Pricing and fees
Transparency as a principle.
The online booking industry has a bad habit: show an attractive price up front, then add fees at every step until final payment. Voyino refuses that approach.
For travelers — a transparent 12% fee
When you see a price on Voyino, that price already includes the 12% traveler fee. No surprise at checkout.
A concrete example
You book 3 nights in a boutique hotel in Lomé at 30,000 FCFA per night, plus a 5,000 FCFA cleaning fee from the host.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 3 nights × 30,000 FCFA | 90 000 FCFA |
| Cleaning fee | 5 000 FCFA |
| Subtotal | 95 000 FCFA |
| Voyino traveler fee (12%) | 11 400 FCFA |
| Total to pay | 106 400 FCFA |
The 106,400 FCFA total is shown right on the search page, next to every stay. No need to click three times or reach the cart to discover the real price.
What the 12% covers
- Payment processing (Mobile Money, bank card, transfer)
- Protective escrow (funds held until 24h after check-in)
- Traveler support, 7 days a week
- Platform cover (in case of a major host failure)
- Running and maintaining the platform
- Continuous development (new features, translations, tools)
What it does NOT cover
- The local tourist tax where it applies (usually paid directly to the host on site — the amount is stated in the property description)
- Optional extras (airport transfers, meals, activities) that you can arrange directly with the host
For hosts — 0% for Founding Hosts (12 months, limited spots), then 7%
The first 20 Founding Hosts per UEMOA country get 0% commission for 12 months from the moment their first listing goes live. After that period — or for standard hosts — the commission is 7%, less than half what international platforms charge.
A concrete example
You charge 30,000 FCFA per night. A traveler books 3 nights.
- The traveler pays the total (nights + the 12% traveler fee).
- 24 hours after check-in, you receive 90,000 FCFA in your Mobile Money or bank account.
- Voyino takes nothing.
Compared with Booking and Airbnb
On the same booking (3 nights × 30,000 FCFA = 90,000 FCFA of revenue):
| Platform | Commission | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| Booking (15–22 %) | 13 500 – 19 800 FCFA | 70 200 – 76 500 FCFA |
| Airbnb (17 %) | 15 300 FCFA | 74 700 FCFA |
| Voyino (0% Founding / 7% std) | 0 FCFA | 90 000 FCFA |
Over 100 nights a year at 30,000 FCFA, the difference is between 1,350,000 and 1,980,000 FCFA of extra income for the host compared with Booking. That is the price of new equipment, a renovation, or one more employee.
Why 0% for Founding Hosts?
Our model rests on two revenue streams: the traveler fee (12%) on every booking, and a 7% commission on standard hosts revenue. The Founding offer — 0% for 12 months — is how we reward the hosts who build the platform with us from day one.
More than that: we believe independent African hosts — often family businesses on thin margins — deserve to keep their revenue as their revenue. The extraction logic that prevails on Western platforms does not fit the economic fabric of the continent.
Currency conversion
For international travelers paying in EUR, USD or another currency, the rate applied for the CFA zone is the official BCEAO rate: 655.957 XOF to 1 EUR.
Voyino adds no currency markup. It is exactly the rate you would get exchanging your money at the bank.
No subscription
No party on Voyino — traveler or host — has a monthly subscription. You only pay when a booking actually happens.