New fee structure

[Carolyn-And-Stephen0]

This is absolutely a horrible decision on AirBnN’s part. It completely penalizes the host.  We have been hosting for over 10 years and a Superhost for the entire time.  I will be thinking hard about staying on with AirBnB bead on this policy change. It adversely affects the host too much.  Especially on the Income tax and Rooms& Meal Tax

[Elaine701]

@Shell1094 

Since when does booking.com disclose their fees to the guest? And since when do guests care what fees the platform is charging?

[Greystone0]

Hi @Shell1094  - I agree with you. I don't like the lack of transparency either. And I think that guests do care about the underlying fee that the platform is charging. It puts things in perspective and that is now missing.

That has been my direct experience and I am well aware that there are those that feel otherwise and they do not need to comment on this comment.  It doesn't mean that my experience is not valid or true for my guests.

I think this whole episode shows that it is really important to be diversified as policies change and you may not be where you thought you were on any given platform.

I think that it will take a little bit of time for things to equalize as not all hosts are on this new program and so it is a bit chaotic.

And once Sept 15 comes, hosts that have not taken action will suddenly be cheaper, whether they want to or not and so there will be a divide for awhile while everyone gets things in order.

It is serendipitous to me that the 15% guest discount has appeared during this transition. The timing is not lost on me.

I think that ultimately things will settle to a new normal but you can't go back and sell unsold nights while things are in an odd state. So being diversified is always important and has new relevance now.

[Amy3807]

I agree. It completely punishes the people that are keeping this business open.

[Elaine701]

@Amy3807 

You should list your place with booking.com.

But you might want to wait before closing your Airbnb listing, because what you learn from other platforms will surprise you. 

Good luck with that.