Declaring if you're an individual or professional Airbnb Host

To comply with EU consumer protection law, Airbnb is required to ask Hosts to self-declare themselves as either an individual or professional Host. Your status will be shown in search and on your listing to guests in the European Economic Area (EEA). This information also helps us to provide you with the right features for how you host.

Determining your status as a individual or professional Host

Airbnb is not able or required to determine your status as a Host. If you’re unsure about your status as a Host, we recommend seeking advice from a lawyer or other legal advisor.

Individual Host

You’re typically a private individual if hosting on Airbnb isn’t your primary profession or source of income (ex: when your hosting on Airbnb is only a side activity, or your accommodation is only listed occasionally on Airbnb).

Professional Host

Other factors may be taken into account to determine that you are operating as a professional Host, but you’re typically a professional if:

• Hosting on Airbnb is your primary profession or source of income, or if you’re part of an established business, like a boutique hotel or property management company
• You offer accommodations as a company or sole proprietor in the offline world, then your hosting activities on Airbnb will most likely also constitute a business activity
• You regularly host on Airbnb over a longer period of time in order to make a profit
• The number of accommodations and/or Experiences you offer on Airbnb and the number and frequency of bookings you receive may also be an indicator for a professional activity on Airbnb

How to declare your status as a Host

As a Host you'll be prompted either during the listing creation process or at a later stage to declare yourself as either a professional or individual Host. You only need to declare your status once. If your circumstances change and you need to update your status, you can access your Host status in your Account details. If you're unable to make further edits, please contact us.

Additional requirements for professional Hosts within the EEA

The following information applies to professional Hosts with their place of residence or establishment within the European Economic Area (EEA).

Providing information about your business

If you’re a professional Host, consumer protection law requires you to provide potential guests with certain information about your business in a clear and comprehensible manner before a booking takes place. This includes:

• Your identity, such as your trading name
• Your business address (a PO Box is not sufficient)
• Your contact details (such as telephone number and email address)
• A trade registration number (if applicable)
• A VAT number (if applicable)
• If applicable, details of any responsible chamber of commerce
• If applicable, details of any authorization scheme that you are subject to, including the name of the relevant authority

Depending on your circumstances, the information you need to provide may differ. If you’re unsure about your obligations as a professional Host, we recommend seeking advice from a lawyer or other legal advisor

You can add and edit your business details in the business details section of your Airbnb account, which will automatically be displayed on all your listings. Adding or removing your business details does not change your status as an individual or professional Host. 

Providing information about your accommodation and prices

Make sure that you describe your accommodation accurately and completely. Don’t leave out any information that’s relevant for a guest. You also need to ensure that your accommodation price includes all mandatory charges, including taxes such as VAT.

The right of withdrawal

Guests who book accommodations on Airbnb from a professional Host don’t have a 14-day right of withdrawal. According to Art. 16 (l) of the EU Consumer Rights Directive, contracts relating to the provision of travel accommodation are exempted from the right of withdrawal if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance. However, you should inform your guests about the fact that they don’t have a right of withdrawal.

Please note: This does not affect a guest’s rights according to the cancellation policy that you have specified for your listing.