Delay in requesting more money

[Caroline1477]

Hi, I am a host but am writing today from a guest's perspective and would love your feedback as hosts.

Let me explain, 

Back in September, my party booked a place for a 2night stay in November (large party of 10 + 2 dogs). Upon booking the home, my friend who is handling the booking assumed all the fees were already included on the "invoice" when she proceeded. 

She booked the place from her phone and did not read all the About the Space description. She just wanted to make sure dogs were allowed and that we had enough beds for our party. She did read the house rules and Additional Fees to see if there were any fees for the dogs, which seemed they were none.

With that being said, 50% of the amount was paid upon booking and the remaining 50% was been paid in October. At this point, we still had not heard from the host.

The day after everything was paid (over a month after the initial booking), the host finally contacted us and started asking questions about the dogs, and the day after, as we are now passed the deadline to cancel our booking for a full refund, the host contacts us explaining me that we owe an extra $707 for taxes and pet fees (out of the over $2K already paid), which is a substantial "unexpected" increase for a 2-night stay. This info was indicated in the listing description under "Other things to note", which my friend did not read.

You can imagine our surprise. From a listing that first shows as $450/night to almost $1,400/night when you change the dates and add all the fees, this was beyond what we could spend. But impossible to cancel for a full refund. 

So my question is: We DO know many guests do not read the entire listing description, so when it comes to disclosing/requesting extra fees after a booking, what should be the delay for a host to disclose/ask those fees to the guest? We feel that because of the increase in price, the host intentionally waited for the cancellation period to kick in to initiate a money request.

Like I mentioned, I am a host and am not able to add my local tax to my listing, so the first time I had a booking I immediately informed my guest that there was a local tax to pay and I understood if they wanted to cancel. I feel this is the ethical thing to do even if it is written somewhere in a listing that already has a lot more information.

[Sarah977]

@Caroline1477  I agree that the host should have sent you the extra fees request right away when you booked, assuming the pets, correct number of people and all was disclosed by the booker.

But I also think you are standing on very thin ice to be somehow feeling outraged about the charges when the person who booked it failed to read that information that you say was stated clearly in the listing. The charges aren't "unexpected" just because the booker didn't bother themselves to read thoroughly through the listing description.

[Lisa723]

@Sarah977 it's impossible to request money in the resolution center before the guest's final payment has been completed.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa723  So if a guest chooses the 50% up front option, they have no idea how much extra they'll be charged until after the second payment goes through? That seems a**-backwards. Seems like all the fees should be included for the guest to see before even the first payment is made, and all those fees included in the 2 payments that are made, not after the fact.

[Lisa723]

@Sarah977 yes, as a host who has to collect a tax that Airbnb does not and who has pet fees, this is incredibly frustrating. I eventually figured out how to [mis-]use the "community fee" line item for local taxes, but for pet fees there is nothing to be done but wait for the final payment to be made (of which, of course, we get no notice) then send the additional request. I try to make this clear in listing description and house rules but I really hate to have to do it this way. Have considered eliminating the pet fee, but then we'd have to essentially build it in across the board including for guests who don't bring pets, which seems worse.

[Caroline1477]

Thank you for your feedback. I agree with you and I’m more upset with Airbnb at this point. There is a lot of conversation about guests not reading when booking and it is unclear that guests HAVE to read the entire property description, where that section is purely for description purposes and not for disclosing additional fees. Airbnb should ensure to mention before booking that all descriptions and rules have been read and acknowledged, especially when there is no physical rental agreement.

As a host, I would not expect guests to read every single line of the description but important matters should be reinforced first thing by the host during a conversation with the guest or right after booking.

[Sarah977]

@Caroline1477  The property description section is not purely for describing the property- many hosts also mention other things in that section, things they might also state under house rules or other things to note, just to make sure it is seen. 

I'm not sure what you mean that it's unclear that guests HAVE to read the entire property description. We don't HAVE to read the ingredients on the packaging of food we buy, either, but if we want to know what's in it, we do. Whether that info is on the side of the box or the back, that's immaterial.

But I do agree that Airbnb needs to make many things, this among them, clear to guests before they book. But you know what? Even if they did, guests will ignore that, too. Most people will check "I agree" to many things, not just Airbnb, without bothering to read through everything, or even anything that they are agreeing to.

[Mark116]

@Caroline1477   I'd question whether there is any mechanism for the host to enforce the extra fees.  I agree, other than hosts stating x cost for breaking rules, etc. [which is also mostly unenforceable] I believe that all applicable fees should appear in the calculation at the time of booking.  

It is also a fault in airbnb's system that any actual, legitimate tax can't be added at the time of booking.

However, unless you find a merciful CS rep or can somehow talk the host into a discount, I'm  not sure what your options are, since you admit that the full listing wasn't read.

[Lisa723]

@Caroline1477 ouch.

Airbnb definitely could do a better job here, in allowing hosts to include pet fees and any taxes Airbnb doesn't collect in their explicit pricing, rather than being forced to request money after the fact-- which you can't even do until after the guest's final payment has been made. So your host could not have sent the request earlier, though she might have given you a heads up when you booked.

You say the fees were disclosed under "other things to note" -- but not under "house rules"? IMO they should be in "house rules" -- but again Airbnb doesn't have any standard for this or even show house rules at all unless the guest expands them, so once again, not helping.

When we travel with our dogs we explicitly ask before completing the booking.

[Caroline1477]

I agree that Airbnb should give more flexibility for the hosts to clearly state any fees. I have been using VRBO long before Airbnb existed and they have always allowed the addition of extra fees and even whether the local tax should also be computed on these fees.

As a host myself, after I realized I couldn't add the 14% local tax on my listing, I ended up adding it myself to my pricing just to avoid any surprises for my guests, but now I have a different standard price on VRBO and on airbnb.

Oh well, I still hope Airbnb will take some sort of responsibility because a host should always fully and clearly disclose any additional fees (or important matter that could affect someone's stay) in a timely manner even if it is assumed that the guest read the full listing.

Thank you all for your feedback!