AIRNBN IS RUINING LONG TERM STAYS WITH THEIR HIGH FEES AND TAXES

Isis14
Level 2
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

AIRNBN IS RUINING LONG TERM STAYS WITH THEIR HIGH FEES AND TAXES

I am a super host and have a modest open floor rental of 750 sq ft living and 750 sq ft patio. My listing shows a nice discount, from approx $1,000 usd to $700. but then when the renter tries to reserve they end up paying $200 more dollars due to airbnb service fees and occupancy taxes for 1 month or longer rentals! This is causing many of them to want to bargain. When I try, airnbnb doesn't show me exactly what I will be making.  In the end, I loose bookings and money.  I have complained. Between airnbnb's taxes and fees and the Mexican Government's taxes, they take 50% of my rental. I wind up with less than $500 bucks a month. I only have 1 place that I'm renting and I depend on it for a living especially due to covid pandemic.  It's becoming a loosing battle for me and I would like an articulated explanation as to why this is happening and how do other hosts feel about this?

9 Replies 9
Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Isis14 Airbnb isn't really suited to long term rentals as there is no contract with the host, no deposit collected and, as you say, high fees. 

I would find another route to market for long term lets if I were you.

Isis14
Level 2
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

air bnb a few months ago, were encouraging us to focus on long term and offer remote work thru emails and webinars. i spent some bucks trying to upgrade my place for long term. i hope they respond to this conversation. 

Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Isis14 Airbnb encourage hosts to do lots of things that benefit Airbnb. It is up to hosts to ignore any suggestions that are likely to damage the host financially or otherwise.

@Isis14  What Airbnb encourages hosts to do is based solely on Airbnb attracting more bookings so they can collect their service fees. It has nothing whatsoever to do with your hosting business being successful, or their suggestions being a good idea. Stop listening to Airbnb's suggestions and run your business the way it works for you.

Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Isis14  A guest who can't afford to stay at your place at your rate should find a more affordable place to stay.  It's not your responsibility to aid and abet him or her until you are losing money.

 

Go ahead and offer long-term stays, but don't offer discounts.  Stay strong and you'll get the bookings you need.

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Isis14 

 

The Airbnb Guest Service Fee is significant lower for long term stays (minus approx. 5% compared to short term stays). The amount of taxes is not controlled by Airbnb, but by local laws. You can always see for yourself what you will earn by:

- Simulating a booking on your own listing

- Using the "price calculator" in the calender when managing the listing

 

Wen a booking request comes in., you can also see the price breakdown and see what you will earn.

 

 

@Isis14   When you decided as a property owner that you wanted to put your home(s) on the market for long-term stays, what made you decide that Airbnb was the right tool for you?  

 

It's hard to imagine that after analyzing all the ways you could optimize this business plan, you still decided that Airbnb was a good fit. Because while it was always a good design for short-term holiday bookings, the things that make it a terrible resource for long-term stays have always been the case - that's nothing new.

Isis14
Level 2
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

thanks to all the Level 10 people who made me aware that airbnb is not suitable for long term and that I''m pretty naive at this. have a nice day.

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Isis14 Taxes are inevitable. There is nothing we can do about those. It sounds like you have had people contact you who can not afford your place. Why not wait for someone who can?