Common Cents

[Nancy147]

whenever i take note of the payment i will receive, i observe that airbnb figures 1 cent less than what the actual result of the math equation should be. the arithmetic is off.

for example, for airbnb 2 nights x $53 = $105. i always thought 2 x $3 = 6!!! a penny might not seem like a lot but added all together, airbnb is ripping me off.

say there are a million hosts worldwide, they're gaining a million pennies or $10,000 for each new booking. the guests are probably ripped off more, since airbnb only takes around 3% from us and around 10% from them and since they may not travel as much as we host, they might not notice. just a guess.

after over three years of hosting, i notice! and i don't think it's fair. what's your "take" on this?

[Cookie0]

YES that's true those pennies do add up to a lot of money

[Ange2]

@Nancy147   It appears to be a widespread problem, especially for foreign currencies. Search Missing Euro  or Math. I have yet to see any explanation from Airbnb.

[Nancy147]

thank you ange. it seems like you might be suggesting that the translating of the  euro or other foreign currencies may be the primary factor in the missing penny, rather than airbnb's profit motive (?)

[Zandra0]

Oh don't get it wrong... It's a profit motive alright. Just this is how they choose to do it so that's how it goes ...

[Nancy147]

i wonder if enough people bring it to their attention, say, on one day - tomorrow, monday (?) they'd see they've been exposed for ... in a way ... stealing!

[Ange2 · Accepted solution]

@Nancy147  No, I am not suggesting that - I do not know. Most businesses I know who deal with foreign currency exchange make a huge profit with truncation (not allowing decimal places - i.e. 25.91 becomes 25), it adds up to a vast profit overtime along with monitoring exchange rates and/or if it is a round up/down system waiting for 25.91 to become 25.11 or vice versa depending on which is in your favor.  It's a lucrative sideline, one (Euro) X (one million accounts) adds up.  It is definitly very profitable.

[Nancy147]

gotcha! thanks - perhaps we can call on monday, tomorrow, and alert them to that people don't like ... this theft.

[Ange2]

@Nancy147   Unfortunately, I believe it's a perfectly legal way of doing business. True it lacks integrity and is contrary to the sharing economy ethic and not transparent in the least.

[Zandra0]

Indeed perfectly legal, and 100% driven by profit margins.  But then, isn't everything?  Welcome to capitalism in the 21st century.