I noticed today that the platform has increased the service fee it charges my guests from 13 to 15%
Wondering if this was a one-off, I searched my listing, and sure enough, my guests are charged a total price of $98 now, instead of $96. As I have price-matched with a nearby listing that is very comparable to what I offer, I checked that one too. Their guest fee has dropped from 13% to 10.5%. Instead of paying $96, as before, their guests now pay $94.
I contacted CS and was told that the fee varies depending on the nightly rate. I changed my nightly rate (was 75) to 70 and increased my cleaning fee (was 10) to 15. This is exactly the same pricing structure as the neighbouring listing. My guests are still being charged 98, while the 94 for the other listing has not changed. I sent CS the screenshots
The CS rep said that it was determined by the algo, and that it sometimes depended on how many views a listing was getting while someone is booking. I asked if guests were charged a higher percentage if the listing was being viewed a lot, or if the percentage was lower with lots of views. Her response was: "That depends on the system, it automatically computed by the system. We apologize for the inconvenience, we would appreciate your feedback in regard to this matter by clicking this link, <link to the feedback form>"
How are we to remain competatively priced with our competition, who offer the same value at the same price in the same neighbourhood for the same number of guests, if the platform prices our offerings differently and randomly? Why are my guests being penalized by paying a higher percentage?
Pretty annoyed by this. When I told CS that I would, indeed, provide feedback on such a discriminatory practice, she told me someone would be in touch with me shortly. I'm still waiting...