Have you discovered these new ways to fine-tune your price?

[Airbnb]

 

We’re introducing over 50 new features in the coming weeks, including a new set of tools that offers you more flexibility when adding fees and considering discounts.

Specifically, you can include a pet fee, preview the price guests would pay—and your payout—before they book, and choose to offer a different cleaning fee for short stays. Each tool is designed to support you as you fine-tune your pricing strategy to meet your financial goals.

Have you tried any of these tools? Please let us know what you think—or go to the Resource Center to learn more.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Linda3345  I agree with you. Some guests make more mess in 1 night than others in 2 weeks and besides, the cleaning fee is, in fact, a "short-term fee" or "long term discount" so to lower it for short stays doesn't make any sense. Whoever came with this idea obviously has no hosting experience.

A cleaning fee per week for longer stays would have more sense. Now I just compensate it with a lower or no discount.

[Jennifer2672]

Agree wholeheartedly! I would like to have the option to add a required cleaning every few weeks of long-term stays without having to collect it manually. 

[Katrina79]

Did any host here get the questionnaire email from Airbnb a few months back? The questions they asked were all about adding additional fees. The more I think about it, I would really appreciate an easy button to add a fee for early checkin or late checkout! I would charge by the hour…in the past month alone I’ve hosted ten early checkins, 3 of which wanted to checkin at 10am! It’s getting out of hand! I’m thinking $20/hour early checkin or late checkout and no guarantees to book it in advance. Thoughts? 

[Jennifer2682]

It would be REALLY cool if Airbnb would give us the opportunity to add our own custom line-item fees.  For pets, early check-in, late check-out, sauna use, flower delivery... whatever the host deems necessary for their particular space.  

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Jennifer2682 ,

That sounds like a very interesting idea! Would you propose it as a single empty text field for Hosts to write what they want or an expensive drop down menu?

Thanks

[Jennifer2682]

@Airbnb This is how your primary competitor does it and it's awesome.  Normal fees plus room for hosts to customize their own.  So simple.

[Ron-and-Diane0]

Great idea

[Kelly1283]

No, I did not get a questionaire asking for input. Can you put a date on that email please?

[Kelly1283]

Here's what I think of the new feature PET FEE

Pet fee- new feature for hosts:
This feature DOES NOT serve me as a pet-accommodating host!!
A FLAT FEE IS NOT FAIR TO HOSTS OR GUESTS
1) I charge a fee according to how many pets, what type and size animal they are bringing, and for how LONG! For example, I charge less for a chihuahua than for a shepherd. Cats leave more fur behind than most dogs, and leave it in more places. Wired-haired dogs shed more and are more difficult to clean after than others.
2) This is much MORE COMPLICATED than what I've been doing successfully for years in charging customized fees to each guest through the resolution center. I can also charge a deposit through the resolution center and refund it easily if they leave it in good condition. (95% of the time they do)
3) I have mostly long-term guests from 2 weeks or longer. That's why I also charge a deposit in case they are not good housekeepers and I have to pay my housekeeper extra for all the fur clean-up. It's way MORE COMPLICATED to file a claim through the resolution center for this purpose- needing my housekeeper to send me photo documentation, uploading that and so forth.
4) This also makes it MORE COMPLICATED AND AWKWARD when the guests have more than one pet (often is the case) Your current feature does not change the FLAT FEE when the guest has more than one pet- I tested it. WHY do you think THAT was a good idea!?!?!? So now I'll have to say, "oh, Airbnb decided my house can support any number of pets for the same price, but I don't feel that way so you need to pay me a fee for each pet and do so through the resolution center." Does that sound like best business practices and customer relations?? NO!! IT'S NOT!!!!
5) I implore you to remove this feature immediately! If I don't set a price, the pets are automatically FREE!!!! I have no way of opting out of this feature whether I agree with it or not.
6) I feel unvalued and undermined as your business partner. I was not consulted on this change before it was made, and have to comply with it whether I like it or not. THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!! Nor is it good business-partner relations on your part. Hosts need to know in advance what you are planning on changing that directly affects OUR collective business.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
REMOVE OR MODIFY THIS FEATURE IMMEDIATELY

7) OH yeah, I forgot to mention the FLAT FEE is also dictated by you to be no more than a one night stay. Why do YOU get to decide what I charge for a pet fee??? This will prompt me to raise my nightly rate!! THIS FEATURE SUCKS!!!!!!!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kelly1283 I can now see why Airbnb resisted the pet fee concept for so long. It is clearly way too complicated. Is VRBO any better?

[Kelly1283]

It doesn't have to be that complicated! Just make it an open amount that we as hosts control, like we control our nightly rate! It's great to have a dedicated pet fee feature but only if hosts can control what we charge for pets!! Otherwise, I might not allow pets at all if this proves to be even more of a headache.  And I like to be able to charge a pet deposit- going through the resolution center is a real pain in the backside!!

[Jennifer2682]

@Mike-And-Jane0 VRBO is WAY better in this regard.  They give the hosts much more control.  It really doesn't need to be near as complicated as Airbnb makes it.  And I'm not sure why they're pushing the whole "assistance animal/here's how your pet can stay for free" bit, but VRBO doesn't do that.  Which in my mind, is much more respectful of hosts.  

[Rosy121]

When they bring "assisted animals" I ask them for their official certificate

[Rachel1744]

We seem to have the worst of all worlds with the pet fee right now. Guests are asked to tell the system they are bringing a pet, but we can't yet add the fee. For 4 years I've been adding an extra fee for pets as a reservation change , and my listing clearly explains this - it has never caused an issue and guests have always accepted the reservation change. For the first time this month a guest has refused to pay because they felt the system should have included it when they told Airbnb they were bringing a pet. Really frustrating to have  half a change introduced that actually makes the situation for hosts worse...

[Bart254]

It's been "a few weeks".  Still not able to add pet fees.  Doing it through the resolution center seems confrontational.  How is it this hard to implement?  It's an extra button to toggle and custom fee space to type it in...