AIRBNB requests to lower pricing

Sion2
Level 10
SF, CA

AIRBNB requests to lower pricing

I am new as of Sept in a high volume area San Francisco. I work really hard even ironing sheets, I do thier laundry,  all amemites, heated marble floor in bathroom, even snacks and beverages and I have a 100% 5 star rating and told to expect  super host status in Jan.  I am under vauled according to several guests. YET and I really need AIRBNB to hear this:

Stop sending me emails to lower my prices...the last one wanted me to go from 99 down to 70...all because  4  folks looked at my lisitng  and booked cheaper. Right now when fully booked I exceed the rental value of the rooms which is super high in SF. If I follow these endless requests to lower my prices I cannot continue to host. I will get a roomate whose laundry I do not have to do;)

 

Its so dishearting to be doing everything right but the only communciation  I get from AIRBNB is me  being told to make less money, like my efforts are not vauled and your algorithm  is not noticing my reviews or booking rate. There is balancing point in marketing and lowering my price is a race to the bottom. Not going to do it...I will raise it, but not lower it. Dec is slow and I am not getting what I could make if I rented the room ( and I offered discounts)  to a housemate. Jan is almost booked so I know it just seasonal. You want to send me helpful emails ...tell me how to self promote and what else I can sell to guests ( like meals etc) ...do not make me work for free. 

55 Replies 55

I have mentioned in other threads the comparison towns when I have seen them, none in my County. I live in a big County.

 

The one that got me really annoyed was Leadville which 1hr 28m, 81.4 miles.

 

Yesterday it was Aspen and Vail.

 

Aspen 3h 22m, 168 miles.

 

Vail is closer 1hr 31m, 67.2 m.

 

Perhaps somebody needs to buy them a map for Christmas.

 

 

David
Corazon0
Level 1
Quezon City, Philippines

INSTEAD OF LOWERING THE PRICE, WHY NOT INCREASE IT SO I CAN GENERATE MORE REVENUE. TO HELP ME MAINTAIN A GREAT LOOKING UNIT THRU AN INSPIRED AND WELL-MOTIVATED CLEANING AND HOSTING TEAM. I DELEGATE THAT WORK BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER BUSINESS CONCERNS. THANK YOU.

@Kelly149

 

 

Thats what I would expect to hear if Airbnb were working for their Hosts.

 

I wonder where "lower your prices" sits in the Marketing Lexicon pretty darn far down I'd say and obviously Apple Inc. does not subscribe to this point of view and their heading for a Trillion Dollar Cap.

 

Regards

Cormac

ECK III

 

I live in a college town and their pricing formula DOES tell me to increase prices during graduation, but I maintain my same prices because I resent the price gouging that occurs as local proprietors rationalize exorbitant increases by saying, “Those Ivy League parents can afford it.”

I have a propriety whit 5 bedrooms , which I started renting low price, I knew that the service cost (Airbnb earnings) for the guests was something around 10 Us.

 

At December when demand went up I kept the same price and a guest asked me why’s that the service cost were 50 us. 

I don’t think the platform will let go any Opportunity to cash in. If you price as a Host goes down they can ask the guests for more. 

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

The automatic notifications are easily turned off, unless you want to have a giggle 😄

@Linda108  I don't giggle when they send me those insults.  I use language I can't use here.

Can't you just block these notifications?

@Linda108, if we blocked those notifications, we would have less chance to come here and complain.

Sometimes it is fun to get together to complain.

 

(On a serious note: I am afraid if I block any notifications from AirBnB I might miss something I do want to see.)

(Like a booking, or a promotion that might actually help me.)

 

Go to your listing, @Matthew285.  Click on your profile picture and select account settings.  You have a choice to receive notifications from guests and hosts and you can block reminders and suggestions.  Maybe that will reduce the annoyance factor.

 

I don't mind the reminders and suggestions.  I sometimes look at "comparable" listings and actually confirm my own pricing.  It helps to keep confirming because the competition is always evolving.

@Linda108

 

 

Linda, Airbnb need to get rid of this "not so smart priceing system" or make it fit for purpose.

 

Its garbage, I got a suggestion to lower my price to circa $5 per night under the "Great Price"  nom de plume, that just about covers the laundy bill for two beds.

 

Turning of these notification is not fixing this crap its just avoiding it.

Freddi0
Level 2
New York, NY

Amen to that, Sion !

 

I just ignore AirBnB marketing advice. I host in New York City and their algorithm has told me to lower my prices to $32/night or even down to ...wait for it... $16 per night ! In New York City!!!  It is obvious that this is blind, machine driven advice and has nothing to do with reality.

Similar to you, possibly, I have a unique space and style that are difficult to quantify. All my guests (and I host mostly not on AirBnB with an international artist residency program more than willing to pay my chosen, reasonable prices) love my home and the vibe and have experiences far superior to what the AirBnB automated pricing assessment would lead one to believe.

If AirBnB does not listen to you, just turn off the email notifications in your settings and ignore their "tips". They are a machine, after all - you and your guests are real humans!

Mavis-N-Ken0
Level 2
Corvallis, OR

I just checked in to write the same message.  We provide an incredibly clean, modern, private apartment above our garage in a perfect location to downtown and campus and with a beautiful outside deck.  Each guest is provided with a small bar of handmade goats milk and locally made chocolate truffles.  We provide organic, fair trade coffee, locally ground, as well as a variety of teas and sparkling water.  We have received nothing but 5 star reviews and have been super hosts for the 3 years we have been on Airbnb.  We feel our price is very reasonable and the guests get a wonderful experience.  It is not unusual for us to share wine and/or meals with guests and/or stock groceries for them before they arrive, and none of these costs are passed on to our clients.  We have never charged extra for additional guests (can take maximum of 4) nor do we require a deposit.  We also have flexible cancellation and do not charge more for high demand weekends.  

 

We have had regular bookings until the past month or so when bookings suddenly dropped off.  We now keep getting messages from Airbnb to consider dropping our prices and/or offer a discount for open dates.  We just took Airbnb up on doing a 10% discount for open dates this month and received a message from Airbnb that they were sending this discount offer to guests who have been looking at our listing.  While this seems nice, it appears that Airbnb is encourging guests to think only of cheap places and compare places based only on price and is encouraging hosts to only think about being cheap and, as the Sion said, 'race to the bottom.  It doesn't seem right that Airbnb is pitting places against eachother based only on the cost per night.  I suspect our recent drop-off in bookings is due to Airbnb's aggressive push for guests to book the cheapest place available. 

 

We recently had a visit from a prior guest who had booked elsewhere and were discouraged with their new experience: poor location, outdoor motion lights not working, cold water in hot tub, dirty dishes in dishwasher, a general feeling of disrepair and dirt, and no contact with host.  This does not seem like a good representation of Airbnb but I fear this may be what guests will come to expect: something cheap and impersonal.  

 

Please, Airbnb, stop encouraging guests to shop for the lowest price and stop asking hosts to compete with others by being cheaper rather than better.

@Mavis-N-Ken0

 

I have noticed a severe drop in bookings about 2 months ago. I have only used instant book for a short period of time a year or so ago, but today went onto airbnb as a guest to see how far down the list I was with my "high price". I found that unless I actively turned-off instant book, my listing would not show up at all -- because as stated when I hovered around "instant book" why turn it off when there are 100's of available places to stay without contacting the host... 

 

Are you instant booking? If not, that could be one of the reasons for your drop in requests.

 

Best, Marcy

 

 

Edwin57
Level 10
New York, United States

I see Iam not along