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What does it cost to rent out your holiday flat through the tourist office?

How does a tourist office arrange holiday flat bookings?

Many Swiss destinations run their own booking system. feratel Deskline and TOMAS, now Holidu Smart Destination, are widely used. Your flat appears on the destination's website and on partner portals. You manage your calendar and prices in the destination's WebClient. Guest registration forms and tourist tax are often handled there too.

What does it cost, for example in Lenzerheide?

Prices are rarely published. Lenzerheide Marketing und Support AG has published its agreement for individual hosts, as at March 2024:

Terms for individual hosts in Lenzerheide (as at 03/2024) and Graubünden Ferien for Booking.com (as at 03/2025)
ItemAmountBasis
Commission for standard channels (destination website, Graubünden Ferien, fewo.myswitzerland and others)10% plus VATGross base price, excluding additional costs
Commission for additional channels via Interhome (including Booking.com, Airbnb, HomeToGo, e-domizil)20%Rental price
Listing feeCHF 150 for the first property, CHF 50 for each additional oneone-off
Annual feeCHF 50per property
Administration fee for a double bookingCHF 100per case
Graubünden Ferien: connection to Booking.comCHF 290 one-off, CHF 95 with an existing accountthen 12% commission, 1.6% with Booking.com collecting payment

How much do you keep in CHF?

Example: 4 nights at CHF 180 plus CHF 120 for cleaning comes to CHF 840. In Lenzerheide, commission applies only to the CHF 720 rent, not the cleaning fee.

Example calculation, host not VAT-registered, VAT at 8.1% on the commission
ChannelCosts for CHF 840You keepAnnual costs (110 nights)
Lenzerheide standard channels, 10% + VAT on the rentCHF 77.83CHF 762.17CHF 2'140 + CHF 50 annual fee
Lenzerheide additional channels, 20% + VAT on the rentCHF 155.66CHF 684.34CHF 4'281
Graubünden Ferien to Booking.com, 12% + 1.6%CHF 114.24CHF 725.76CHF 3'142
For comparison: Airbnb since 13 October 2026CHF 140.75CHF 699.25CHF 3'871

The overview does not explicitly say whether VAT is added to the 20%. We include it to be on the safe side. The destination's standard channels are therefore the cheapest way to get bookings through an intermediary. But they have less reach than Airbnb or Booking.com.

How do payment, tourist tax and guest registration forms work?

  • Payment: In Lenzerheide, the destination collects payments and handles cancellations. Elsewhere, the guest pays you directly. Ask how it works in your area.
  • Tourist tax and guest registration forms: In many feratel destinations, you record guest registration forms in the WebClient. In Burgdorf, for example, the city settles the tourist tax through it quarterly.
  • Cancellations: The destination's terms and conditions or your own listed terms apply.
  • On-site service: You organise the keys and cleaning yourself. The destination only arranges the booking.

Find out more about the requirements and systems in each canton under guest registration form and tourist tax.

Is it worth using the tourist office as well as Airbnb?

In this example, each booking through Lenzerheide's standard channels costs CHF 62.92 less than the same booking through Airbnb (CHF 77.83 instead of CHF 140.75). You recoup the CHF 150 listing fee and CHF 50 annual fee after around four bookings in the first year, and after one booking from the second year onwards. The drawback is having a second calendar. If you don't keep it up to date, each double booking in Lenzerheide costs you CHF 100.

What are the pros and cons of using the tourist office?

Pros and cons for Swiss hosts
ProsCons
Cheapest bookings through an intermediary, from 10%You have to manage a second calendar in the WebClient
A Swiss point of contact, good for domestic and returning guestsTerms vary by location and are rarely published
Guest registration forms and tourist tax are sometimes integratedLess reach than Airbnb and Booking.com
A way to get onto Booking.com without your own extranetFee for double bookings, around CHF 100 in Lenzerheide

What tips can help when dealing with the tourist office?

  1. Ask your tourism organisation for the current terms in writing. The Lenzerheide figures are from 2024.
  2. Ask which channels are included in the standard package and which cost extra.
  3. Check whether you can connect your calendar via iCal or an interface to avoid double bookings.
  4. Ask whether guest registration forms and tourist tax must go through the WebClient or whether you can handle them another way.
  5. List cleaning as an additional cost if commission only applies to the base price.

Stovita counts your nights across all channels, provides an online guest registration form without an ID image and prepares the tourist tax statement. Connect your calendar using a calendar link. Registration is free.

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Frequently asked questions

What commission does a tourist office charge for holiday flats?

It varies by location. As at 2024, Lenzerheide charges 10% plus VAT on the base price, excluding additional costs, for standard channels and 20% for additional channels via Interhome.

What is feratel Deskline?

A booking and guest registration system used by many Swiss destinations. Hosts manage calendars and prices in it, and often guest registration forms too, via what's called the WebClient.

Can I get onto Booking.com through the tourist office?

Yes, in Graubünden, for example. Graubünden Ferien connects your flat for a one-off CHF 290, or CHF 95 if you already have an account. After that, a 12% commission applies.

Sources

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