Guest Service fees increased to around 17.7%

[Neil23]

We have noticed a significant drop in Airbnb bookings over the last couple of months. We had the AGM of our local tourist accommodation providers group today and all Airbnb hosts there said they were experiencing the same thing. When I got back I did some incognito searches for properties in our area and was shocked to find that the Airbnb service fee to guests is now up at over 17%!
I'm finding it difficult to comprehend this, as while we have several new hosts in the area, over all bookings are down, which means Airbnbs profits must all be down, and many hosts in the area are now switching to Booking.com and other OTAs. 

When we first listed with Airbnb about 4 years ago, the guest service fee was around 9%. Then 12, then 15  and now almost 18. It seems like a serious case of shooting yourself in the foot. And at the same time, hosts are constantly under pressure to reduce their rates, so hosts suck up Airbnbs increased costs.

If you are a host, please go and try and book your own place through an incognito window. You will be shocked at what you find.

Any feedback from around the world would be greatly appreciated.

[Sarah977]

@Neil23  I've actually been curious what Airbnb is charging guests for my place, so I asked one of my recent guests if she wouldn't mind telling me what Airbnb fees she paid on her booking. It was about 10%. But I also asked another guest about 6 months back, and hers was more like 13%. So I really don't know and the Airbnb algorithm for fees seems to be a well-kept secret. 

[Alon1]

@Neil23 @Sarah977 

Firstly, I'm mystified why you have to take roundabout routes to verify 'service fees' to Guests?

It's very simple to check on your own listing.

On Dashboard we can both 'Edit' & 'Preview' out listings.

In Preview just enter any dates and you'll see precisely what a prospective Guest sees for Rental, Cleaning and Service Fee giving Total.

Moreover, if you check 'Service Fee' in 'Help' you will see the current rate:

'The guest service fee for homes ranges between 0% and 20% of the booking subtotal (the nightly rate '

Secondly, Neil, please be aware that Airbnb has absorbed many Agents and Management Companies, and gradually introduced a 0% Service Fee to Guests. I can readily name one such company operating in Wales, Cottages, Com. They currently boast over 800 listings. Enter dates for booking any of their cottages and it's 0% Service Fee to Guests.

I can best speculate Airbnb make a business arrangement with such agencies to get an annual fee.

And presumably the Service Fee is amalgamated into the nightly price.

It seems Airbnb has adopted this 0% Service Fee for Guests from other websites such as Booking.Com

The fear is that this 0% Policy will eventually be rolled out to listings of Private Hosts as well, meaning that our relatively low s.f 3% + VAT [in UK] will soon escalate.in line with Booking.Com 15% or perhaps more. 

This subject has been addressed in other threads. [Check via CC 'Search']

[Neil23]

Well Alon, that has to be the most pointless and patronising response I've seen on any community thread, and I have to wonder why you posted it. Just to make yourself look smart?
First of all, I am well aware of the 0% service fee, but I don't see how that's relevant to this post, other than as just another example of how Airbnb are shooting themselves in the foot and forcing hosts to migrate to other OTAs. Of course, they are doing this as they think it's bringing them inline with the likes of booking.com, but what they don't seem to realise is that in reality booking.com is much better at bringing bookings than Airbnb, and the reason we use Airbnb is because the guest pays the service fee. If they move to a booking.com scenario all hosts will switch. In fact, Homeaway has now become the right place to list a holiday home.

Secondly, I am also well aware that there are other threads on this topic here, but the last one I could find was 2017 and complaining about the rise to 15%. It is now 2 years later and another massive jump in guest service fees and clearly that's worth talking about and bringing to the attention of hosts, who, like me will want to move to better options.

[Alon1]

@Neil23 

'You are well aware...' but 'shocked to find...' and don't understand the significance of 0% Service Fee to Guests rolled out to Agents with 800 listings who maybe your competitors and which may well explain why you are getting less bookings. Think about it and realize why my comment is far from 'pointless'.

All this was addressed on a far more recent post of a month or two ago  Keep searching for newer posts. I would dig it out my archives, but with your attitude, I just simply can't be bothered.

The only thing left worth to inform you, If you wish to make sure the person you address reads your post please use @ sign. A drop down menu appears with names of contributors to post. 

[Neil23]

Good grief man. Go and so something else. I am well aware of everything you have 'added' to this conversation and the implications of it. I did not tag you as I don't care whether you read it. I was addressing other members who may be put off my your attitude. Now incase you didn't notice, this isn't facebook and we're not interested in getting drawn into this sort of trolling. Goodbye!

[Sarah977]

@Alon1   

"Moreover, if you check 'Service Fee' in 'Help' you will see the current rate:

'The guest service fee for homes ranges between 0% and 20% of the booking subtotal (the nightly rate '"

How does that help? 0-20%? That's quite a broad range.

I wasn't taking a roundabout route- I just happened to think of it and asked the guest. I could have checked it for myself, but I also wanted to know if guests are being charged different service fees from what we see on our preview. I know guests can often see different prices for the same dates depending on whether they are using the app or desktop and depending what browser they are using. One guest wrote in here to say that both she and her husband, each on their own laptops, sitting next to each other, were seeing different prices for the same place for the same dates. And the fact that one of the guests I asked paid 10% and the other 13%, when I have the same price every day, all year, makes it even more non-transparent.

[Alon1]

@Sarah977 

I've never experienced this. On the contrary, on occasions when Guest has requested clarification of fees during Inquiry, my response: 'I can see exactly the same as you on my screen.'

  No one has ever replied, 'Sorry, it's not what I see on my screen'. All have agreed they see exactly the same as me, whether by Mb App or Computer. 

Maybe, the system is operating differently in your part of the world. But I doubt there's any difference between Neil and myself in the UK.

[Alon1]

@Sarah977 

RE:  'How does that help? 0-20%? That's quite a broad range.'

I only quoted the initial part of the Guidelines. Keep scrolling down and you will see

'In general, the service fee gets lower as the reservation cost gets higher. Guests see this fee on the checkout page before they book a reservation.'

For furthe information please trouble Airbnb rather than me.

Thank you.

[Neil23]

You chose to get involved in the conversation Alon, and with very unconstructive comments, so feel free not to be bothered any more and leave this thread to people who are interested in the topic.

Thanks! And goodbye!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Neil23 

I just checked and if service fee is counted only on nightly rate and not on cleaning fee then in this example is 19% + host service fee arround 3% ...

€50 x 2 nights €100
Cleaning fee     €20
Service fee        €19
Total                   €139

It's a lot, my bookings dropped as well  😞

[Neil23]

I really can't work out why Airbnb are doing this to themselves. There are plenty of other listing sites around. Tripadvisor holiday rentals is now cheaper than Airbnb! And they used to be the most expensive. And there are others much better and much cheaper out there.

[Alon1]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

To fully address this subject, you can't just put in 1 nights fee, because as I quoted from Airbnb Help

  'the service fee gets lower as the reservation cost gets higher. Guests see this fee on the checkout page before they book a reservation.'

In other words, a Guest booking a few weeks or a month at your nightly price will be paying less service fee.

In sum, service fee is calculated on a sliding scale. 

I hope you don't find my response as 'pointless' as Neil.

[Jeff158]

@Alon1 

In the searches I've done, the service fee only reduces for bookings of 28 nights or more.

The service fee on your listings is 18% if a guest books 1 night or 21 nights. I should think this covers 90% of bookings on airbnb and is therefore a pretty good indication of an average booking fee which is what @Neil23  is saying has gone up

Book 28 nights and it drops to 13.5% on  your listings.

@Branka-and-Silvia0 it looks like guests are paying service fees on the cleaning fees, its ridiculous that with guest and host fees airbnb now takes an average 21%.

[Alon1]

@Jeff158 

Thanks for reply.

However, it's not simply number of days which constitute service fee on my listings.

I charge extra for additional guest(s) above 1 on my room listings (up to 4 persons depending on room), and additional 4 persons on entire flat listing, up to 9 persons.

It means that sum total Guest pays quickly escalates. In other words, it doesn't require 21 nights for service fee to be reduced on the sliding scale.