@Lilian20
Hi. On the 21%, Let me say I was surprised. First, I agree with you from our experience as a guest
(this is from three years and more ago). The guest ABB extra fees we were charges were what you say, or perhaps
a bit less (I remember 11%-12%, and once close to 14%, for a very short stay). The host side ABB fees have been fairly
constant for us and minimal. 3% sounds right. Okay so far.
After a host or guest is used to these ratios, expects them and then accepts them, well and good.
For a first-time guest perhaps assuming that all fees are already included in a quoted price, there is a surprise.
Warranted or not, a surprise it is. Full disclosure: we suspected this situation, gave polite forewarning that there would be an extra
fuzzy ABB commission fee, and spoke warm pleasantries. Of course, after the reservation was complete, the honorable guest
inquired as why the rate that had been billed to her did not match the one we had quoted exactly as hosts. Well, we had to
mildly explain that this is the industry standard from our experience as guests, but that much is out of our hands, we don't control the show, and not to worry we'll take care that they have a nice time in our fair city. End of story. Go water your camel.
End of story, but. But I had glanced at the different fees on our end as they came down the pike, just before pressing send on
the offer. There they were: 232 for the 2-day rate (currency doesn't matter - privacy - call it the Mongolian tögrög) an extra 1000
Mongolian tögrög for cleaning equalled 242. ABB, bless them, snatched a sliver from us at only 7 Mongolian tögrög for the host fee.
What was the listed rate to be billed to the guest? 285 blooming Mongolian tögrög! I thought, ah, so, and had dinner. Pulling out the calculator for no reason, I put 285 over 235 to deliver a ratio. The 285 is 21.27% over and above the 235. Yes, I did the ratio that way for dramatic effect, but there it is. Now any person could play with simple arithmetric to deliver different figures. Let's have a look.
285 over 242 is 17.76% up. 242 over 235 is 2.978% trimmed. But turning things upside down, 242 over 285 is 84.9% (giving 15.1%
to the difference between 242 and 285). 235 over 285 is 82.45% (giving 17.55% to the difference). One could also play further:
43 (285-242) is only a fraction of 285. Let's try (and this moment I don't know what the answer will be).
Bingo. It is 15.08%. Does this matter. Meh. It's just business. It's what every bank, insurance company and advertiser does many times a day. Why? Because it works. It's the same reason that the genius of the early ABB software was to place this extra ABB commission fee in a smaller fonted scaled to a pale grey shade, and to reveal it after the guest prospect had emotionally committed to purchase,
lining it up in a tall list of digits. I fell for it the first time. Even the next! Talk about small hinges swinging big doors - that was the most important element driving the early growth of ABB over other platforms. You can decide the ethics of it for yourself. I look in the mirror, knowing I am a hypocrite at heart, also knowing that this is the way of the world. Will we take care of this guest well? You bet.