Thinking of Hosting on Airbnb in Hong Kong? The HK$235 Referral, Licences and Fees: 10 Things to Know First

This is Airbnb's referral scheme for first-time hosts, not a booking discount. You come in through the referral link, create your listing in the same go, and publish a whole home, an experience or a service as its owner for the first time; once your first qualifying booking completes within 180 days, Airbnb pays you a bit extra. On 24 October 2026 the referral page on Airbnb's Hong Kong site said that completing a first qualifying booking within 180 days earns an extra HK$235, expiring 23 December 2026. Airbnb sets the amount by location, so whatever shows on your screen is what you get.

Full disclosure: airbnb.com.hk/rp/getquids is our own referral link, and the page shows us as the referrer. When your first qualifying booking completes, Airbnb pays us a referral reward too; the page also says that once you create a listing, its details are shared with the referrer.

The Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349) says anywhere that charges people to stay needs a licence from the Home Affairs Department's Office of the Licensing Authority, unless every stay is at least 28 consecutive days. In other words, putting a whole flat on Airbnb for a few nights at a time needs a licence.

Since the 2020 amendments, the top fine for running without a licence has gone up from HK$200,000 to HK$500,000, and prison time from two years to three; owners and tenants are both strictly liable, and a second conviction for the same place within 16 months lets the court close it for six months. Applying for a licence needs a solicitor's letter showing the deed of mutual covenant or Government lease doesn't ban hotel, commercial or non-residential use, so most residential flats realistically can't get one.

One, sell a service: photography, private chef, make-up and the like need no property, have nothing to do with the guesthouse law, and services count for the referral in Hong Kong. Airbnb wants relevant experience, training or achievements, a portfolio for things like photography and catering (photographers need at least 15 photos), and a declaration that you hold any licences and insurance you need; Airbnb decides whether you go live.

Two, take 28 nights or more only: set a whole flat's minimum stay to 28 nights and you stay inside the law's exemption, and whole homes count for the referral; the building, landlord and bank still get a say. Three, run a licensed place: premises with a hotel or holiday flat licence can take short bookings as normal, but that's not something an ordinary flat owner sorts out overnight.

Airbnb's list from 9 September 2026 covers whole homes and services everywhere in Hong Kong; experiences aren't on the Hong Kong list, so hosting one here earns no referral reward. Private rooms, shared rooms and hotel rooms never count; nor do listings you've switched off and put back up, or ones connected through property management software, unless Airbnb says otherwise.

If you've hosted before as a listing owner, you're not a new host; if you've only ever been a guest, you're fine. Each host can use just one referral link, and Airbnb goes with the first one you used to create the listing.

Your first booking needs to be at least US$100 for a home or US$50 for a service, or the local equivalent; at the European Central Bank rate on 23 October 2026 (US$1 = HK$7.844), that's roughly HK$784 and HK$392. On home bookings, pet and extra-guest fees count but taxes and Airbnb's fees don't; service bookings are measured before taxes and fees.

The booking has to be accepted, paid through Airbnb, never cancelled and completed within 180 days of the day you hit create-listing through the link. Bookings from family or friends don't count, and nor does a listing at your referrer's address. The reward lands within 30 days of the booking completing, in your payout method's currency, though Airbnb can pay it as travel credit instead: good for a year, up to 15% off a booking, no cashing out. Doing a 28-night stay? Make sure it finishes within the 180 days.

Listing costs nothing; Airbnb takes a cut when you get booked. It's moving every home host onto a single host-only fee, taken straight out of your payout: 15.5% for most hosts, usually 14% to 16% for the rest; hosts on property management software already have to use it. The old split fee (about 3% for the host, 14.1% to 16.5% for the guest) is being phased out, and once you switch there's no going back.

Services pay 15%, with a US$6 minimum; experiences pay 20%. Guests compare the price you set, so the fee is really all on you: build it into your price from day one.

A service: say you shoot a one-hour portrait session for HK$1,200. Airbnb takes 15%, or HK$180, so you get HK$1,020, and the HK$235 referral reward takes your first booking to HK$1,255. Photography payouts land eight days after the shoot; other services pay out the day after.

A long stay: say a whole flat goes for 30 nights at HK$15,000. The 15.5% fee is HK$2,325, so you get HK$12,675, plus HK$235 for HK$12,910. As a new host, your first long-stay payout comes 28 days after check-in, then monthly after that. Either way, the reward is only a small slice of that first booking.

For stays: until you've got two completed stays under your belt, your first two payouts arrive by the end of the business day after the guest checks out; after that, most stays of 27 nights or fewer pay out the business day after check-in. For 28 nights or more, the first month usually pays the business day after check-in, or 28 days after check-in for new hosts, then monthly. Airbnb can hold any payout for review for up to 45 days after check-in.

The AirCover for Hosts page lists up to US$3m damage protection and US$1m liability insurance, but Airbnb itself says it doesn't replace your own home insurance, and claims have exclusions. Check with your insurer whether your current policy covers a flat with guests in it.

Rental income means property tax: 15% of the net assessable value, which is the rent minus any rates you pay, minus a flat 20% allowance for repairs and outgoings; if you don't pay the rates, it works out at about 12% of the rent. Run a service as a business and it's profits tax instead.

If your deed of mutual covenant or Government lease says private residential use only, get a solicitor to check before you take even long stays; a mortgaged flat needs the bank's OK before you let it, and a rented one needs the landlord's written consent. Airbnb's own Hong Kong hosting guidance warns that leases, contracts and building rules can ban subletting or hosting.

On 24 October 2026 the Airbnb app scored 4.6 on the Hong Kong App Store (12,567 ratings) and 4.5 on Google Play in Hong Kong (1.98 million reviews worldwide). Guests and hosts are rated together.

Hosts grumble most about: the 15.5% fee guests don't see when they compare prices; the new house-rules policy from 20 November 2026, which stops hosts asking guests to strip beds, take rubbish away or wash up, and bans fines; reviews that feel like payback from guests; and how hard it is to reach support during a dispute.

Go for it if you've got a professional skill you can sell on Airbnb, like photography or private dining; if you own a whole flat, are happy to take 28 nights or more only, and have the building, landlord and bank on side; or if you already hold a hotel or holiday flat licence.

Give it a miss if you'd let a flat for a few nights without a licence (the penalties dwarf anything you'd earn); if you only want to let a room in your own home (private rooms don't earn the reward); if you want to host experiences in Hong Kong; or if you've hosted on Airbnb before.