Improving price transparency for guests

[Stephanie]

Today, CEO Brian Chesky announced that we’re updating how prices are displayed to guests in Airbnb search results. Our goal is to maximize price transparency in places like the U.S., where showing nightly prices (before fees) is currently the travel industry standard.

Guests who currently find nightly prices in search results will be able to switch to showing the total prices. The total price includes the price per night, Airbnb service fee, and any Host fees for cleaning, pets, or extra guests. 

We’re making this change, along with a few others, to help you stay competitive and meet guest expectations. Get the details on the Resource Center. 

Displaying total price and simplifying checkout

What’s your strategy: Build your cleaning costs into your nightly price, or charge a separate cleaning fee?

[Jenny]

Hi @Lorna170 

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts about this update!

As part of this new price display that will be launching in the coming weeks, guests will be able to see a price breakdown of the Hosts’ nightly rate and the Airbnb service fee in the search experience.  Hopefully this will help your guests by informing them of any fees in advance!

Regarding the Service fee, when guests choose the total price display option, both the total nightly rate (inclusive of any Host-set fees) and the Airbnb service fee are listed as part of the pricing breakdown. We explicitly call it the “Airbnb service fee” as a line item.  That means your guests will know that the service fee isn't charged by you.

Jenny

[Gillian166]

@Stephanie  off topic, but why is this post under a heading of "Airbnb Updates" and there isn't a board devoted to that? 

[Jenny]

Hi @Gillian166 

If you head to the top right of your screen, you'll see a button with three lines in it, beside your profile picture.  If you press that, you'll see Airbnb updates about halfway down the list.

Jenny 😊

[Andrea-and-Glenn0]

@Stephanie  Well, we really like the “new” layout and format that shows pricing to our potential guests as a “per day” and as a “total”. More details.Clearly priced

Thanks, we approve. 

Andrea and Glenn

[Jenny]

Thanks for letting us know @Andrea-and-Glenn0 - we appreciate the feedback!

Jenny

[Kristina46]

I saw Chesky's announcement on Twitter. So he agrees guests should leave a kitchen filthy and grimy after using it? Dishes undone? Most of my guests leave my place in beautiful condition even without being asked. They weren't raised in a barn.

Anyone who thinks they are entitled to leave me with a bunch of their dirty dishes and trash is going to get a bad review and low stars from me and will never be welcome back. Will he try to control that too? Seems more and more Airbnb takes the side of the guest, guests who, in many cases, do not understand what it means to stay in a vacation rental and how much time and money it takes to turn them over. 

That said, I must credit Airbnb and give high marks  for eliminating the onerous extenuating circumstances policy. I have lost thousands over the years on EC cancellations. Hawaii is a fly-in destination and last-minute cancellations were positively eviscerating.  Enough was  enough. I didn't get in this business to serve as guest travel insurance, which is exactly what that was. So kudos there. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kristina46 what has happened to the EC policy? Have I missed something?

[Kristina46]

It basically covers nothing now. go look! They changed it right after Covid. 

[Lyn70]

Unfortunately some people are selfish  grubby people who think just because they are paying for it it’s not their problem. It’s very very infuriating and disappointing. 

[Yvonne41]

While I appreciate the effort, the reality is you are forcing those of us who rent out our personal vacation homes to become 5 star hotels. The only reason that I have to ask my guests to wash and dry their towels before a check out, is so I can keep my prices lower and do not have to have a gap day in between every check-in and can "flip" my 4 bedroom 3 toilet 1 hot tub property that averages 7 humans staying in it during the peak season. I would rather do that and enable another group to take advantage of an 80 degree day at the beach, over letting it sit open while my housekeepers wait for the towels to dry. 

The other issue I have with this change is that you are still utilizing an archaic and highly flawed methodology to collect reviews from guests (and from hosts). Until you come up with a more precise apples to apples review system, the data you are basing your new quality assessment for determining best search ranking is going to set many of us up for failure and we will either sell out to management firms to monopolize, or we will find another way to gracefully bow out of this game. 

[Pat271]

@Yvonne41 I often wonder if that last sentence of yours is the intended result. Remember, most if not all of those management firms are Airbnb hosts.

[Jenny]

Hi @Yvonne41 

Thanks for your feedback - we have taken a note of it - and I thought that you'd like to know that Airbnb plan to work with Hosts over the next few months on new guidance for checkout tasks.  

The feedback that you've given will be taken on board by the relevant teams as part of that process.

Jenny

[Erica1402]

Thanks Jenny. The only house keeping task I ask of my guests is to strip the bed. Due to monkey pox and covid, I do not think it is unreasonable for guests to put used linens in a provided laundry bag. It helps to eliminate spreading diseases/viruses etc. I hope Airbnb takes this into consideration. 

[Erica1402]

The only house keeping task I ask of my guests is to strip the bed. Due to monkey pox and covid, I do not think it is unreasonable for guests to put used linens in a provided laundry bag. It helps to eliminate spreading diseases/viruses etc. I hope Airbnb takes this into consideration. 

[Trude0]

I think the change that Airbnb have announced, in how prices will be displayed e.g in the US, is great. I'm sure guests in the US will welcome the oportunity to see the full price of their planned stay (and the break down), long before they come to the last step of the booking process. To be better able to compare listings, and make a good decision, with less time wasted.

As many several others have mentioned;

In Europe, prices in search results have been including all fees and tax for a long time.

You have also been able to see the split between the price per night, the cleaning fee (if there is one) and the Airbnb service feee. So I guess not much will change here - apart from the fact that the "Service fee" will now apparently be correctly called "Airbnb service fee" - which I think is good.

However, I do very much welcome the news that "checkout chores" will now apparently be visible for guests before booking, so guests can weigh this into their decision. This will give even more transparency into "what you pay, and what you get" (for guests) - or "what you charge, and what you offer" (for hosts).

I do not charge a cleaning fee, and I have a "walk away" approach - turn of the A/C, lock the door, key in the box.

I know this way of working will not suit every host. My listing is a tinyhouse in my garden, and I host small groups of guests who stay 2-7 days. Easy. For others, cleaning fees and a short list of checkout chores will be be better/neccessary.

So of course Airbnb should not in any way try to restrict hosts on which checkout chores they can ask guests to handle - and I hope they will not. But I think it is fair to expect that these chores are visible to the guests when booking. Again - transparency.

Hoping for more improvements like this, and not too many "bad surprises" in the "Winter Release"! 🙂