The Indian Airbnb Playbook
The Numbers
All figures verified June 2026.
Tax
- GST on accommodation, per night up to ₹7,500
- 5%, no input tax credit (since 22 September 2025)
- GST on accommodation, per night above ₹7,500
- 18%
- GST registration threshold
- ₹20 lakh turnover (₹10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura)
- TDS under Section 194-O
- 0.1% (since 1 October 2024), 5% if no PAN linked
Ratings and ranking
- Rating floor before you start losing ranking
- 4.8
- Guest Favorites requirement
- 4.9+, minimum 5 reviews over 4 years, zero cancellations
- Guest Favorites share of ranking weight
- roughly 25%
- Instant Book ranking boost
- 15 to 25%
Money
- Realistic first-year occupancy, most Indian markets
- 40 to 60%
- Budget for fees, taxes, maintenance, cleaning and vacancy
- 30 to 40% of gross
- Co-host commission
- 10 to 20%
- Full-service management commission
- 20 to 35%
- Weekend premium over weekday
- 20 to 30%
- Weekly discount
- 15 to 20%
- Monthly discount
- 30 to 40%
Cadence
- Property walkthrough
- every 2 weeks
- Deep clean
- every 2 to 3 weeks
- GST reconciliation
- 15 minutes, monthly
From The Indian Airbnb Playbook, an operator's manual for Indian short-term rental hosts.