Comparing Budapest Airbnb Co-hosts

12 active co-hosting companies compete for Airbnb property owners in Budapest. Together they manage over 1,170 properties, and every one of them promises to maximize your revenue. But what do you actually get? In this article, we present the results of market research covering 43 service categories, 52 cost calculations, and 4 occupancy scenarios — no sugarcoating.

1. The true face of the market: opacity everywhere

The first and most important finding: Budapest's co-hosting market pricing is severely opaque.

• Half of the companies (6/12) don't publish their prices publicly at all. d.Five Apartments, Empire Real Estate, SuperHosters, Rbnb Management, Maniv Budapest, and Homerun Hungary all use a "request a quote" strategy.
• 92% (11/12) of companies that share pricing don't clarify what their percentage is based on. "20% commission" — but 20% of what? Gross booking value? Net after platform fees? Net payout after cleaning? This can mean a 15-20% cost difference.
• 75% (9/12) of companies don't disclose whether VAT is included. That's a 27% uncertainty — on a HUF 160,000 base fee, that's an extra HUF 43,200 per month.

Why is this a problem? Because when you sign the contract, that "attractive 20%" may suddenly turn out to be 25.4%. There's a word for this: hidden costs.

2. What does it actually cost? – The truth about Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

For a real comparison, looking at the commission percentage alone isn't enough. You need to calculate total monthly cost (TCO): commission + VAT + cleaning costs + hidden fees. Based on a property generating HUF 800,000 monthly net revenue at 70% occupancy with 7 bookings per month:

The difference between best and worst case: HUF 165,000 per month — nearly HUF 2 million per year. Choose the wrong company, and that's how much less stays in your pocket. Worth noting: Empire Real Estate's worst-case estimate could take more than half your revenue.

3. Deep-dive by company – what's behind the marketing copy

BP Residence – The biggest, but not the cheapest

Budapest's largest co-hosting company with 500+ properties and a 48-person team. Three packages: Basic (fixed HUF 20,000/mo — digital only), Full Service (18%), Gold (20%). Looks attractive at first, but there's a serious catch: prices are quoted WITHOUT VAT. Full Service 18% is actually 22.9% with VAT, Gold 20% is actually 25.4%. Their District VI headquarters is also entering an STR-ban zone from 2026.

The "from" label on pricing raises further questions: do you actually pay 18%, or does "from 18%" only apply to clients with larger portfolios?

Homerun Hungary / ISS Budapest – 20-30%: where's the line?

Operating since 2010, Homerun is one of the market's oldest players, but the 20-30% commission band is remarkably wide. From HUF 800,000 in revenue, they could charge anywhere from HUF 160,000 to HUF 240,000 — you only find out the exact percentage when you request a quote. The definition of "income generated" is also unclear. The "no hidden fees" claim cannot be verified, as independent reviews are virtually non-existent.

Host My Home – Most transparent, but limited

Host My Home is the only company that clearly communicates VAT-inclusive pricing: 20%, everything included. This results in the lowest confirmed TCO (HUF 265,000/mo) in the base scenario. They manage just 50 properties, promising more personalized attention.

The weak spot: primarily Airbnb-focused, multi-platform presence (Booking.com, Vrbo) is unclear. If platform diversification matters to you, this may be a limitation.

Cohost4Budapest – Strong compliance, but VAT question mark

Trilingual team (Spanish, English, Hungarian), strong NTAK/IFA/TFH compliance focus, Gold (20%) and Premium (25%) packages. Their Budapest-specific regulatory knowledge is outstanding.

The problem: VAT treatment isn't disclosed. If prices are VAT-exclusive, Gold 20% is actually ~25.4%, and Premium 25% is ~31.75%. In the latter case, from your HUF 800,000 revenue, they'd take HUF 254,000 — not exactly a "gold" deal.

d.Five Apartments – 70+ properties, zero transparency

d.Five manages 70+ properties, but shares zero pricing information publicly. What IS publicly available: guest reviews reporting slow response times, communication issues, and a 9-hour wait for a towel change. If that's how they treat your guests, your Superhost status won't last long.

AirbnbHost Budapest / HNR Smart Invest – 90% occupancy?

The only company that specifies their pricing basis: "net room rate revenue." The 90%+ occupancy promise sounds impressive, but this is above the Budapest market average (77%) and cannot be independently verified. The difference between Standard 20% and Premium 25% packages (linens, luxury amenities) also reveals Standard's shortcomings: you pay an extra 5% for these "basics."

It's worth noting that using "Airbnb" in the company name carries trademark infringement risk — Airbnb could demand the name be changed at any time.

BudBed – Transparent, but expensive

BudBed's All-Inclusive package is 20% of turnover + VAT. 6,500+ guest reviews and Superhost status provide convincing references. Full service, check-in/out photo documentation — a professional approach.

However: 20% + 27% VAT = 25.4% effective rate. From HUF 800,000 in revenue, that's HUF 203,200 commission plus HUF 105,000 cleaning = HUF 308,200 TCO. For the same percentage (20%), Host My Home is HUF 43,200 cheaper — solely due to transparent VAT treatment. BudBed's "turnover" wording also doesn't clarify whether it refers to gross or net amounts.

Empire Real Estate – The "black box"

With 200+ properties, they're the market's second-largest player, but zero pricing information is publicly available. Wix-based website that's almost impossible to extract content from. They promise a proprietary owner app, but no independent reviews exist. Estimated TCO HUF 329,000–430,000/mo — worst case, 54% of your revenue goes to costs. The "20+ years of global experience" claim remains unsourced.

SuperHosters – A name, but what's behind it?

The name is promising, but no pricing, portfolio size, or track record is available. Wix-based website, no reviews found. The fact that they're the only ones to explicitly mention the 90-day rule is commendable — but the lack of transparency overshadows everything. Risk profile: high.

Rbnb Management – Performance questions

They manage 39 properties, pricing undisclosed. What IS available (Airbtics data): 65% occupancy — versus the 77% market average — and a $68 average daily rate (ADR), below the market's $85-95. If the co-hosting company underperforms the market, why pay them?

Maniv Budapest / BQA – Integrated model, integrated risk

Maniv manages 120+ STRs and 350+ long-term rentals with integrated services: lawyers, accountants, architects, renovation contractors. An investor's dream — but potential conflicts of interest arise when the same company sells, renovates, and manages the property. Pricing is completely hidden.

hostAID – Different approach, different risk

hostAID isn't a classic co-host: it's an à la carte model where you buy each service separately (cleaning: HUF 2,500/m²). Useful for experienced hosts, but the estimated full package cost is ~28% — more expensive than most commission-based models. Coordination remains on the owner.

4. Service gaps – what you don't expect

Some services are universal (listings, guest communication, cleaning coordination). But there are critical areas with surprisingly large gaps:

Only 1 out of 12 companies (SuperHosters) explicitly mentions 90-day rule tracking. In 2026, amid tightening regulations, this is unacceptable. NTAK/VIZA compliance is only offered by 58% of companies — despite being a legal obligation.

5. The four market clusters – which one is your co-host in?

Cluster 1: Volume players

BP Residence (500+), BudBed (60), Cohost4Budapest. Large portfolios, multi-tier pricing, AI-based dynamic pricing. Risk: impersonal service, your property is one of hundreds.

Cluster 2: Boutique full-service

Host My Home (50), Cohost4Budapest, AirbnbHost Budapest. Medium portfolios, more personalized attention. Risk: limited scalability, platform coverage gaps.

Cluster 3: Premium/enterprise

Homerun/ISS, Empire (200+), Maniv/BQA (470). Long track records, integrated services. Risk: poor transparency — Empire and Maniv have 0% pricing transparency.

Cluster 4: Stealth operators

d.Five (70+), Rbnb (39), SuperHosters, hostAID. No public pricing, Wix-based websites. Risk: you don't know what you're getting into until you sign the contract.

6. The VAT crisis – the biggest hidden cost

VAT treatment is the most critical, least communicated issue in Budapest's co-hosting market:

• Host My Home: VAT inclusive — what you see is what you pay. ✓
• BP Residence: + VAT — 18% is actually 22.9%. ✗
• BudBed: + VAT — 20% is actually 25.4%. ✗
• Everyone else (9 companies): Unknown. That's HUF 43,200/mo risk on a HUF 160,000 fee.

Concrete example: Host My Home 20% (VAT-inclusive) = HUF 160,000/mo. BudBed 20% (+ VAT) = HUF 203,200/mo. Same percentage, HUF 43,200 difference — HUF 518,400 per year. Just because one company is more honest.

7. What to watch before signing – 5 questions you must ask

1. "Does your percentage apply to gross booking value, net after platform fees, or my payout basis?" — 11 out of 12 companies don't answer this voluntarily.
2. "Are prices VAT-inclusive or VAT-exclusive?" — 9 out of 12 companies don't disclose.
3. "Is there a minimum contract term? What are the termination conditions?" — 0 (!) out of 12 companies publish their contract terms publicly.
4. "Who pays for cleaning, and what's the markup?" — Cleaning markups can be 10-30%, which is HUF 150,000-500,000 per year in hidden costs.
5. "How do you handle NTAK/VIZA reporting obligations and tourism tax (IFA)?" — If there's no clear answer, the regulatory risk stays with you.

8. What's the takeaway?

Budapest's co-hosting market is in a transparency crisis. Half the companies don't publish their prices, three-quarters don't say whether VAT is included, and none of them publish their contract terms. For property owners, this means: you're signing blind, and you only find out what you actually pay afterward.

DavidBnB was created precisely to change this. Fixed, VAT-inclusive pricing. No hidden fees. No percentage games. Every cost is predictable, every service — from NTAK/VIZA reporting to IFA management to dynamic pricing — is included. Because we believe property owners have the right to know what they're paying before they sign the contract.