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"?

[Robin4]

@Patty42

My heart breaks for all of you....you don't deserve these events that just seem to keep on coming. God, living and hosting is hard enough without Mother Nature dishing it out!

I feel like a d*ckhead, here am I grizzling about a bit a rain and fog over winter. We have never in recorded history had a hurricane, a twister, a flood....did have one earthquake but, that was in 1956 and it was really minor....a few houses cracked and lost their chimneys....nobody died! 

We do live with the threat of wild-fires but there has never been one in our area and that threat is very remote.

I can't begin to imagine what many of you are going through and the stress you must be under...I see it is happening all over again in the south! I would love to help but, I don't know how, I am too remote from you. All I can do is say how terribly sorry I am that you are being challenged like this.

Sometimes life is just not fair!

Cheers......Rob

[Daniel1992]

Luckily, the Keys didn't get hit with Michael.

[Patty42]

Yes, and thank God. There are still people living in tents and many still without a roof.

[Patty42]

Thank you Rob.