Over priced Airbnb's

[Bambii0]

I have no idea what the rules are for pricing, but I have come across one of the worst. First of all, I use airbnb a great deal, I travel evey month for work, and I usually book for friends + family aswell. I have met some great hosts thought this, but ocassionally I stumble acorss some not-so-great.

I found a 1 bedroom in Virginia for $999 PER NIGHT. Now, this apartment was poorly decorated, no real frills. NOTHING. I contacted the host and simply wanted to make sure that was the correct price, because it seemed absolutely ridiculous. (Trust me  if the place was worth it, I would absolutely pay for it) Turns out, the host was actually going to charge some poor fool an arm and a leg for mediocracy. The host's excuse? DC Cherry blossoms. 

NO ONE should pay $999 for a poorly decorated, no frills 1 bedroom in Virginia. It's nonsense! That experice make me feel like this website is turing to be just as expensive - or less worth it than just booking a hotel. 

I may be wrong - but it this normal?

[Sabine42]

can you post a link? might be worth flagging

[Bambii0]

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15360602?bev_ref=1484490869_8SV%2FMlBRWlD7X6cN&user_id=69375184&s=3

[Sabine42]

he's probably not going to get much interest at this rate, his one review is a cancellation on top of it. just a bad apple, i wouldn't want to stay with somebody so out of touch with reality anyway. but to answer your question, there are no pricing rules, you can charge as little or as much as you want, depending on whether you actually want bookings or not. i agree though, hosts (and guests) are entering the market for the wrong reasons and the wrong intentions, dilluting the brand one by one. airbnb better catch on sooner than later.

[Deborah1]

He can charge whatever he likes. Not sure who would pay it without reviews and a cancellation.  I would give this one a pass even if it were a lot less expensive. Photos are not nice. If so little care is taken when photographing, what would it be like when you arrive??? Hope you find something that works out for you.

[Bambii0]

You are right.

I was just shocked, and it changes my view on airbnb a bit. I would hope that a bit more vetting goes into selcting hosts.

This host clearly has some screws loose.

[Deborah1]

Hosts are not vetted and airbnb is not allowed to tell hosts what to charge. Because they are not vetted, reviews become very important.

[Bambii0]

I see - that seem a little unsafe to me.

I never really thought about what the process is to becoming a host. 

Thank you for the advice! 

[Dede0]

@Bambii0 While this listing's price is obviously pretty crazy and unrealistic, it could be "legit" if the host didn't want a lot of rentals, but only a very few (one? two?) rentals from people who don't care about the cost. And there's nothing wrong with that. If someone wants to pay $999 for a place that's no better than another $150 or $200 place, that's their choice.

As a host myself, I doubt that this host will get many bookings, but if they do, then more power to them!

[Bambii0]

@Dede0

Hm, you are right - my main thing is that everyone should get what they pay for. There should be something that protects the consumers as well.

The person that has $999 per night, is not using airbnb. This is an extreem example, but the point is EVERYONE should get what they pay for. That is what we expect out of hotel service, what airbnb is competing with. If airbnb decides not to care - then eventually -people like this will run over and ruin the magic that made this site famous. Whether is be from over-charging, underperforming or whatever. 

[Dede0]

@Bambii0 I mostly agree, but differ a bit in this way... If I want to rent my place out for every night of the month, more or less regardless of total earnings, I might price it at, say, $50/night. If my "value" is at that or higher (which it is), I'll fill up quickly. On the other hand, if I want to maximize my total earnings, I might price my place at, say $100/night, and accept that I'll only book up 2/3 of the time (or whatever), but still make more than the previous model, then that's great. And if I'm really not interested in staying very busy, but instead want to chance renting out once or twice a month for an absurd price, then why not shoot for $999? No one forces renters to accept that price. If it works, it works. (IN the case you cited, I doubt that it will.)

BTW, this is NOT the model we practice. If anything, we tend more toward the "fill every night' model, because we believe that guests who pay a bit less than the maximum we could charge are more likely to be happy than guests who pay a bit more or who pay the max we could extract.

[Ali40]

Bambi , Airbnb vetts its hosts just like it vetts its guests. They didn't background check you yet you can book to stay at a host's room or apartment. That's why reviews are so important. Nobody will book that room and if somebody does, then that's their choice.