Are you too getting ridiculous price tips?

[Stephanie27]

I am finding that the price tips given by Airbnb are just crazy low, they wouldn;t cover the cleaning and laundry...anyone else feel the same

[Carol-Lee1]

Today I got a suggestion to lower my rates because three or four people who looked then booked elsewhere for between $34 and $16 less than my rate.  Where and who comes up with this?  There is no one in 35 miles or more with a rate $35 lower.  The cheapest motel is $60 and that's at least a 15 minute drive.  It's one smelly room, roaches included.  My rental is $70 for a two room suite, private bath, private entrance, private outdoor space.  It's irritating to say the least to get such stupid suggestions.  My place has been booked pretty steadily since I started

in August.  

[Derek65]

Im fairly new to Airbnb, but we run a lakefront nature motel with 6 stately suites.  Each with its own private kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living area, 2 Queen beds, the works. Everything is brand new, and renovated!  Now I'm all for dropping the price a little in the beginning to establish an interest, and get some reviews but my "price tip" is telling me to sell at $7 CAD per night?!!!!  That wont even cover the cost to clean the unit, let alone the  labour that goes in to it.   As far as I see it....   The lower your price, the more riff-raff types of people you are going to let into your residence.  Do some research, check out some simliar listings in your area, and set your price to what you feel comfortable with!   Dont let your hard work go to waste, this will generate the "right" type of clientelle you are looking for, and with time you will genereate great reviews and (hopefully) repeat business. 

[Kimberly18]

Derek

Airbnb has become increasingly more ridiculous about this and it is purely self-interest. of course, they get fees whether we lose money or make money and they are just trying to dominate local scenes any way they can regardless of fiscal sense.  If you read these threads you will see similar stories in nearly every major market.  Consider their shameful self-interest and just ignore them on this. We all get to decide if the hassle and expense of hosting makes sense to us and the price point, which we know better than them.  only the corporate rental end of their listings, which they seem more interested in courting/supporting can afford to do such stupid stuff to keep their spaces full.  Most of the regular hosts, who they seem less and less to care about can't shoulder such silliness

[Steve2743]

Yep, that's why I don't use their price tips. Depending on the time of year, I often charge double what they recommend, while remaining fully booked. 

It's funny, Airbnb considers anything lower than a 5 star review to be a bad review. But they also push you to lower your prices so much that you're only going to attract the cheapest of the cheap, who also happen to be the ones who give the worst review. 

[Pat-And-Rachel0]

Thanks to all the commenters for this encouraging thread. Another success story: we are totally new to airbnb hosting and the "price tip" is $38 per night for our entire house! We started landing inquiries at many many times that rate, and have been booked solid for 3 1/2 weeks of the first 4 weeks that our listing has been active. So...ya...airbnb your price tips are horrific.

[Robert375]

I think they recommend really low so people charge less. Its necessarily what they think you should charge. Either that or they are using crappy algorithms. These companies that called themselves tech, airbnb, uber, etc. are anything but tech. They run on technology, thats it. When they try to do technology, they completely screw it up because they are essentially a hotel service and a cab company. Anyway, all I can do is assume all my place is worth is $20 a night, even though it is three blocks from Glen Park bart. So I now have a full time roommate who pays 3 times more than I would have made with airbnbs suggested pricing. 

[Bill-And-Patty0]

Agreed. Airbnb price tips are way too low. But..... the market shall provide. I use one of the aftermarket dynamic pricing providers with great success. 

[Danny94]

Hi William,

Aftermarket dynamic pricing providers?   Sounds interesting, but can you point me in right direction?

[Danny94]

I agree:  Airbnb is driving prices down too much.  It seems that if you try to raise prices that you do get fewer bookings or even no bookings.  Prices in Copacabana for temporary accommodation have fallen by 50% since I've been using Airbnb.  Whoever I ask in the travel industry about the cause of this blame Airbnb for driving prices down.  It seems that Hosts have to follow what everyone else does or he makes nothing.

I thought that Airbnb was here to help.   Maybe Hosts should get together and tackle Airbnb.  After all, we are all in this to make money.     

[Niku0]

Hosts can't gotogether and tackle Airbnb, but they can join the big OTA's and get most bookings from them. When you say prices in Copacabana for temporary accommodation have fallen by 50% it might only be prices on Airbnb.

[Olga6]

How to get together and organise an "union" style dialog? In the past, there were "groups" on comunity board....say London, North London....etc....so hosts could comunicate and potentially self organise. But (and is this an accidental thing or a policy?) comunication is broken in tiny threads hooked on one coment only and participants are consisted of mixed hosts. Say here: coments from New York, Germany, Thailand.....most subjects are localy relevant, that includes pricing! Are there threads that are specificly regional?

The only way to improve the pricing situation is to ignore suggestions and raise the price.

[Andrea1068]

There more people sign up for the websit the lower the prices get - I know it's offer and demand but because of the suggested prices it doesn't halp. Really, who wants to rent out a room for neary free? I really do not think this is helping hosts to stay on for long.  

[Kimberly18]

Commercial hosts Andrea, with multiple properties sitting open.....that's who! Airbnb seems more interested in attracting and courting these kinds of people than the host community they were founded around.

I have always ignored their targets but recently have stopped hosting via them (using others) since they drove the market down so ridiculously in my area that it isn't even worth bothering.

It is unfortunate that they forgot their mission but they are chasing bigger money in magnitude and good luck! As cities start to regulate them, they are going to find out what they lost with family hosts who cared,  since commerical interests will just move onto the next new, more profitable angle ......and be assured there will be a new one!

[Alyce-Jean--Sam-0]

Exactly my thoughts. I'm a super host who rents her whole house about six months a year. We thought we were the type of hosts that Air was looking for..... feeling very neglected actually.

sam

[Niku0]

AirBnb's price suggestions is NOT a result of supply and demand. On the contrary these suggestions are artificial low rates set from a central source, with the aim of grabbing the market, by luring new hosts to rent out accomodation to a price, which is not sustainable.

If AirBnb can get a sufficient share of a local market, they can damage the entire accomodation industri in that area, but as long as the supply of newcommer hosts exists, who want to rent out for any rate, ASirBnb make money.

If a group of accomodation houses went together and agreed common rates, with the purpose of outrang all local non members of the club, it would be an illigal cartel construction, but as an agensy AirBnb can get away with this busines method.

If hosts want to survival, they have to refuse to fall into this collective trap and set rates to a sustainable level, similar to rates displaid on the big OTA sites. It might hurt in the beginning, but it will pay in the long run, especially if hosts start to look for other agensies than AirBnb.