@Richard531
I have to agree with @Helen3 here. I am surprised that energy prices have not increased in any significant way in your neck of the woods given that Europe is suffering a massive energy crisis, but it would explain why my recent guests from California were totally unaware of this issue even though it makes headline news every day in the UK.
If you don't believe me, the information is available on our parliament website: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9491/
"The energy price cap increased by 12% in October 2021, 54% in April 2022 and is due to increase by 80% in October 2022 (gas by 91%, electricity by 70%). A further large price rise in January is also widely expected."
The BBC has reported that the average household will be paying £3,549 per annum from October (my energy supplier has also confirmed that my bills will be around this level), which means that around 40% of households will be thrown into fuel poverty. Many people are planning to simply go without heat this winter and, as I am sure you know, heating is a necessity during UK winters.
There are also predictions that, from January, the average household will be paying £5,386 per annum, with further price rises occurring after that. If these figures are correct, the majority of the population will experience fuel poverty.
I can totally see why many hosts are considering simply shutting down for the colder months because, if you cannot charge prices that cover these costs, what is the point? I don't agree that making $1 profit is better than $0 profit unless you are also factoring in a living wage for the host for the hours they spend on each stay. Even then...
It's not just energy. My water bill went up £100 and I expect that to rise further. Rents have gone up. My cleaners put up their fees substantially because they also have to cope. We are experiencing high inflation and everything is becoming more expensive, even toilet paper. I am not joking.
Even if the competition is not yet thinking of increasing nightly rates because they are scared of losing bookings, sooner or later they will need to or they will need to shut down, unless they already had a high enough profit margin to cope with these increases. I know that I do not.