Pricing Misinformation and Misleading

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

I often get emails from Airbnb advising to lower my prices - "because other properties similar to yours are booking these lower rates".

REALLY?

Why then, when Airbnb want you to sign up to their service of YOU sharing your booking information they send out emails like this:

So OK, interesting stuff - particularly as the booked properties are roughly the SAME price as ours near enough. Click the link, sign up to share info. and.... no details. No photos, No properties, no information.

After feeling duped, I checked what Airbnb price suggestions were for these same dates, you know... just interested in finding out. 

Lo and behold! Rather than the £242 / £249 straddling our price of £235 almost perfectly as their email told me properties like ours had booked, Airbnb price suggestions for ALL those dates is £131.

Evidentially not evidential.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Trevor243 

Thats just dishonest and a scam too!

[Trevor243]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0I'm not worried - I set my prices, the bookings come in - I have a lot of properties to manage and I do price checks of my own, so I know the going rates .....

[Helen350]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Trevor243 I get those messages even when  I KNOW there are no cheaper listings than mine that day. Sometimes I'm told to lower prices on my large room, cos people looked, then booked something cheaper.... YES! - They booked my small room, £1 cheaper!

[Helen427]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

@Emilia42 @Trevor243 @Helen350 @Susan17 

Have any of you ever had a message from ABB to increase your prices because a Guest booked a property to stay at more expensive than your one?

I've had a couple of emails suggesting I drop my price to $21 a night, they went into archives.

There's absolutely no listings or accommodation anywhere in Auckland for that price in any online Marketplace.

The question we should all be asking is, "Would our local Hotels and Councils accept such a low nightly rate if they were in our circumstances?"

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Helen427 

This email copied in the original post does this.

Our rates are £235 for those periods. Some guest booked £342. I wanted to find out who, why, what..

This was a 'sharing' email phishing for sign ups, and not the regular "Other listings are booking for far less" type email. None of those have ever been near the actual price level we've booked at.

Throughout the year, the only time any price suggestion equates something like we charge is High Season. At those times Airbnb suggest charging more, but not by email.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

I think Airbnb do themselves a disservice with these rather stupid e-mails. I would like to use smart pricing BUT, if it uses the same algorithms as their price suggestions (eg drop my 3 bed price to the same price as a room in a house) I don't see the point.