Something's Fishy With Room Rates

[Patty42]

I am a relatively new AirBnB host. I received a booking inquiry from a guest wanting four nights over Christmas, which is high season for me. My home is near Key West and a fair amount of guests book a "Keys Christmas".

The space is a full apartment, two beds, one bath, kitchen & living/dining room plus a nice screened in porch and full use of the yard, barbecue & firepit.

AirBnB is showing me an average rate of $112 per night for this reservation. The guest is telling me she's seeing a rate of $170 per night. She's asking if I will reduce it to $98 per night and lower my cleaning fee (which is straight up what I'm charged by the cleaners).

Why would there be a difference in the nightly rate between what I'm seeing and what she's seeing? Is it AirBnB or is she trying to "negotiate"?

[Mel101]

Hi @Patty0, 

They will be seeing your rates, plus Airbnb fees and any taxes that Airbnb must take. Here in Amsterdam, the Municipality has an agreement with Airbnb to collect tourist tax on all bookings, for example.

My question is why would you consider dropping your rates in high season? They don't seem unreasonable. Received wisdom around here is those who ask for discounts often prove to be the worst guests.

Stand firm, someone will pay your rates, and will happily cover your costs for a sunny Christmas!

[Patty42]

That is my gut feeling as well. I know my rates are actually quite reasonable for the area. I could understand her questioning the difference, but not then asking for less than the lowest rate, and for me to take a loss on the cleaning costs.

[Linda108]

I completely agree with Mel about providing a discount for high season.  Also, you can calculated an approximate fee the guest is seeing if you average out all the fees that apply as Mel has outlined.  Use an Air BNB fee between 10-15%.  

[Patty42]

Adding on 15% still only makes the nightly rate $128. She's trying to pull something.

[Robin4]

@Patty42

Patty, as @Mel101 is saying what the guest is seeing is not just your listing price but the add-ons that come with that price....The Airbnb service fees, any government charges that may apply plus a cleaning fee that you may have set.

My advice to you is to stop any further contact with this prospective guest!

Guests who want to haggle over price and other aspects of the listing always....and I absolutely stress,  always, make poor quality guests! 

She is trying to negotiate, and if you host her you will have serious reason to regret your decision....enough will never be enough!

Patty I am serious, ignore this guests request and  send her a special offer that is for 1.5 times your regular listing amount and tell her that in this instance this is the only amount you will accept for the use of your listing!.......Do it!

All the best Patty.

Cheers......Rob

[Patty42]

I've told her I"m withdrawing my pre-approval because something just isn't right. She said she wished she could show me a screen shot of what she was seeing. Yeah, I'll bet. lol

[Linda108]

Whoa, Patty!  Just looked at your listing.  You should have snoozed your listing until it is ready to be reserved.  The damage you sustained in 2017 due to hurricane Irma and the repairs needed do not need to be promoted on your listing page.  Your last review in 2017 is a host cancellation review.  If your cancellation was due to the hurricane, you should have had it removed last year.  If not due to an extenuating circumstance, you should have an explanation on it.

When your listing is ready, you can capitalize on the repairs made by marketing the "all new appliances"!   Good luck with starting back with hosting and I hope you have a great high season! 

[Robin4]

@Linda108

Linda, just a point you may not be aware of, when a host cancellation notice is posted on a hosts review page, the host has the right to leave a public response as to why the cancellation was nesseccary!

Almost all hosts do not take advantage of this facility, and that is a pity! In many instances if the host had just taken a minute or two to state their reason, that cancellation notice could be used to their advantage!

Cheers.....Rob

[Linda108]

Exactly Robin.  That is why I told her she should have responded to the automatic review. 😄

[Patty42]

Linda, my listing has been snoozed until just recently. I will be ready to host November 1st so I'm trying to get some bookings lined up ahead of time because, thanks to Irma, I really need the money.

Based on your suggestions I have edited the listing to remove references to Irma and removed any "progress" pictures. I'll have new pictures up in a few days.

How can I get the host cancellation review removed? I had a very hard time dealing with AirBnB last year. They kept sending me emails telling me they wanted to help, with no way to contact them to actually GET help. It was a "do not reply" email address they used and the email itself gave me a circular communication loop with no options for cancelling my upcoming bookings due to the hurricane.

[Linda108]

I am glad you are able to move on, Patty.  I can't speak for what Air BNB will do, but it doesn't hurt to call them. I find it best to speak with a representative.  Here is a guide with various ways to reach Air BNB.  In the US my trick is to call super early in the morning and I rarely have to hold.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728

Explain that you were not able to reach anyone previously.  They should have record of the Air BNB messages recognizing the Irma disaster in your area.  Good luck and keep us posted.

[Daniel1992]

They may be looking for a discount due to the pictures on the listing showing an incomplete home.  I would do a few things to help out your situation.

First, take down any picture that shows repairs from Irma and replace them with pictures of a complete house.

Second, I would respond to that automated cancellation review by saying that you had to cancel due to damage from Irma.  That way people will see that and know exactly why instead of guessing.

[Patty42]

References to Irma have been removed. How do I add a response to that automated cancellation review? Thanks!

[Daniel1992]

From the Hosting Dashboard:

Click your profile in the top right.  Click Edit Profile.  Click Reviews on the left.  You should then see Public Response as an option to respond to a Review.