[Poll] Do you use Smart Pricing?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

Setting the right price for your listing is very important, though it can be quite challenging to adapt it to the various factors that come into play such as the area, season, or listing type (you fill in the rest!).

The Airbnb platform offers various functions such as the Smart Pricing feature, and we’ve seen throughout the Community Centre that you all have different hosting styles, as well as ways of using the platform. With this in mind, we wanted to get some of your insights and experiences on a key tool: Smart Pricing. 

Do you use the Smart Pricing feature? What are the tips and tricks you would share with fellow Hosts?

We’d love to hear more about your choice in the comments section below!

Thank you,

Quincy

[Quincy]

Thanks for sharing this @Laurelle3!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Laurelle3 I think that your 80% occupancy is a great achievement/target. Your comments on maintenance/downtime resonate with me.

I suspect Smart pricing just keeps dropping the price (if hosts allow it to) to achieve 100% occupancy. If hosts allow this they will find they are making no money after taking costs into account which are often higher in low season.

[Kirsten266]

I used Smart Pricing for one week but I've noticed that the price was way too low when the guest booked far upfront (booking the beginning of the winter for end of spring).

There also wasn't a good price-difference between midweek- and weekend days. 

[Barbara2155]

Hi everyone

For me, smart pricing is a good reference when I check my night price by month or seasonal. But I'm not using it. My house, my review is different from the rest of the offers in Orlando. For me is more customized, but is always a good reference to check. I usually start adding $20 or more than the smart offer. 

[Quincy]

It's very interesting to hear this @Barbara2155. So you use it mainly as some sort of comparison tool. Thank you for sharing this 🙂 

[Cate14]

I do not use smart pricing, nor do I take much notice of Airbnb's idea of what I should charge as it is invariably ridiculously low. For example: I have a wooden yurt which I let together with a cabin where the guests sleep, cook, and shower etc. The Yurt is simply for relaxing. Set in a private part of my garden, there is also a fire pit, a BBQ., outdoor seating etc.  all exclusive to the Yurt/Cabin combo

I have just raised the price to £100 for two people per night. This, which I think is a steal, based as I am in the Lake District, is deemed by Airbnb to be too expensive!!

My prices are the same in winter as they are on a summer Bank Holiday and this is not going to change. I will not, in short, be using anything "smart"  

I do like being on Airbnb by the way, but I think - because it is not based in the UK - it doesn't fully grasp the variations in the market depending on where a property is based in this country

On a separate, and entirely irrelevant note, their search engine is awful, offering properties forty miles away when a particular location is entered

Never mind. I am full nearly all the time so I am deeply grateful to them - honest!! 

[Karla533]

I want to stay at your place, Cate! :))

[Filip12]

I do use the Smart Pricing but the problem is that the algorhytm barely ever increases my prices even though there is a high demand and I’m usually 90% booked throughout the year in all 4 of my apartments. The system tip for a minimal price is always way too low, barely covering the constantly rising costs, so I suppose that is the reason for the algorhytm for keeping the prices at roughly the same level.

That being said the SP is slowly becoming useless in my case…

[Wilson-And-Emily0]

I've used SP from the start and have been very happy with it.  My minimums are set according to what's appropriate to our area, NOT what Airbnb sugggests.  Airbnb recommendations are far to low in my opinion.  My minimums are set at numbers I'd be happy to get year round, so any time SP increases them based on season/demand it's icing on the cake.  I don't have the time or desire to be constantly fussing with prices or caring about competition.  If someone finds a cheaper Airbnb, they can book that one.  As it stands, we've had fantastic occupancy rates and no complaints about value.  I've been pleasantly surprised at what folks are willing to pay with SP rates, happy host!  

[Jodi65]

Hi @Quincy I've been hosting for 3+ years and co-hosting for about a year on a very limited basis. I use Smart pricing as a guideline - especially when I first start a listing. But I also constantly look at and adjust accordingly. What I do is I have a $ goal each month. If I have the bookings to meet that financial goal then I just let the rest of the days book at smart pricing just so I can get heads in beds. I find that owners have a tolerance level on the low end so regardless of what SP suggests I work within their tolerance level and then if they aren't getting bookings, I use SP to show them that perhaps their pricing is too high. It's a tool that saves me tons of time and saves me the need to go to other apps. However, more transparency on the algorithm would be amazing!

[Karla533]

I just turned smart pricing off.  Demand here is insane and the prices being suggested I thought were ridiculous.

I believe guest expectations rise with price. If price is too high I'm afraid I'll start getting worse reviews.

[Holly561]

Thank you for including me❣😊👍

[Heather32]

I tried smart pricing a few years ago and lost big time on a few reservations. I will never trust an outside algorithm again to go my job. My occupancy rates are very high, and yet Airbnb keeps telling me to drop my prices. This just does not work for me.

[Ann72]

I use Smart Pricing since 2018 @Quincy in the same way @Emilia42 uses it.  I raise the prices in the high season and am perfectly comfortable my own set minimum the rest of the year.  Occasionally I get a 4 for value, but that doesn't affect my overall rating, so I don't worry about it - besides, the money's in the bank 🙂  Keeping Smart Pricing on, using Instant Book, being super-responsive, and having a thorough and well-used guidebook seems to keep my listings top of mind for guests.  

That the algorithm doesn't raise prices for popular weekends just tells me that Airbnb is more interested in bargain hunters than anyone else.  Their suggested prices suggest a certain desperation that, as someone who has been in sales for 30+ years, I would never display when closing a deal.

[Kevin-and-Tamara0]

No, I do not use SmartPricing and I actively advise clients and other hosts against it.  It's a total sham and does not, in any way, improve total income.  Independent dynamic pricing tools do an exponentially better job at automatically adjusting nightly rates.