New Upfront Pricing is BAD

[Sean119]

This is a bad idea.   There is actually LESS information for the guest to see charges and how they relate. AirBnb will see less bookings as a result.  In a recent survey AirBnb asked "what would it take to solely list with AirBnb"...this is perfect reason why we currently DON'T.  Our listing will get more bookings @ $299/night versus the new "upfront" price listed @ $398.  

[Dawn248]

This is horrible.  You passed your fees onto my price.  What a joke!

Looking for another platform.

Why do you always try to screw the hosts

[Sean119]

Don't jump ship, just hedge your bets with other booking options (starts with a V).  The best way for ABB to see their bad decisions is when they lose revenue...not hosts.    You will still get some ABB bookings, and if you feel the cost is more then raise your ABB price.   

[Flavia202]

Totally agree about not liking the new upfront pricing.  I wonder what spurred airbnb to do this.. Maybe it's already moved from the testing to permanent stage.

[Gene91]

As a host I don't like that I can't see, at a glance, what other's are charging for comparison.  As a guest it's going to be a pain to have to look at each listing in an area I want to stay to find a price I want to pay.  I don't see how this is going to generate more bookings.

[Jan248]

I was helping a friend with a booking and this is what showed up...  

This does not show the monthly discount, the cleaning fee and in fact lumps all the fees into "service fees" with no further explanation...

This UPFRONT Pricing is misleading:  

[Brian2036]

@Sean119 @Jan248 @Gene91 @Nanette42 @Flavia202 

One platform I have used (can’t remember which) was listing prices in this format:

”FROM $XX.XX per night!”

This price is the lowest off-season rate without any taxes or fees included.

While the information is technically true and undoubtedly appealing to shoppers, it is also useless. But so what?

If the objective is to get people to look twice and investigate further, it works very well, but if you’re  hoping to get people to make an impulse buy with Instant Book, it sucks.

They will click “RESERVE” and proceed to soil themselves moments later when they see that they have been charged three times the advertised price.

I DON’T LIKE IB AND I HATE THIS IDEA!

The few impulse buyers we have had have been enormously stupid, unprepared and irate because their uninformed fantasy did not match reality.

They never read the listing and weren’t willing to invest more than one minute in planning their “vacation of a lifetime.”

This kind of stupidity causes all kinds of problems for hosts and, ultimately, for Airbnb CS.

I’m paying Airbnb for advertising. Low prices attract attention from potential customers. SO ADVERTISE ALREADY!

[Flavia202]

Well said, @Brian2036 !

[Debra300]

@Flavia202,

Maybe this is Airbnb's way of telling hosts to stop asking for changes, and be satisfied with what they're offering.  So, they f' up something to make it worse than before in the name of enhancement, and now it sounds like many hosts would readily go back to the previous flawed system of displaying costs.

[Sean119]

I wouldn't agree the previous system of displaying costs was flawed, especially when the competition uses the same format.    

[Flavia202]

Ooh, sneaky, @Debra300. Reverse psychology...

[Debra300]

@Flavia202.

Judging by the reactions of hosts regarding the feature rollback, Airbnb achieved its goal.  Now hosts won't complain as much about the price display, because the seed has already been planted that they more dislike the upfront pricing. 

[Stephanie1933]

I agree a total shambles. I want to know why hosts were not informed or asked to share feedback on this!! 

[Jan248]

@Stephanie1933 and I want to know why no one from Airbnb is addressing the concerns listed here.  I hope that people are not just bitching here but that they are sending feedback now to Airbnb about this being a total shambles...  

[Stephanie1933]

@Jan248 yes, we all need to band together to get this sorted! 

[Jan248]

Yes we do!!  Hopefully we can make a change!!