What campsite booking sites really cost you
What Pitchup, Hipcamp, Campsites.co.uk, Airbnb and Booking.com charge a UK campsite in 2026, with a worked example against taking bookings direct.
Updated . Figures checked 8 minute read
Once VAT and card fees are counted, the big booking sites take roughly 12% to 17% of each booking they bring you. Pitchup takes 15% including VAT. Hipcamp takes 12.5% plus VAT, plus a card fee. Campsites.co.uk takes 10% plus VAT. Airbnb mostly takes 15.5% from the host. Booking.com and Canopy & Stars don’t publish a rate. A direct booking paid by a standard UK card through Stripe costs 1.5% plus 20p. On a £90 stay, that is £1.55 on each booking, against £10.80 to £14.96 through a booking site. Most owners still use the sites. They bring guests who would never have found you. The trick is to pay commission on new guests, not on people who already know you.
All figures were checked on 23 October 2026. Platforms change their terms, so check your own contract before you rely on any of them.
Pitchup commission in 2026
Pitchup takes 15% of each booking, including VAT. VAT-registered UK sites can reclaim the 2.5% that is VAT, so their cost is 12.5%. There is no listing fee, and guests pay no booking fee. Sources: Pitchup’s join page and Pitchup’s FAQ.
On a £90 stay, that is £13.50. Over 200 bookings a season, it is £2,700, or £2,250 if you reclaim the VAT.
Pitchup takes its commission as the guest’s deposit when they book. You collect the balance yourself, either on arrival or automatically on a due date through its Payup card service. Payup has its own card charges. Pitchup’s owner FAQ says the commission includes 20% VAT, which VAT-registered UK sites can reclaim. Pitchup also requires rate parity, so you can’t sell the same pitch more cheaply direct. There’s more on that under the trade-offs, below.
If you keep your Pitchup listing alongside your own website, link the two so a pitch sold on one can’t be sold on the other. Here’s how PootlrHost syncs with Pitchup.
What each platform charges
| Platform | What the site owner pays | What the guest pays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchup.com | 15% commission, including VAT. VAT-registered UK sites can reclaim 2.5%. No listing fee. | No booking fee. Guest pays a 15% deposit to Pitchup, which is part of the price. | Pitchup join page, Pitchup FAQ |
| Hipcamp (UK) | 12.5% plus VAT, plus Stripe processing of 1.4% plus 20p, on its UK help page. Its host page says the rate can depend on your type of property. Free to list. | A service fee that varies by booking. No percentage published. Hipcamp’s US help page gives a minimum of $3 on each booking. | Hipcamp UK help, Hipcamp service fee |
| Campsites.co.uk | Free basic listing. Bookable listing pays 10% plus VAT commission. No set-up fee or contract. | No booking fees, it says. | Advertise your campsite, About us |
| Cool Camping | Now part of Hipcamp. The old site redirects to Hipcamp UK. | As Hipcamp. | Short Term Rentalz |
| Canopy & Stars | Not published. | No booking fee stated. 25% non-refundable deposit. Admin fees may apply to cancellations and changes. | Join the collection, Booking terms |
| Airbnb | Single fee: most hosts pay 15.5%. Split fee, if you still have it: most hosts pay 3%. | Single fee: nothing extra. Split fee: 14.1% to 16.5% of the subtotal. | Airbnb service fees |
| Booking.com | Not published. Depends on your country, property type and agreement. | Its terms say the property pays a commission once the stay is finished. | Understanding your commission, How we work |
| Direct, by card (Stripe) | 1.5% + 20p (standard UK cards). 2.8% + 20p (premium UK cards). 2.5% + 20p (EEA cards). 3.15% + 20p (international cards). | Nothing. | Stripe UK pricing |
A few details matter more than the headline rate. Pitchup’s are above.
Hipcamp’s UK host page quotes “12.5% commission” and a card fee “typically less than 1.5%”. Its help article adds that VAT is charged on the commission. Hipcamp says the rate can depend on your type of property, so check what it offers you. Money reaches your Stripe account when the booking is made and your bank within 7 days.
Airbnb is moving all home hosts to a single, host-paid fee (most pay 15.5%). It is already mandatory for most hosts, including anyone who uses property management software. The old split fee is only open to hosts who haven’t been moved yet. Airbnb’s fee page doesn’t mention campsites or glamping separately. The fees shown include VAT where it applies. For stays of 27 nights or less, Airbnb starts your payout by the end of the business day after check-in.
Booking.com sends a commission invoice each month. It charges commission on the whole booking, including extras. It also charges on non-refundable bookings, even if the guest doesn’t turn up.
A worked example: 200 bookings at £90
Say you take 200 bookings a season, averaging £90. That is £18,000 of bookings.
Here is what each route costs, using only the published rates above. Booking.com and Canopy & Stars are left out because they don’t publish a rate.
| Route | Sum | Cost on each booking | Cost for the season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchup | £90 × 15% | £13.50 | £2,700 (£2,250 if you reclaim the VAT) |
| Hipcamp | £90 × 12.5% = £11.25. VAT £2.25. Card fee £90 × 1.4% + 20p = £1.46 | £14.96 | £2,992 (£2,542 if you reclaim the VAT) |
| Campsites.co.uk | £90 × 10% = £9.00. VAT £1.80 | £10.80 | £2,160 (£1,800 if you reclaim the VAT) |
| Airbnb, single fee | £90 × 15.5% | £13.95 | £2,790 |
| Airbnb, split fee (if you still have it) | £90 × 3% | £2.70 | £540. Your guests pay a further £2,538 to £2,970 |
| Direct, standard UK card | £90 × 1.5% + 20p | £1.55 | £310 |
| Direct, premium UK card | £90 × 2.8% + 20p | £2.72 | £544 |
To try your own numbers, use our commission calculator.
Take the season total and subtract the direct cost of £310:
- Pitchup: £2,700 − £310 = £2,390 more.
- Hipcamp: £2,992 − £310 = £2,682 more.
- Campsites.co.uk: £2,160 − £310 = £1,850 more.
- Airbnb single fee: £2,790 − £310 = £2,480 more.
Some notes on the sums.
- The Pitchup figure is commission only. If you take the £76.50 balance by card, you pay card fees on that too.
- If you take a direct deposit and a balance as two card payments, the 20p applies twice. That makes it £1.75 on each booking at the standard UK rate.
- Through PootlrHost, you pay Stripe’s own card fees, with nothing added: 1.5% plus 20p on a standard UK card.
- Stripe adds 2% if currency conversion is needed. It does not return its fees when you refund. A dispute costs £20, or £40 if you contest it and lose.
- Direct bookings are not free to win. You need a website, a way to take bookings and time to answer guests. Those costs are not in this table, and your booking system has its own price: here’s what PootlrHost costs, and how booking software prices compare.
The real question is not “which is cheapest?”. It is “would this guest have booked anyway?”. A new family who found you on Pitchup is still worth £76.50 to you, before card fees. An empty pitch is worth nothing. One owner on Pitchup’s join page put it as “85% versus an empty pitch earning 0%.” A repeat guest who books through a site out of habit is different. That commission is money you didn’t need to spend.
Why owners use booking sites
They bring reach. Pitchup says it gets 63 million visits a year. Campsites.co.uk says it has over 475,000 email subscribers. Few small sites can buy that attention.
You pay only when a booking arrives. Pitchup, Hipcamp and Campsites.co.uk all say listing is free, with no set-up fee. There is nothing to pay in a quiet month.
They help fill gaps. Campsites.co.uk says some sites only open up late availability in peak season, and it offers a midweek and off-peak option.
The trade-offs
Cost. In our example, the host-paid fees cost between £1,850 and £2,682 more than direct bookings for the season. Airbnb’s old split fee, if you still have it, is the exception. You pay £230 more, but your guests pay the rest.
Your prices. Pitchup requires rate parity. You can’t sell the same pitch, dates and party size more cheaply direct. That includes your website and phone bookings. Pitchup says it checks prices at random and will temporarily suspend listings that overcharge its guests.
Booking.com’s terms treat the UK as a “narrow parity” country. You must match the rates you publish on your own online channels. The terms exclude offline bookings, such as phone or reception, if the price isn’t published or marketed online. They also exclude unpublished rates. Emails and texts not aimed at the general public don’t count as marketing online. The clause also doesn’t cover other booking sites. Read your own agreement before you rely on this.
These terms are being challenged. In July 2026 the Bed and Breakfast Association filed a claim at the Competition Appeal Tribunal. It alleges that Booking.com’s practices, including its price terms, kept commission too high. Nothing has been decided.
Campsites.co.uk tells guests they’ll “never pay more than booking direct”.
Guest relationships. Booking.com’s terms ban you from using its guests’ contact details to send unsolicited marketing. Pitchup asks you not to invite guests to contact you directly when you reply to reviews.
Cancellations. Pitchup’s deposit is usually non-refundable. It won’t let you take a second deposit, so you may need to change your cancellation policy. Booking.com charges commission on cancellation and no-show fees you collect.
Allocation. Pitchup asks for a reasonable level of availability, including weekends and peak season. Campsites.co.uk says it asks for no minimum allocation.
Using booking sites alongside direct bookings
Most owners don’t choose one or the other. A sensible mix looks like this:
- Keep your listings live for discovery, especially early in the season and for quiet dates.
- Make booking direct easy. Put clear prices and a booking button on your own website.
- Keep one calendar. Link your listings to your booking system, so a night sold on one site is closed on the others once they catch up. PootlrHost links Pitchup, and Hipcamp and Airbnb by calendar link. Prices stay separate, so you still set them on each site.
- Look after your guests on site. Make sure they know your website name before they leave. Ask them to book direct next time.
- Get permission before you email. Collect marketing consent from guests in a lawful way. Don’t reuse contact details a platform gave you if its terms forbid it.
- Check your parity terms before you offer any discount for booking direct. Pitchup’s rule covers your website and phone. Booking.com’s UK terms are narrower.
- Watch the split. Each season, note how many bookings came from each site and how many were repeat guests. If repeat guests are booking through a site, you’re paying commission you could keep.
