Airbnb can charge service fees to tenants and landlords: Supreme Court

Holiday rental platform Airbnb can charge service fees to both tenants and landlords. The Supreme Court said this in response to questions from the Rotterdam District Court, which is handling an appeal from the American company after the subdistrict court in Amsterdam previously ruled this was not allowed.

The court in Amsterdam ruled that Airbnb is bound by the prohibition to charge costs to both tenants and landlords. It's called "serving two masters." However, according to the Supreme Court, the ban is intended to combat abuses in brokerage businesses and should not be applied more widely than necessary. Therefore it does not apply to holiday rentals. 

The court in Rotterdam is now taking the judgment of the Supreme Court into account in the handling of the appeal. After the judge's ruling, several claim clubs in which holidaymakers united had reported to Airbnb. They wanted to get the brokerage costs refunded by the American company.