Couple of Thoughts on Airbnb

[Christopher64]

Hi, I have been a regular Airbnb guest user for several years. I've noticed some trends occuring in the last year or two, that for me have changed my attititude about the service. I think it's a fantastic resource overall. But I'd just like to voice my two concerns and solicit some friendly opinions. Because, I'm only one perspective, myself. 

1) Recently I looked at a studio in a scenic town in a mountain state. It was $65/night, which is totally fine. However, there was a $50 cleaning fee. Then a $30 service fee (Airbnb's cut), then a $24 occupancy tax. What was a raw rate of $195 for three nights became a total of $299. This strikes me as a rather excessive amount of add-ons? I realize it's not centralized effort - each entity adds on their fee as necessary. But it changes the overall picture for the user, and the decision making process. I understand fees, but it just seems excessive amount to have to factor as a burden on the guest side of the equation. $299 is a heck of a lot more than 195. 

2) I have noticed that using Airbnb in other countries is significantly less expensive than in the U.S. Significantly. Which leads me to a broader philosophical point about hosts who want to capitalize on their extra space/property, vs the opportunity to inflate and gouge guests. The word "greed" comes to mind, but I don't want to make as much of a negative accusation about hosts. And I completely understand the market forces at play, the price will be what the market will bear. But I have noticed even in remote towns, not big cities, average nightly rates well above $100, 200, and I'm thinking, does it really need to be *that* expensive? People use Airbnb in part to avoid the excessive costs of a hotel. But Airbnb rates in the US seem to be skyrocketing. I have used Airbnb in Europe quite a lot, and it is a joy because people are not trying to always push the limits of how high they can charge. Rates are attractive and easily affordable. Just sayin'

Thoughts?  

[Robin129]

No. I was simply providing examples. I have friends who share their entire basement appartment. They take longer stays and pay a maid service to clean.

I have a small room I share. I do roughly calculate what it costs to set out a light breakfast spread (cerals, milk, juices, coffee, oatmeal, English muffins, bagels, condiments), do laundry, and stock up on the amenities I provide. I add that into my rates. I don't accept the automated fees because I would lose money.  I want to share the space at a rate that allows me to offer nice things to my guests and still have a little left over to support my hobbies. 

But I am required to report the income on my taxes, and I do keep receipts for my expenses. So it does become more of a business in the US whether we like it or not. 

[Robin129]

@Dee9 no. I am not. I don't charge $50 cleaning fee. Where did you get that idea?

[Dee9]

I mis-read. Apologies. 

I do agree it's good to keep expense records tho. 

[Robin129]

No worries. 

Happy Hosting!

[Jeanette45]

I hire someone to clean the 2 bedroom house I rent out.  Or sometimes, I clean it because in the U.S. (Los Angeles), to get a good rate for a cleaner to come in and clean for less than $45 an hour, you have to commit to once a week.  That commitment can't happen with the mutable schedule of short term rentals.  If you hire a service, it is $45 an hour.   I can get someone we already know to drop in for $25 an hour, but often the scheduling does not permit.  Folks, people don't work for $15 here in Los Angeles for a five hour gig.  I am over fifty five and it is hard for me to do the cleaning; I am not really jazzed about the extra take-home pay in cleaning fees. It takes 5 hours to clean between guests and I charge $80.00 for the 2 bedroom house with backyard, patio, and garage. We can't just "sanitize surfaces" and vacuum and wash the linens.  People come to me instead of a hotel.  In order to get a good review, the house has to be clean.  That means not a hair should be found in the bathroom or on the linens.  And yes, we dust every time.  The microwave, toaster oven, refrigerator and stove all need to be cleaned each time.  Sometimes, we get lucky and a super-neat person comes.  Often, people come to cook to save on eating out.  They use the kitchen to full capacity.   One guest left the cast iron pan in the sink and rusted it out; it took me 5 separate sessions of scrubbing with various products to get the rust stains off the sink.  Another guest left a roast pan of oil in the oven and all the pots she left in the cupboards needed rewashing.  Often, I have to rewash the dishes and flatware because the guest does not have a high standard of cleaning.  They do a "good enough for at home" job.  But, to charge people to use a kitchen, you have to have seriously clean plates. The fridge drawers get washed out. The outdoor furniture gets cleaned, because if I advertize that as a feature, it has to be ready to use.  Likewise, sweeping the hardscapes and the garage floor.   Ceiling fans, baseboards, dresser drawers, the kitchen trash receptacle; all these things need cleaning thoroughly maybe once every 1-2 months.  But the basics for each new guest has to be done.  Each guest gets what is promised; a place that is squeaky clean and pathogen clean to the best of our ability.  The only way I could save on cleaning is to lower my standards of cleanliness.

[Dennis51]

@Jeannette27 Great response. I have a large studio apartment on Airbnb and sometimes the cleaning is light, but sometimes not!  I have not been able to find a service that is willing to clean in-between guests for less than a two hour minimum of $65/hr.  There is no way to cover that cost when the cost of the studio is only $79/night!  If I had only 7 day stays, I could make it work, but most are one or two nights.  I usually do the cleaning myself, but I also like to travel and so far just have to block those dates to rentals so I don't have to a problem.  Is there a solution?

[William166]

Christopher.. just asking what does a small apartment in Paris rent for in USD per month.. comparable property .. my abnb is in a 80k population rural area for $29 a night with no other fees and per my reviews it is very clean etc... are you using a broad brush in your comments.. William.

[Christopher64]

Well obviously in most cities there is a range of options, everything from a simple bedroom to a lavish luxury apartment. But honestly I'm not really talking about the big cities as much. I'm talking about small towns, suburban areas that seem to defy the supply/demand rule. Like in a cozy town in France a flat or room might be $35/night, but in the US the same will still be $80/night (+ numerous fees). So, I can only say from anecdotally memory and scanning through listings. So here you have Airbnb fee+cleaning fee+occupancy tax. While in every other country I've looked at you have only the Airbnb fee. And lower rates. 

[Hannah104]

I list my space in California and try to strike a balance between what is affordable for guests and what I can afford as a host. The house prices, property taxes and cost of labour in California are astronomical. I'm a new host but have stayed in Airbnbs around the world with mixed experiences at a range of different prices. I actually think that despite the cost of living here, the Airbnbs in my area are listed at really reasonably prices  (for the guests) compared to some of the places I've stayed around the world and they usually come in at under half the price of the cheapest hotel for a night stay in a private bedroom with a private bathroom. Right now, we're making only a little more money than we would have if we'd just rented the room out and that's not considering how much of my time and my money I've poured into this. I can't raise my prices because you can get a 2 bed private home with a pool in the area for as little as $70 a night (not including cleaning fees) and I don't want to tack on additional fees for extra people or for cleaning because I feel that's kind of a sneaky way to list the price of my room. The pricing in this area of the States is really competetive and I already list a higher price than the smart-auto pricing recommends otherwise it just wouldn't be financially viable for me. I've also found that listing the space for a higher amount discourages people from booking who are looking for a cheap solution and may not respect my home. My first few weeks of listing at the airbnb recommended price, we had some younger guests staying with us who got incredibly wasted after a night out, vomited all over my brand new patio, needlessly called the ambulance and firebrigade out, disturbed our neighbours and housemates and then left their mess the next day without acknowledging any of their bad behavior or apologising. I know you shouldn't let a few bad apples ruin the experience for you, but this has made me very wary of who I allow to book with me from now on and how much I should charge just in case I need to spend 5 full hours the next day doing damage control. I cannot imagine one of my housemates treating my home in this way and I absolutely wouldn't accept it. I love hosting and welcoming guests into my house, but it is my house, my space, my time that I'm sharing and it is valuable to me. 

[Alexandra224]

This is pretty interesting hannah!, this thing you pointed out..." lowering prices, might attract people who are not into being careful with the property".... and saddddlyy think that might be true!, perhaps in a psycological way, paying a "cheap" airbnb, gives you the sense of not being careful, while paying for a expensive one, does?...

Then should we re-think our pricing?... i've wondering this, because i do want' to make it affordable for people who are into travelling and all that.. but i definitely don't want to attract people who don't respect my home.. some thoughts? :S

[Hannah104]

That's my dilemma Alexandra! When I travel, I want to spend as little as I can on accomodation while still being comfortable so I can put my money toward seeing the place I'm visiting. So now that I'm hosting, especially in such an expensive part of the world, I want to make my place affordable for visitors who I know want to spend their money at Disney, the beaches and in LA etc. At the same time, I don't want to attract guests who don't value or respect my home or the others living here. And at the same time, I need to break even financially. It is a balancing act and its impossible to do the right thing for the right price for everyone! Taking cues from some of the wonderful hosts who've opened their doors to me around the world, I try to go the extra mile and be there for my guests, I ask people face to face for feedback during their stay and try to accomodate any additional needs they may have in advance of their visit. Luckily I've only had one negative experience; however, it dented my confidence a little and I'm trying to figure out how to prevent something like it from happening in the future without discriminating against future guests. I'd love any advice from experienced hosts? I don't know if raising prices is going to work, as if something is more expensive do guests feel more entitled? If the cleaning price is higher, do they feel more justified making a big mess? 

[Bruce43]

@Hannah104 I would recommend putting your cleaning expense into your total price.

people including me hate all the extra charges.

all my guests leave the apartment quite clean.

hope that helps

[Karen313]

@Hannah104 Feel free to pm me. I m in the same part of the world & wish this forum existed when I began hosting years ago. Although it may have scared me out of it! 

[Bruce43]

@Alexandra224 actually you just answered your own question 😉

[Jacky19]

Hi every one.

I rent my house in Merida Yucatan and I never added fees for cleaning or anything else, I set a fair rental price according to the local market.

I find it difficult enough to search and find the perfect home then to be disappointed by extra fees.

Hotels and B&B do not add cleaning fees so why should we.

I believe in added value, for instance, If my guests do not rent a car I offer free transportation from the airport and I stop at the grocery store with them before going home. I clean the pool at no charge once a week.