July 1 new fees

[Syuzanna2]

Will we keep the Cleaning fee or has to be removed? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Syuzanna2 Have I missed something? Why might the cleaning fee need to be removed?

[Syuzanna2]

Hello,

a new law is in effect in California as of July 1,2024 that says all fees must be included in the nightly rate. But I need more info about it. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Syuzanna2 I believe this just means that the platform (Airbnb or VRBO or whomever) needs to show the nightly rate inclusive of all fees (platform/cleaning etc). As such as long as they are properly defined in the listing (and not charged separately) then you should be OK.

Here is VRBOs explanation of what is needed:

States and countries around the world have different requirements for how your rates must be displayed to their consumers. We recently contacted you about a new Californian law, which requires your rates to be displayed to travellers in California—including fees (but not taxes). These rules apply to the way we display your rates to travellers in California, even if your property is located outside of California.

Please review our Vrbo Marketplace Standards, which state that all mandatory fees and taxes must be included in the rate at the time of booking. Mandatory fees are amounts that are charged to every traveller such as resort fees, HOA fees or cleaning fees. This does not include usage-based or optional fees like extra housekeeping or early check-in.

In order for us to be able to display your rates appropriately in line with these requirements, we need you to ensure that all mandatory taxes, fees and charges required to stay at the property (e.g. mandatory resort fees, cleaning fees, transfer fees and city taxes) are loaded into mandatory fee structured fields.

Action required in the Vrbo dashboard or in your connectivity software
If you are an integrated partner, you can review taxes and mandatory fees in your connectivity software.

[Syuzanna2]

Yes that’s what I was told. That means most of us have to increase our nightly late a little to cover for those fees. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Syuzanna2 I really think you are missing the point here.

Let's say you charge $100/night with a cleaning fee of $40 and Airbnb fees of $15 on the nightly fee and $6 on the cleaning fee. Then as I understand it YOU don't need to do anything.

Airbnb however, for a 2 night stay has to show a nightly rate of $130.5 (100/night + 40/2 +15/2 +6/2).

Does that help?

[Syuzanna2]

@Mike-And-Jane0 Why is there  the $40 cleaning fee and $6 cleaning? I’m confused 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Syuzanna2 I made up the numbers just as an example. I used $40 for cleaning and added the Airbnb service fee of 15% on top which is the $6. 

But the point is the new Californian law requires Airbnb to show $130.5/night in this example rather than $100/night.

I should point out this is nothing new in Europe as we have had this law for many years. The only difference is that in Europe taxes also have to be included whereas in the USA Federal law prohibits them from being included but they have to be shown separately.

[Syuzanna2]

I see. Thanks a lot for yhis

info and explanation. 

[Marianne89]

Thank you for the explanation but now I cannot find the breakdown when I switch to travelling and check my listing I only see the new total including cleaning and fees. Can anyone tell me where to click to see full breakdown and taxes as well?  Thank you. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Marianne89 Try clicking the book now button. This may then show the breakdown (or it may not).

[Joan2709]

Hi @Marianne89 

I tried to "Reserve" book a listing in California and according to Airbnb the option to display total price is supposed to be disabled, but I was still able to use it? Also, I did see the breakdown on the Reservation page before booking which showed the price per night and cleaning fee?:

Price Display For Guests in California

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3610#section-heading-3-0

"Guests in California will see a fee-inclusive total price—before taxes—on all listings. The setting to turn total price display on or off will be removed. Taxes which Airbnb collects will be displayed before booking, and the details of the price can still be found in the price breakdown during checkout."