Airbnb is transitioning hosts to a new service fee model: instead of the previous structure, under which hosts typically paid about 3% and guests paid a separate service fee, the platform is introducing a single commission for hosts.
Now, most hosts will pay 15.5% of the booking price. Airbnb explains this as a move to make pricing more transparent: guests will see the total cost without a separate service fee on top.
For hosts, this means they’ll need to adjust their prices. If they don’t change their rates, their net payout will decrease. According to Airbnb’s example, for a $100 booking, a host will receive $84.50 after the commission is deducted.
The transition is taking place in phases. For hosts outside the European Economic Area, the deadline for adjusting prices is September 15; for hosts within the EEA, it is October 13.
For the short-term rental market, this will increase pressure on property owners and management companies: they will have to recalculate rates, discounts, and financial models.
Ukraine and Egypt will hold the Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Economic and Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Cairo on December 14 to December 16, the Economy Ministry said on the website, following the meeting of Deputy Economy Minister, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka with Egyptian Ambassador to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal.
“We are currently conducting a study on the possibility of concluding an agreement on a free trade area with Egypt. Ukraine is interested in increasing the supply of agricultural and food products, vehicles, electrical equipment, engineering products,” the ministry’s press service said, citing Kachka.
He said that Egypt occupies a leading position among the countries of Africa and the Arab world in terms of trade with Ukraine. According to the results within the period of January-August 2021, trade between the countries amounted to $1.044 billion, for the entire last year to $1.7 billion.
According to the Ukrainian side, a major project of the Egyptian government, namely the construction of the new capital Vedian is interesting concerning the possibility of participation of Ukrainian business.
Ukraine’s Minister of Regional Development, Building, Housing and Utilities Hennadiy Zubko has set up a commission to select independent members of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian Energy Efficiency Fund. The commission starts work on August 29, according to the ministry.
Six representatives from the European Union, Germany and Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers are on the commission. The members include Head of Operations Section 3 “Economic Cooperation, Energy, Infrastructure and Environment” of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Johannes Baur, Member of the Support Group for Ukraine (SGUA) Krzysztof Gierulski, and Project Manager of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Robert Kuenne.
Deputy Regional Development Minister Eduard Kruhliak, Deputy Finance Minister Yuriy Heletiy and Director of the economic development department of the Cabinet’s Secretariat Valentyna Yashchuk are also members of the commission. According to the Regional Development Ministry’s press service, the Hudson recruiting company will also be hired.
The press release said the commission would determine requirements for candidates and define the list of documents for participating in the competition, as well as the procedure and stages of selection, including criteria for evaluating members of the fund’s supervisory board.
As earlier reported, the Regional Development Ministry had planned to announce the competition in September. Ukrainian associations of apartment building coops may be able to apply for the fund’s energy efficiency programs from 2019.
On July 25, the Regional Development Ministry registered state-run the Ukrainian Energy Efficiency Fund in the United State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations. Yulia Holovatiuk-Ungureanu was appointed acting fund director. On July 26, the Cabinet decided to increase the fund’s charter capital by UAH 1.5 billion, to UAH 1.6 billion, using budget funds.
