Thoughts on price tips

[Bairbre0]

Hi guys. I am just wondering if any of you use  the price tips suggested by airbnb for quieter times and if you find them good.

I did use them one week but found it was underpricing myself a lot in comparison for what I was providing and even my  guests commented on it,however I did get bookings

[Deb36]

I agree. I do things differently that most Airbnb hosts in my area. I am more of a traditional BnB and I allow pets and take great care in cleanliness and details. My spaces are nicer and everyone tells me so. I try really really hard to make people's stay special! Yet, I get undercut on the price tips enormously. Are more bookings that give my services away the price I have to pay initially to get more listings in the long run? I can understand that but aren't I just setting my re-listers up for disappointment when I increase my rates?

[Dee9]

@Deb36  "I do things differently than most Airbnb hosts in my area.....and take great care in cleanliness and details. My spaces are nicer"

EXCUSE ME????????

[Sandra126]

@Deb36, I looked at your listing and am just wondering if you have it set to price tips presently? AUD 195 for the first guest for a room which sleeps 4, with an extra 34 pp per night for over one guest. To me, that is extremely high end price wise, esp since it is just a room no matter how clean. I can only assume that Vermont prices are amongst the highest around.

@Bairbre0, I don't use price tips. I use to be slightly under them actually, as I think it is based on what's around me and I didn't think my place was very good. Now I am slightly over, as my place is slightly improved. I think some hosts would rather charge more and not be booked more than weekends occasionally but at a big premium, and others want to be booked every day. I do, and I am. You will hit the right spot pricing wise when you are booked as much as you want and everyone is happy, both you and your guests.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

We tried them Claire for November and Dec - got a few bookings very quickly at a lower price than normal. Then switched back to our own pricing and still got bookings. So I think it helps but you may feel a bit hard done by as if you have good reviews, etc are are fairly priced you seem to get guests in any event.

[John-and-Heather0]

@Bairbre0 @Gerry-And-Rashid0 @Sandra126

Not a fan of price tips at all. Keep in mind, these numbers are generated by some sort of algorithm on what price point is booking the most at the moment in your area--which may be a completely different type of property than you have.

Example: our lakefront home (which is chosen for its "splurge" qualities by most of our guests) routinely sells out in peak season, at 100-300% of what price tips suggests. Price tips doesn't know we have an architect-designed home, restored consistent with the era, high-end furnishings, double the square footage of other rentals, and set up so that people only see water when the wake up.  That's all worth the extra dough, and people willingly pay what we ask.

Same story with our Oceanfront A-Frame. Because most hosts in that tiny community don't change the price for weekends, we often get suggestions from price tips to charge the same price every day of the week. We still sell out in the off-season, setting the price higher for weekends and lower for weeknights.  So learn what the market price is, set your market price for your home, your guests, and your seasons, and ignore price tips.

And don't forget--selling every single day may not be the best strategy for the Host long-term. When you do that, you are missing deep cleaning, maintenance, and other time to make sure your home is not getting run down by guests, as it is impossible to do maintenance with guests in the space.  Remember the supply and demand curve. If you are renting every single night at $100, and raise your price to $200, with drop in bookings so you are 40%--you've just made MORE money and saved 40% of the wear and tear on your home.