Fees and Taxes

Fees and taxes are the charges added on top of the nightly accommodation rate. You define your standard fees and taxes once for the whole company, adjust them per property where needed, and add fees that only one property charges.

Overview

There are three places a fee or tax can come from:

1. Company templates -- Default fees and taxes for all your properties, managed on the Taxes & Fees page.
2. Property overrides -- Per-property changes to a company template: a different amount or percentage, or switching it off for that property.
3. Property-specific fees -- Mandatory fees that exist on one property only, optionally charged only when the party reaches a minimum number of guests.

So you configure your standard cleaning fee once, only create overrides for properties that differ, and use property-specific fees for charges no other property has.

Optional extras that the guest chooses (baby gear, an extra bed) are not fees. Set those up as Add-ons.

Fee Calculation Types

Each company fee template has a calculation type. Guest counts use adults plus children.

Calculation	How it is charged	Example
Flat per stay	A fixed amount, once per booking	$250 cleaning fee
Per night	Amount x nights	$15/night resort fee
Per person (per stay)	Amount x guests	$25/person welcome pack
Per person per night	Amount x guests x nights	$10/person/night linen service
Per week	Amount x weeks, where any part week counts as a full week	$50/week pool service
Percentage	A percentage of the accommodation subtotal, after length-of-stay and last-minute discounts	10% service fee

Percentage fees never compound. Two percentage fees are each worked out on the same accommodation subtotal.

Common Fee Examples

Fee	Typical Type	Typical Amount
Cleaning Fee	Flat per stay	$150 -- $400 (depends on property size)
Service Fee	Percentage	8 -- 12%
Pool Heating	Per night	$25 -- $75
Early Check-in	Flat per stay	$50 -- $100

Configuring Company Fee Templates

Open Taxes & Fees from the sidebar ("Configure company-wide taxes and fees that apply to all properties"). The page has two tabs, Fees and Taxes, each with its count.

1. On the Fees tab, click Add Fee.
2. Choose the Fee Type. It cannot be changed after the fee is created.
3. Enter a Display Name (e.g., "Standard Cleaning Fee").
4. Choose the Calculation Type.
5. Enter the Default Amount (or Default Percentage for a percentage fee) and the Currency.
6. Tick Mandatory fee ("This fee is required for all bookings") to charge it on every booking.
7. Tick Taxable ("Apply taxes to this fee") if taxes should be charged on it.
8. Leave Active ticked.
9. Click Create Fee.

Only mandatory fees are added to bookings automatically. A template without Mandatory fee ticked is never added to a quote or a booking. For an extra the guest chooses, use an Add-on. For a fee that only applies above a guest count, use a property-specific fee.

Each company can have one template per fee type. The fee types are predefined categories (cleaning, service, amenity, utility, and so on).

Configuring Company Tax Templates

Tax templates define percentage-based taxes. On the Taxes & Fees page:

1. Open the Taxes tab and click Add Tax.
2. Choose the Tax Type and enter a Display Name (e.g., "IVA"). The tax type cannot be changed later.
3. Enter the Tax Rate (%) (e.g., 13).
4. Under Applies To, tick one or both:
   • Nightly Rates -- "Apply this tax to the nightly rate subtotal."
   • Taxable Fees -- "Apply this tax to fees marked as taxable."
5. Tick Included in prices only if your nightly rates and fees already contain this tax. See Tax Configuration.
6. Leave Active ticked.
7. Click Create Tax.

A tax with Taxable Fees ticked is charged on every taxable fee, every taxable property-specific fee, and every taxable add-on. It is never charged on the card or bank processing fee.

Property Overrides

Not every property has the same cleaning fee or tax situation. Open a property and select the Pricing tab. The Fees and Taxes cards list every company template ("This property inherits company-wide fee and tax templates. Use the toggles below to disable specific fees/taxes or override their amounts for this property only."). Each card title counts how many are switched on, for example Fees (2 of 3 enabled).

For each company fee you can:

• Override the amount -- e.g., a $350 cleaning fee instead of the company default $250.
• Disable the fee -- switch it off for this property, e.g., no pool heating fee for a property without a pool.

For each company tax you can override the percentage or disable the tax.

If no override exists, the property uses the company template. The Fees and Taxes cards appear on single-unit properties.

Property-Specific Fees

Some mandatory fees belong to a single property, or only apply to larger groups, for example a damage waiver on one villa, or a chef's-assistant fee charged only when there are 8 or more guests. Company templates cannot express these, so each property has its own Property-specific fees card on its Pricing tab ("Mandatory per-property fees charged on every booking, like a resort or amenity fee. Property fees are commissionable and can be taxable.").

Adding a property-specific fee

1. Open the property's Pricing tab and scroll to Property-specific fees.
2. Click Add fee.
3. Fill in the form:

Field	What it does
Name	The line label the guest sees on their quote, portal breakdown, and receipt. Must be unique on this property.
Amount	A flat amount charged once per stay.
Currency	Use the currency the property's bookings are priced in. The amount is added as entered and is never converted.
Fee type	The category of fee. Cleaning and credit-card fee types are not offered here, because a property-specific fee is always shared with the owner under your commission (see below).
Minimum guests	"Leave blank to always apply; set to N to charge only for N or more guests." Guests means adults plus children.
Sort order	"Lower numbers appear first."
Taxable	"Apply taxes to this fee." Ticked by default.
Active	"Include this fee in guest quotes."

4. Click Create fee.

A fee with a minimum shows "Charged for {n}+ guests" in the list.

How the guest-count threshold works

When a quote or booking is priced, each active property-specific fee is checked against the party size:

Minimum guests	Party of 6	Party of 8	Party of 10
(blank)	Charged	Charged	Charged
8	Not charged	Charged	Charged

Where a price is shown without a guest count, such as a date-grid price on an availability calendar, only fees with no minimum are included.

Avoid charging twice

Property-specific fees are added on top of your company fees, never instead of them. If a company fee already covers the same charge for this property, the guest pays both. Switch the company fee off for this property in the Fees card first.

Commission on Fees

How a fee is shared between you and the owner depends on its type:

Charge	Owner statement treatment
Service, pet, damage waiver, and other general fees, including every property-specific fee	Commissionable: added to the commission base, owner receives the rest
Cleaning fee	Passed through to the owner in full, no commission
Add-ons	Commissionable
Card / bank processing fee	Not shared with the owner (see below)
Taxes (IVA)	Passed through to the owner, who remits them. Never part of the commission base

How Fees Appear in Bookings

When a booking is quoted or created, the price is built in this order:

1. Accommodation -- Nightly rates for the stay, minus any length-of-stay or last-minute discount.
2. Fees -- Every active mandatory company fee (after property overrides), plus every property-specific fee that applies to the party size.
3. Add-ons -- Any add-ons the guest chose.
4. Taxes -- Each tax is charged on the accommodation (if Nightly Rates is ticked) plus all taxable fees and taxable add-ons (if Taxable Fees is ticked).
5. Booking total -- Accommodation + fees + add-ons + taxes. A tax included in your prices is already inside the amounts and is not added.

Example: a 7-night stay at $300/night for 4 guests, with a 13% IVA that applies to nightly rates and taxable fees:

Line Item	Calculation	Amount
Accommodation	7 nights x $300	$2,100.00
Cleaning Fee	Flat per stay, taxable	$250.00
Service Fee	10% of accommodation, not taxable	$210.00
IVA (13%)	13% x ($2,100 accommodation + $250 taxable cleaning)	$305.50
Total		$2,865.50

The service fee is not taxable, so it is left out of the IVA calculation.

On a direct booking, each fee appears as its own labelled line in the booking's Price Breakdown card and on the guest's receipt. Fees added automatically this way are managed by the system. If the booking is re-priced, they are recalculated.

Payment Processing Fees

A card or bank-transfer processing fee is not part of the booking total. It depends on how the guest pays, so it is set on each payment method under Settings › Payments (Processing Fee: No fee, Flat fee, or Percentage, with a label such as "Wire transfer fee").

• The fee is charged per payment, on the amount being paid at that moment, by the method used for that payment. A card deposit carries the card fee. A later balance paid by wire carries the wire fee (often none).
• A percentage fee is worked out on each installment separately. Because each installment is rounded on its own, the total can differ by a cent or two from the percentage of the whole booking.
• Processing fees are never taxed and are not included in the owner's share or the commission base.
• On a booking's Price Breakdown card, the Guest pays section lists each payment method that adds a fee, with the total the guest pays that way, fee included. On the New Booking form, Guest pays by lists every available method so you can agree one with the guest.

Costa Rica Tax Compliance

If you manage properties in Costa Rica, the following tax structure is typical:

Tax	Rate	Applies To	Notes
IVA (Sales Tax)	13%	Accommodation + taxable fees	Costa Rica's value-added tax
Tourism Tax	3%	Accommodation only	Collected by lodging operators

Important considerations:

• Configure IVA with both Nightly Rates and Taxable Fees ticked, and mark each fee, property-specific fee, and add-on that carries IVA as Taxable.
• A tourism tax on accommodation only should have Nightly Rates ticked and Taxable Fees unticked.
• Tax obligations can vary by property type, location, and annual revenue. Consult a local tax advisor for your specific situation.
• OTA channels may collect and remit taxes on your behalf in some jurisdictions. Verify your channel's tax handling to avoid double-charging guests.

Fees, Taxes and OTA Channels

With the standard channel connection, fees and taxes are not sent to Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, or other OTAs. Each OTA keeps its own fee and tax setup, so configure your cleaning fee and taxes in each OTA's own extranet or host settings. What you set in Argonautas is used for direct bookings, quotes, the guest portal, receipts, invoices, and owner statements.

Key Concepts

• Company Fee Template -- A default fee shared across all properties: fee type, calculation, default amount, mandatory, taxable.
• Company Tax Template -- A default tax: a percentage and whether it applies to nightly rates, taxable fees, or both.
• Property Override -- A per-property change to a company fee or tax: a different amount or percentage, or switched off.
• Property-Specific Fee -- A mandatory flat per-stay fee that exists on one property only, optionally charged only from a minimum number of guests.
• Minimum Guests -- The party size (adults + children) from which a property-specific fee is charged. Blank means always.
• Taxable -- A fee or add-on that taxes with Taxable Fees ticked are charged on.
• Processing Fee -- The card or bank fee set on a payment method, charged per payment and outside the booking total.

Common Questions

Can I add a fee that only applies to certain bookings? Yes, in two ways. For a fee that depends on group size, add a property-specific fee with a Minimum guests. For an extra the guest decides on, use an add-on. Company fee templates that are not marked Mandatory fee are never added to bookings.

What if I need a fee type that is not in the list? The fee type list covers the most common categories. If you need a custom fee type, contact support.

I added a property-specific fee and the guest is being charged twice. A company fee for the same thing still reaches this property. Switch it off for this property in the Fees card on the Pricing tab.

Can I set different tax rates for different seasons? No. Tax rates are set at the company or property level, not per season. If your obligations change, update the tax template or override.

Why doesn't the processing fee show in the booking total? It depends on how the guest pays, so it is added at payment time. The booking's Guest pays section shows the total for each payment method that adds a fee.

Are taxes included in the nightly rate shown on OTAs? This depends on the OTA's display policy. The rates you set in Argonautas are before tax, unless your tax is included in your prices. Tax setup for each OTA is done in that OTA.

Related

• Add-ons -- Optional extras guests can choose, priced per stay, night, or week.
• Pricing a Villa -- The Pricing tab, where overrides, property-specific fees, and add-ons live.
• Pricing Guide -- Full overview of the layered rate system and booking price calculations.
• Taxes -- Tax configuration in more depth.
• Payments & Billing -- How guests see fees, taxes, and processing fees when they pay.