should i use smart pricing?

[Jean92]

Should i use smart pricing? Is anyone using it? what do you thingk about it?

[Dixie7]

Well there you go. I didn't know that. I quite often go into other ABB listings to see how they're charging. Once I've found a place I like the look of, I press 'Book' then put in my dates and sometimes it's bewildering to find the discrepancy in the price that's listed and the price that I would be expected to pay and sometimes the listed price is for 1 person and when you add another person, the price doubles. I hate that and so I would never do it with my listing and I would never book with a host who has their pricing set up that way.  I've turned SP off for good. I will never enable it again because I want my guests to look at my listing, see the price and when they go to book, pay exactly what it is listed at.

[Alex-and-Vaughan0]

> Obviously I expect the host to honor the price that was served up to me first.

As a host who uses SP I have no idea what price ABB is offering you. I only know the minimum price and maximum that I set.

BTW, the "minimum" is really my standard price, minus a couple of dollars.

[Daria101]

Has anyone experienced limitation of their listings if they opt out of SP and IB? 

[Haider1]

I turned on SP about 3 weeks ago. Looked over the prices now and then and it seemed reasonable. Then suddenly, tonight, got a booking for 2 nights in March. Spring break, very popular ski resort in CO, 5 minute walk to lifts, $99/night. Yep, super smart pricing. I immediately went to the calendar and it had ALL free nights set to $99. Rest of Jan, Feb, and March onward. All $99/night. Those 3 months in the village we're in go for between $200 and $300 weekdays. $300+ on weekends.

Yes, I had set my minimum at $99 thinking that's what Airbnb would price same day vacancies at, but it's apparently not that smart. Turned it off. Never again. 

[Ann72]

But I don't understand why you would set a minimum price lower than you would want to get?  

My minimum price is the price I want to get.  Smart Pricing keeps that price in the off-season, then keeps going up in the high season.

I've gotten more summer bookings in February than ever before, all at higher prices than ever before.  That seems smart to me.  But I'm not afraid of money.

[Sangeeta-and-Brian0]

why my nightly rates are calculate significantly low when booking is for 7 days or more?

it is concerning and would like to resolve ASAP

please help

[Joe688]

I understand setting the minimum to an amount you're happy with, that makes total sense. But the minimum I would accept in February is far far less than the minimum I'd accept in peak July Summer.

I really would expect the Smart pricing feature, to have an option to select a different minimum per month, (is there a way?) But I guess that is the point in it being smart, you shouldn't need to. In which case, it really isn't that smart as it sets my winter price at a reasonable £80 ... but my peak summer at £89!

For now, we are turning it off during the summer - and potentially forever.

[Mary-and-Nes0]

That is exactly what smart pricing needs!  a Minimum per date.

[Adiel0]

It works in areas or towns where the system has significant quantities of data from comparable properties to go on, but not otherwise. It's also very erratic: last night I was surprised to find that one of my properties was on for 124 pounds a night with smart pricing; I thought maybe it was because summer is here and prices have gone up, but then I woke up this morning to find it had dropped to 49 pounds for every available night (my minimum) and when I checked, the system recommended that I drop the price to 30 a night, which has to be deal of the century for a 3-bed, 3-bath apartment. So if you use it, you need to keep checking it, as otherwise you'll get some nastily low priced bookings.

[Ian394]

I just duplicated one of my listings and before I changed my 'new' listing I tried Airbnb smart pricing suggestions on each listing for the same day.

The prices were £20 higher on the 'new' listing with no reviews while the older listing with 5* reviews was getting suggestions that were below that of a mobile home.

Mine is a detached house made of stone with a fully equipped kitchen and central heating.

I have also found that the only people to give me 4* reviews have been the people who paid the least and that during non busy times lowering the price hardly gets any more rentals.

I think it is best to learn about pricing by looking at other similar listings and how much they get rentals for a particular price.

I now realise that I am the best person to judge my pricing.