To drop the price or not drop the price - that is the question.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

With cancellations flooding in and few new bookings I am interested to know what peoples views are on price slashing.

My view:

As a host I actually think dropping the price is absolutely the WRONG thing to do. People are just not travelling - reducing the price will not overcome a closed border or a Trump travel ban. Far better to take what little business there is at a reasonable price - some people will still travel especially when they get bored with the media hype and realise that for many many lucky people Corona Virus is just a bad cold/dose of flu.

[Jim472]

I'm with you. I'm leaving my listing open with my minimum price. If people want to book they can, if not, then oh well. This isn't my livelihood, airbnb pays the bank loan and gives me some beer money, if not I pay. If I was counting on airbnb to pay for the place I would not have bought it. Seriously, virus aside, you could have fire, flooding, earthquake, etc. 

[Michelle53]

@Mike-And-Jane0    "some people will still travel especially when they get bored with the media hype and realise that for many many lucky people Corona Virus is just a bad cold/dose of flu."

This is exactly the scenario that your own Cobra Emergency Management Committee  is the most concerned about.    People who only get mild symptoms, or become tired of the control measures, and start wandering about spreading the virus to high-risk groups. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRadMzCKnCU

Presentation starts about 23 minutes in. 

And people still feel that it is an under-response.  Whatever one's political views, one should understand the science behind the decisions.   Science supports the idea of a travel ban from affected countries *before* the virus enters a country. They agree that *after* the virus enters a country, travel bans from other countries have little effect, and internal control measures have to take over.   Up to, and including, families being asked to stay at home, if someone is sick.  So, one should prepare for the idea that there will be a shutdown in the UK, similar to what is happening in Europe, as you approach the peak of the virus. 

[Helen350]

I've hosted a working nurse this week, and a carer, caring for a severely disabled young man. And an engineer. These people will still need to travel for work and pay for cheap lodgings at mine, or somewhere. The health workers are vital, they can't just stay at home. Just had some tourists book for next weekend too....

- I won't be slashing my prices cos they're super low already... can't go any lower.

[Leslie576]

I'm not reducing prices.   I am going to switch to Homeaway or a similar platform.

[Kath9]

@Leslie576, I'm curious as to how switching to another platform is going to help your bookings?

[Kristin108]

Vrbo/Home Away is not requiring hosts to refund guests. 

[Leslie576]

I'm not looking for help booking my place, it does that on its own.  What I will achieve is a more aligned partnership by switching.   @Kath9 

[Kath9]

@Mike-And-Jane0, no, there is no point in dropping your price as it will make no difference to bookings. And no, this is not just a 'bad cold'. This kind of laissez-faire thinking is exactly how people are dying. Yes, maybe for a young person, it's not particularly dangerous (although still significantly more dangerous than seasonal flu), but if they transmit it to someone in their 70s or 80s, it's a different story. If you read directives from WHO, doctors and medical associations, you'll realise it is NOT just media hype. There is a good chance that our health systems will become overwhelmed by this unless we take measures to stop the spread of this virus. The common cold does not kill anyone, and the coronavirus had 30-40 times the fatality rate of seasonal influenza. It is also highly transmissible. Frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of the outrage from hosts over losing income. This is affecting everyone the world over and will continue to do so for months to come.

[Kristin108]

This is NOT loss of income for me! It is a loss of my livelihood and my ability to cover my bills!

[Melanie251]

I don't know that this is outrage. Just wondering - like many others - how to survive it and pay the bills.

[Sam397]

The way I see it AirBnB gave people a way to take advantage of the situation by letting them cancel with a no question asked refund. There are already people who has canceled a booking just so they can turn around and book a cheaper place, if host lower their prices they are going to cause more cancellations and possibly even take money from themselves. Whats to say you lower your price then someone who is already booked with you sees that and cancels the reservation they already have and books it at the lower price. All they have to do is open an account using a partners name. So my opinion is NO you shouldnt lower your prices.

[Kristin108]

I am actually raising my rates, especially my cleaning rate to partially cover the additional time I have to oversee every detail...

[Jody79]

We are not cutting our prices and have just accepted the fact we are not going to have many bookings this year.  We are lucky in that we don't rely on this income to pay the bills.

[Sarah977]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

"Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after a pandemic will seem inadequate."

Michael O. Leavitt, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 2007

Everyone characterizing this as media hype and "like the common cold" is actually a danger to others, because it will lead to not taking adequate precautions.