$$$$.$$ per night

$$$$.$$ per night

I use the search option here on AIRBNB to narrow my search while looking for a place to stay. One of the sellections is price "per night". This is a big deal to me as I'm sure it is to many people. Lately I find that the shown (advertised) price per night changes once a booking request is sent to me.  I have asked the host to explain this, I either get nothing in responce or a host saying that AIRBNB changed the cost per night not the host. This is underhanded no matter who changed the price.

I find it hard to believe its a technical issue since there never seems to be an issue taking my money nor is the price difference in my favor.

Can anyone explain this? The last price difference was today, nearly $200.00 more PER night

 

Thanks

 

Mike

6 Replies 6
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

Prices change by date, so maybe that's what happened?  The price you see when you look today is today's price.  If you choose dates in a high season, the price will undoubtedly be higher.  Maybe show us two screenshots, one where we see the listing with the price you like, one where we see the price they give you?

 

Airbnb should be able to explain it to you.  As a host, I just have to say that I don't always see the same thing the guest sees, because Airbnb doesn't show me the service charge or the taxes they charge the guest.  We see the service fee Airbnb charges us (that's right, they get you coming and going!), the nightly price, and a cleaning fee.  That's it.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Mike-And-Angel0  Airbnb lists the lowest price per night- this may be deceptive as those rates may be for low season, and may be twice the price in high season. Also the price changes according to # of guests on the reservation.

None of this is hosts' doing- it's the way Airbnb chooses to run their platform. I agree it's not nice for guests and a waste of time not to see the actual price until you enter dates.

I suggest you lodge a complaint with Airbnb about this, as they are the only ones who have the power to change this.

A host from my latest inquiry said pretty much what Sarah said and their difference was only about $40

I can understand a fluctuation in price but $200.00? I'm not booking with that host.

VBRO has a location for half the price of AIRBNB. I find I'm going back and forth to get the best deal/price.

Thanks all for the information.

 

Mike

@Mike-And-Angel0 if you search without entering your dates the price you see is meaningless. Well, not entirely-- it means you'll never book it for less than that price. If you search for specific dates you should see the true price, and it should not change when you initiate a booking. Keep in mind that Airbnb also adds their own service fee, which they do not disclose to hosts, and that prices may change so if you see a price today it might not be available tomorrow.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Mike-And-Angel0@Lisa723  It would be easy enough for Airbnb to show the proper listing price for any date on the calendar that guests see. They just choose not to. 

That price would of course go up when Airbnb fees were added to it, as well as going up if there were more than 1 or 2 guests, depending on how many a host's base price is for. But it would still be a lot more acccurate than showing a price that a host has listed for a time of year when they get few bookings, as opposed to the price they charge over Easter break, Xmas/New year's or high tourist season.

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Mike-And-Angel0 @Sarah977 @Ann72

 

Inspired by this and the other thread about cleaning fees I've added "Please enter your dates for accurate pricing" to my listing summaries and the following text to my listing descriptions:

 

A note on rates and cleaning fees: Our nightly base rates are set automatically and vary according to supply and demand in our area. Our cleaning fee is a fixed cost per stay, which goes directly to our cleaners for their labor and supplies. We think this is the fairest price structure for everyone, but it means that for low-demand dates, our variable nightly rate may drop below our fixed cleaning fee, leading to an unpleasant surprise when you see your final cost. We regret that Airbnb displays only the lowest available nightly base rate, excluding cleaning fees and their own service fees, until you enter your specific dates.