Guests seeing different prices

[Huei0]

Hi I am a new host and still trying to learn everything here.

I just got my first request which was for his girlfriend.  He eventually told me the reason his girlfriend did not request herself was because it showed $67/night to her but $50/night to him. $50/night is the price I set and I have smart pricing function off.  

I don't understand why they were seeing different prices which can become a big problem for me.  

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Huei

[Donaldas0]

It can reach  50%. But those who wrote those algorithms were oxymorons. At least take into account IP address. If you see the same IP searches the same dates, in the same city and clicks on the same property show them the same price.  

[Laura3071]

I just posted my rural cabin in Airbnb and set the price for $90 a night.  I do not have smart pricing turned on, it is the same price all the time.  When I reviewed my listing it said $225.00 per night.  Nothing I do can change it I have been trying for the last hour.  That price is ridiculous and no one will book it for that.  They are difficult to reach and no help at all.

[Ana1136]

@Laura3071 there is no listing connected to your profile so we can't see anything that would help us in giving you an informed advice. 

[Libby69]

I am also frustrated by this pricing discrepancy - a lower price on my iPad or iPhone and then much higher on the desktop computer. Come on VRBO and Air B&B - this isn't Smart Pricing - this is very POOR public relations!!!

[Mélanie121]

I am being quote higher rates per night than my husband because we always book with my account. I am thinking of closing my account with Airbnb. I am very disapointed.

[Susan17]

OECD REPORT NOV 29, 2018

Personalised Pricing In The Digital Era

"As data analytics and pricing algorithms become common business practice in the digital era, there are growing concerns about the possibility that companies use such tools to engage in personalised pricing, a form of price discrimination that involves char ging different prices to consumers according to their willingness to pay.

Moreover, if these practices are conducted using non transparent or deceptive means, there is also a risk that they reduce market trust and create a perception of unfairness, potentially dampening consumer participation in digital markets"

[Donaldas0]

I am new here but I already lost the mood in booking anything here.  This is absurd by clouds. 

If a person loves to travel and instead of buying some useless stuff sacrifice his hard earn money for traveling gets XXX price, but so random rich who thought ..ok ill try Airbnb jumps of the same platform will get XX price. Anybody home here???

[Susan17]

Web Use Can Give Vendors Clues About Which Customers To Charge More.

"Various online retailers are occasionally caught charging different prices to different customers, including Amazon.com Inc., which said it abandoned the practice back in 2000. Researchers found in 2014 that human shoppers got worse bargains on a number of websites, compared to an automated browser that didn’t reveal its identity.

There are a bunch of ways companies can figure out how much each consumer is willing and able to pay. Some are easy -- charge more to people using an expensive Apple Inc. computer, or to people using certain types of email accounts. An online retailer can also look at people’s product search histories to steer them toward higher-priced products.

But the real money would come from big data. The more data a merchant gets about a customer -- where they live, what they buy, what websites they visit, etc. -- the better they can predict how much they’d be willing to pay for a certain product. Conceivably, with enough data, merchants could figure out the maximum amount each customer is willing to pay, and then charge them that. 

And price discrimination is especially bad when combined with monopoly power -- if large, dominant online retailers get into differential pricing, consumers could suffer a great deal"

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/opinion/articles/2018-03-09/big-data-might-tell-retailers-which-consum...

[April282]

I'm a new user also and I'm having a similar issue with my rental. I have smart pricing on but my minimum price is set to $115 per night. I don't have a weekend or weekday price, it's all the same. 

No matter what the smart pricing fluctuates, shouldn't the lowest price boomed be $115? 

I just had a family book with me for next month and their price was $78 per night. I've emailed Airbnb help but the response was a generic one and did not expkain anything. 

Is there anything I can do about this? My rental is most of my income each month so it's a big deal to have the price so much lower. 

[Dane113]

Check that your currency is set the same. Regular users often have already changed their currency to their own local dollar but new users probably would not have

[Mika8]

price differentces between countries is mostly (or often) due to tax differences.

[Donaldas0]

What are you talking, what kind of tax difference, you are visiting the same apartment and me. There is nothing to do with tax.  If Chinese arrives in Zurich swiss host pays less tax then having a german guest?

[Donaldas0]

On my laptop shows 107usd on my wife phone 71 same dates same wifi we use just different accounts. WHATS GOING ON HERE???

[Donaldas0]

In protest to such a madness where the same apartment on the same day listed price almost doubles indifference, I am deleting my account.   Hey Did you want to screw me? Try it again. So long ....improve your algorithms, they are silly.

[Sanela8]

I have been experiencing this often and,  more often since being in the USA. Is there somewhere where this can be investigated or reported? Is Air b'n'b following ethical practice ? Do we as customers have a voice here to ask for answers and explanations?