Using the Airbnb/VRBO payout statement uploader (beta)

The REI Hub system now offers the ability to consume CSV payout statements downloaded from Airbnb or VRBO. Please be aware that this feature is still in beta, and uploaded transaction data should be double-checked against your statement.

Simply upload the statement to REI Hub, and our custom parsing tool will extract the line-by-line transaction data present in the statement and help you book it to the appropriate property and accounts. So if you use Airbnb or VRBO and want to capture every line item from your payout statement- this feature is for you!

To utilize the statement uploader, you will need to enable the default Airbnb or VRBO asset account (there is a separate one for each platform). It is already present in your chart of accounts, but is inactive by default. After it has been activated, it acts as a clearing account for all individual short-term rental transactions. This allows you to better recreate the real-world flow of funds from guests to Airbnb or VRBO to your bank account.

Your STR revenues and expenses will be recorded by the uploader, and booked to the Airbnb or VRBO account. You will then book the deposits from the STR platform in your linked bank accounts as 'Transfer Between Accounts' transactions (the system will automate this for you with a transaction matching rule- see below). Booking these transactions as a transfer ensures that your revenue is not duplicated and that the final destination of the funds is accurately shown as your bank account and not the Airbnb/ VRBO account.

To upload an Airbnb payout statement CSV or VRBO payout summary report CSV:

1) Activate the Airbnb or VRBO account

This can be done in two ways - from the import feed or from the chart of accounts page.

From the import feed, Click 'Book' next to a deposit from Airbnb or VRBO. You will be presented with two options:

Click the 'Get started' link to activate the appropriate account and enable statement uploading.
Clicking 'Save Transaction' will not activate the Airbnb/VRBO account, but will instead automatically gross up your deposit by the 3% platform fee Airbnb charges or the 8% VRBO generally charges.

From the chart of accounts:

Navigate to the chart of accounts from the right side menu
Click Edit next to the Airbnb or VRBO account
Uncheck the 'Account is inactive' box
Refresh your page, and find the Airbnb or VRBO account under Accounts on the left side menu

2) Click 'Upload Airbnb/VRBO Statement' from the Quicklinks box:

You will then be asked to upload your CSV statement from Airbnb:

You will see the link to Airbnb's help article on how to pull the payout statement or VRBO's help article for the payout summary for the desired date range. For Airbnb, you should select the 'Completed Payouts' report.

Download the report, and then click the 'Click to add your CSV' button and select the appropriate file and click Upload:

3) Select the property or properties present on the statement

The system will attempt to match and pre-fill existing properties in your portfolio to the properties extracted from the statement based on the address. However, your input is likely needed here, as the short-term rental export includes the 'listing' name, which is not typically the property address.

This is only necessary the first time you upload a statement; the system will remember your selections for subsequent uploads.

4) Approve the options regarding payouts and automatic booking

We strongly recommend you keep both boxes checked.

The owner payout deposit transactions should be ignored in the statement upload process and instead booked from your bank's import feed. This is because every payout line from the Airbnb or VRBO statement corresponds to an actual deposit in your operating bank account(s). If the payout has already been booked from the import feed, including the transaction with the statement upload would result in duplication and potentially inaccurate records.

To help prevent this, the system will automatically create a transaction matching rule for Airbnb or VRBO deposits. Keep the 'Automatically book Airbnb deposits' box checked if you want it on auto-pilot.

Doing so ensures that all of the deposits from Airbnb or VRBO in your operating bank accounts are correctly booked as Transfers, since the revenues and expenses have already been recorded in the upload step to the Airbnb or VRBO account.

The system will create the rule applying to all of your operating accounts, so it will work even if you are paid out into separate accounts.

If you do not choose to have the system automatically book deposits on your behalf, you MUST book the Airbnb or VRBO deposits in your bank import feed using the 'Transfer between Accounts' transaction type, with the Airbnb or VRBO account as the 'Transferred From' account. Do not book these deposits as Revenue or Net Income transactions, as that will cause your income numbers to be inflated and incorrect.

5) Click 'Complete Upload' and view the uploaded transactions

If you detect any discrepancies or problems, please reach out to the REI Hub team!