Airbnb extra fees

[Maria2866]

I have noticed my reservations have gone down significantly this year compared to others when I was booked all the time. I went as a "guest" to look at my listing and I noticed Service fee, and Occupancy fee. For 2 days, the guest hast to pay $22 more on top of my price, for 3 days..$30...for 4 days more, and so on. And I understand why people are NOT reserving as much as they used to. Not only Airbnb charges us a percentage which is fair I believe, but now all these extra costs which honestly, is making us look bad. People believe it is us as hosts charging all these fees, and what really makes me mad is that is is a DAILY charge. Not a flat rate fee like it should be at least!. The company is getting greedy and making a lot of money because of us, so we are practically working for them. I love Airbnb but this is ridiculous!!! It is NOW getting cheaper to stay in a hotel. Any thoughts?

[Linda108]

@Maria2866   If there was a cutest listing picture contest, you would win!  So adorable.  If I understand your question, you are seeing additional service fees?  I gather Air BNB is collecting and remitting the occupancy tax, right?  That is not an Air BNB fee.  As to the service fee and the tax, these are levied on the total and then expressed as an average nightly rate, I believe.  Perhaps you can address the issue of taxes in your listing as this is beyond your control.  I do think that more and more cities are adding or increasing their occupancy tax and including short term rentals in the regulations.  Are there other fees you are seeing?

[Sarah977]

@Maria2866  There have always been Airbnb service fees for guests. These used to be about 10%, but have gradually increased over the years. Now some places have a 12-25% service fee, but how they determine the percentage charged is anyone's guess. It's not a nightly fee, but a percentage of the total reservation.

But the fees have gradually increased, so I doubt that is why you are suddenly not getting as many bookings. Maybe it's seasonal, maybe there is more competition in your area, maybe your search ranking has dropped due to any one of a myriad of factors, maybe people just aren't travelling as much (the coronavirus scare may be having an impact), and I think a lot of guests are fed up with Airbnb because of their poor customer service. Hosts worldwide have been reporting that their bookings are way down in the last few months, even before the coronavirus. Mine are as well.

And I agree with Linda- your Airbnb offerings are delightful.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Maria2866 

Those charges would have been there last year too, maybe you didn't notice them? Roughly 18-20% commission is taken from host/guest and would increase in value as your booking period increases.

Are you experiencing more competition in your area which might influence your reduction in bookings?