrant their own separate account to track them accurately.
Laundry cleaning costs naturally go hand-in-hand with janitorial and turnover operations, as every checkout requires fresh bed linens. While some companies have their janitorial staff handle this task, many others outsource laundry to a third-party laundromat or professional cleaning service.
Whenever possible, it’s best to track laundry cleaning costs separately from general janitorial expenses. Laundry often operates independently from other turnover tasks, and as your operation grows, you may find it more efficient to work with a dedicated laundry provider.
By knowing exactly how much you spend on laundry cleaning, you establish a baseline you can analyze and optimize. This helps you negotiate better rates and determine whether it’s more cost-effective to continue outsourcing or to hire a dedicated staff member to take on the work.
Consumable supplies include all items used or consumed by guests during their stay. This category covers consumable amenities like coffee, tea, and snacks, as well as essentials such as toilet paper, paper towels, and even welcome gift baskets.
While these costs may not be the largest part of your operation, monitoring them closely can help you identify when it makes sense to purchase in bulk, get a wholesale membership, or partner with a dedicated supplier for specific items.
As the name suggests, this category includes your electricity and heating expenses. Tracking these costs helps you anticipate seasonal fluctuations and identify opportunities to optimize your energy usage.
Monitoring utility trends gives you the insight needed to determine whether to invest in energy-efficient appliances, improve insulation, or incorporate smart thermostats and space heaters to reduce long-term operating costs.
Just like electrical and gas utilities, it’s important to monitor your water and sewage costs closely. Tracking these expenses can help you spot unusual spikes, such as those caused by leaks or plumbing issues, before they get out of control.
It happens more often than people think: one month you discover your water bill has jumped to $700, only to find out later that a main line was leaking. If you operate under a rental arbitrage model, this may be a landlord expense that you can formally report. If you’re a property manager, you’ll need to notify the property owner. In any case, monitoring these costs provides early clues that something may require immediate attention.
In the accommodation business, cable and internet are just as essential as any other utility. Use this account to track your cable and internet expenses, as well as any streaming subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Video.
In recent years, many internet service providers have introduced data caps and now charge additional fees for “data overages.” Tracking these costs helps you choose the most suitable data plan for your needs. Also keep in mind that providers often increase prices once a contract expires, so monitoring this account will remind you when it’s time to renegotiate terms.
For any operation larger than a single listing, software quickly becomes essential to managing your business efficiently as you grow. It’s important to track software expenses because there are many providers in the market.. some offering great value, others charging far more than their services are worth.
We’ll cover software options in more detail in a separate article, but here are a few examples: Guesty is excellent for automating guest communication, Turno works well for managing janitorial and turnover operations, and accounting software like QuickBooks used with Tallybreeze, helps you monitor revenue and profitability for each listing as your organization expands.
When you have a mix of short-term guests and long-term occupants, it becomes important to carry commercial general liability insurance to protect yourself against personal injury claims. This type of coverage can also be essential if a guest files a claim related to wrongful or faulty eviction. Tracking your insurance premiums helps you evaluate different brokerages, compare coverage options, and secure better insurance packages as your business grows.
If you hire a third-party property manager or co-host to help run your operations, this account applies to you. Whether they handle guest communication, property maintenance, cleaner coordination, or any aspect of your workflow, you should track this cost carefully.. not only to benchmark the performance of your property manager, but also to evaluate whether this activity makes sense within your overall business model.
This is where the real work begins. These costs, primarily labor, are associated with setting up new listings. Tracking them closely will show you how much upfront effort and expense are required each time you move into and prepare a new property. Unlike many other setup costs, money spent in this category is gone for good because refunds or returns are unlikely, as these expenses usually involve labor or rented equipment.
This account is for smaller purchases that are expensed immediately and are too minor to justify placing on a depreciation schedule. Items such as toasters, microwaves, and other small appliances or furnishings that do not meet the threshold for depreciation fall into this category. Most of these items can be returned to a vendor if they are defective or no longer needed. They can often be reused when moving into another property or sold if you decide to liquidate your business.
Since this is an accommodation business, purchasing linens deserves its own account. Linens can become expensive as your operation grows, and there are many dedicated suppliers to consider as you scale. You will want to know exactly how much you are spending in this category so you can optimize costs and negotiate with competitive suppliers. Keeping a close eye on linen expenses helps you identify better bargains or volume pricing from reliable vendors. Linens will be used, damaged, and worn out over time, so establishing a relationship with a good supplier will ultimately benefit your business.
If you are renting a property and your lease has ended, or you own a property and have sold it, you will eventually need to move your furnishings out. Tracking this cost helps you understand the expenses that arise once a deal has run its course. For example, when negotiating a lease renewal with your landlord, you should have a clear idea of the costs involved if the lease is not renewed. In negotiation terms, this is your “No-Deal” option. Knowing your No-Deal option gives you a solid baseline and helps you determine when it is appropriate to walk away from a deal.
Any large purchases for your business, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, or sofas, are items that hold value over several years. These assets are usually classified as fixed assets, which many tax jurisdictions require to be expensed through a depreciation schedule. You can use this account as an asset bucket to track the value of these purchases over time and ensure they are recorded properly on your books.
Depreciation is a method of spreading the tax deduction for the cost of an asset over its useful lifespan. Use this account to record the depreciation taken from the associated asset account for each reporting period. There are also tax advantages depending on the stage of your business. For example, during your first year, you may not expect to make a profit. Instead of writing off the full cost of a large purchase in that year, you can classify it as a fixed asset and depreciate it over future years. If those future years are profitable, you can deduct the depreciation during those profitable periods and benefit from a more effective tax strategy.
If you are renting a property from a third-party landlord and subleasing it on Airbnb, a business model known as rental arbitrage, rent paid to the landlord becomes a core cost of doing business. It is also likely the largest expense in your operation and will have the greatest impact on your long-term profitability. Staying aware of this cost for each property and mapping it across all locations gives you an advantage when seeking better deals and strengthens your ability to negotiate effectively with landlords.
If you own the property and make mortgage payments, the interest portion of your mortgage is considered a cost of doing business. Although interest is an expense, this business model is centered around building equity in the property. Any payments applied to the principal reduce the mortgage balance and are not technically treated as costs, even though they affect cash flow.
As a side note, the ownership model may include additional items such as closing costs and brokerage fees, which are beyond the scope of this article. For example, if you make the minimum down payment on a property, you may be required to pay private mortgage insurance. It is important to keep these expenses in mind when purchasing a property, along with any other instruments involved in the transaction. You may need to create additional accounts to track those costs accurately.
This is another component of the home-ownership business model. Like any large asset, the building itself may be placed on a depreciation schedule, allowing you to write off a portion of its value each year and benefit from a sizable tax deduction.
If you own the home, you are likely required to pay property taxes to your state or local tax authority, and these payments can be considered a cost of doing business.
Any major or minor electrical, plumbing, or structural maintenance costs, as well as gardening services covered on your behalf, can be categorized under this account. Depending on the property, the housing arrangement, and the complexity of the gardening work, you may want to track gardening expenses separately in their own account.
Any significant improvements made to the property to enhance your Airbnb revenue, such as installing a patio, remodeling a bathroom, or adding a new room, can be classified and written off as a cost of doing business. Depending on the size of the renovation, your tax situation, or accounting preference, you may need to amortize and spread this cost over a specific period of time.
If you own the property, you should purchase an insurance policy to protect the structure itself. You may also choose to purchase additional coverage to protect the furnishings and fixtures inside.
Home automation items such as automatic light dimmers, security devices, smart locks, noise detection equipment, and any ongoing monthly security services can be recorded in this account.
If your property is part of a homeowners association, you are likely required to pay HOA fees as well as any other costs needed to remain in compliance with the association. For example, if a guest parks in the wrong spot on the street, you may be responsible for paying the fine.
Getting your numbers precise is more important than ever. In this article, we have covered an extensive list of costs to consider when building your chart of accounts in QuickBooks or Xero. Tracking these costs will sharpen your decision-making and help you develop stronger intuition in your business. With this level of insight, you will be better equipped to seek and negotiate new property deals, negotiate effectively with suppliers, and stand your ground with service providers.
Understanding these numbers and consistently working to optimize them will set you up for long-term success.
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