# What expense category is Airbnb?

Airbnb is classified as a Restaurants expense. Online short-term lodging marketplace used by business travelers to book accommodations for work-related stays.

**URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/tools/expense-classifier/airbnb

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# What expense category is Airbnb?

Airbnb is classified asRestaurants·Fully deductible

Online short-term lodging marketplace used by business travelers to book accommodations for work-related stays.

At a Glance

CategoryRestaurants

Tax statusFully deductible

Avg. spend$80–$300/night for typical business lodging; companies with frequent team travel may spend $5,000–$50,000+ annually

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Airbnb is a peer-to-peer accommodations marketplace connecting travelers with hosts offering short-term rentals — rooms, apartments, homes, and unique properties globally. While Airbnb is not a restaurant or food service provider (it was miscategorized as 'Restaurants'), businesses commonly use it to book lodging for employees traveling to client sites, conferences, or off-site team retreats — often as a cost-effective alternative to hotels. Guests pay a service fee of 6–16% on top of the host's nightly rate. Airbnb for Work (Airbnb's corporate travel tool) allows companies to manage employee bookings centrally with invoicing and reporting.

## How businesses classify Airbnb

RestaurantsMost common100%

100% of transactions classified under Restaurants

## Tax details

Fully deductible

Capital vs. Operating

Operating expense — 100% deductible for ordinary and necessary business travel

Section 179

Not eligible for Section 179

Documentation tips

-   Airbnb stays are deductible as business lodging expenses when travel is for a legitimate business purpose — document the destination, dates, business reason, and employee name for each booking.
-   If a stay mixes personal and business travel (e.g., extending a work trip for leisure), only the nights attributable to business activity are deductible; allocate the cost proportionally.
-   Use Airbnb for Work to centralize billing under the company account — this generates invoices with business addresses that are cleaner for bookkeeping than personal account receipts.
-   The Airbnb guest service fee is part of the total lodging cost and is included in the deductible amount — no need to separate it from the nightly rate for tax purposes.
-   Do not confuse Airbnb host income (if your business rents out a property) with guest travel expenses — these are reported very differently and should be tracked in separate accounts.

## Business insights

Average spend

$80–$300/night for typical business lodging; companies with frequent team travel may spend $5,000–$50,000+ annually

Common industries

Technology & StartupsConsulting & Professional ServicesMedia & EntertainmentNon-ProfitEducation & ResearchFinance & BankingConstruction & Field ServicesHealthcare & Life Sciences

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For illustrative purposes only. Results shown are estimates and not guarantees. Based on internal metrics. Past performance does not guarantee future results, which may vary.