Transparent Pricing

[Claire475]

With everyone’s wealth of knowledge and experience I wondered if you could give me your opinions, solutions, thoughts on this topic.

Firstly upfront I want to say this is not a complaint, I am happy with the bookings I get and with the ABB platform in general.

I raise this issue as it was highlighted to me by a guest who thought some hosts were not entirely upfront (although technically I don’t think that’s quite true) 

I list my room with private en-suite for 55€, that’s for two people in the room. No extra cleaning charges, or charges for extra people.(although a few days ago I added a small price for extra guest after 1, but I am not sure I shall keep this) As my guest pointed out to me hosts in our area have listed for considerably less, however when you check the availability dates the price is quite a bit higher, then there are considerable cleaning charges and cost for extra people after the first guest. All in all it amounts to quite a substantial difference to the price that guests will originally see when first looking for accommodation on the site. 

In some cases double or even close to triple the pricing listed. Of course smart pricing has some baring on the price difference. 

I have no problem at all that hosts market or price their homes diffently to mine, what I do wonder though,  is this responsible marketing from a guests point of view? 

Should we as hosts or should ABB encourage hosts to list their homes/ rooms within a 10% range of the price shown on the listing guest first see in their search, for example. So that guests can go to the listing and know with some certainty the price is as listed, and then just look at the different rating, reviews and descriptions in making up their minds.

From my point of view my listing at first looks more expensive but finally, in most cases, will be cheaper. 

Recently I had contemplated raising my price slightly, but what put me off is that I would then at first glance seem quite expensive in comparison to other listings, hence my 5€ fee for an extra person, which doesn’t really feel comfortable for me at the moment because I have always felt being more transparent with my pricing was the best way.

I look forward to reading your views on the matter. 

Ps. I love reading all your views on the CC, often makes me smile. In a way it’s like having friends you don’t t know! 

[Sandra856]

@Claire475 The very same hotel room in Copenhagen differs a lot compared to when you book it/season. It is the same system as airbnb use. Hotel rooms are much more expensive so it is much easier for them to include cleaning fees and extra persons + they have many rooms. I just think we have to agree on disagreeing. For me I don't see how it is possible to not calculate with changing seasons. 

[Sandra856]

@Claire475  I want to add another thing. If you don't enter dates the site will present you for either the "baseprice" or the cheapest price the host offered his listing too. It could be a Tuesday back in November. The reason the system represent it that way is because there is no way to figure out a price without any criteria. I don't understand why you would compare your prices to listings not available? If you don't enter dates you won't be able to compare yourself with actual available listings. I think 99% of guest knows that they have to enter dates in order to see updated prices/or they will quite fast figure out how the system works and add dates. So I don't see it as a big problem. Maybe your guest was not a big traveller?

[Claire475]

@Sandra856 

Thanks for all your input. 

We don’t disagree I was merely putting a guests point of view across, who felt that (taking into account seasonal pricing) the pricing was much more expensive than  initially listed, this was due to very high cleaning charges and quite high charges for extra people, the seasonal fluctuations are accepted, not disputed. 

I just wanted to know how hosts felt about the extra charges etc. 

Wanted to have a look at your listing but for the moment it seems the server is down. 

I will look it up later. 

I am sure we will see each other on the CC again. 

Hope you are having the wonderful early spring weather we are having in Luxembourg 

[Sandra856]

Thank you very much @Claire475 . It is also beautiful spring weather in Copenhagen 🙂

It is sooo, so wonderful. I wish you a great Sunday.

Best, Sandra

[Paul154]

As a guest, I too am dissappointed that I cannot see the "Total" price unless I look at the smaller print number. I am dissapointed that I cannot see the total price in map view, giving me easy comparison.

It is an easy technical feature that Airbnb could provide ("Show host daily rate"/"Show Total rate")

Why don't they?

As a humble innkeeper,  I must assume they don't provide this feature because they have good reason.  

They are experts at marketing, I am not. Such matters make my head spin.  Perhaps they know the value of low-balling a guest by showing the net pricing of a listing during a low season weekday.  I personally would not dare to do this, but if they think its a great marketing ploy, I will let them do this "dirty" work.  I can take the high road and commiserate with the guest (Oh I know it's terrible what Airbnb does...) all the while being rewarded by it.

I am sure that Airbnb is concerned with guests' unhappiness with add-on fees and have a way to monitor its effect ($$). 

[Sandra856]

@Paul154 In Europe (EU) you are presented with the total price (also in map view). But that is not the case in the US and maybe other parts of the world?

[Paul154]

@Sandra248 

In the US, the map view shows the daily price without fees. This same price is shown in bold in the listing, with the total price shown in small type.

A couple of months ago, the Seattle map view took a step backwards. It used to show the daily rate including the cleaning fees. I could be easily compared to my neighbors. But now the map view does not include cleaning fees. Hosts now have a reason to have high cleaning fees.

That your map view shows total price proves that Airbnb has the technical ability to do show total price, but in the U.S. they CHOOSE to show the net price. Interesting , no?

[Sandra856]

@Paul154  Very interesting. I'm sure they only show the total price in the EU because they were forced to do so for transparency reasons. EU are strict when it comes to the big global companies. For instance Apple got huge fines for not following the law. They consequently only offered 1 year of warranty on their products when the EU law said 2 years. It shows how important restrictions really are. If a company is big enough there is nothing we as consumers can do. I like being a host but I definitely am not a fan of airbnb and how they do business. 

I'm sorry about my english. It seems to be extra bad today. 

[Helen427]

@Sandra0 your  English is great!

You are doing well very for a person who has English as your second (?) language

[Helen427]

@Lisa723@Claire475 @Sarah977 @Paul154

In New Zealand we have the total price shown prior to booking.

This changed last year and is very helpful for all to see

[Lisa723]

@Helen427 the same is true here. It's only necessary to enter booking dates and guest count to see final price.

[Lisa723]

@Claire475 this has been discussed many times on this forum. My prices vary a lot by season and day of week and I have significant cleaning fees. For a number of reasons previously discussed this is the fairest price structure for my listings. It is Airbnb's fault, not mine, that it displays only the lowest available nightly rate without the cleaning fee when guests search without dates. I wish it displayed average price with a prominent warning to enter dates for accurate pricing (as VRBO does)-- I have no desire to look as if I am trying to bait and switch, as I'm not. But I'm not going to change my pricing structure to either guests' disadvantage or my own to work around Airbnb's poor decision.

[Paul154]

@Claire475 

I am a little concerned with your concept of "responsible marketing"  and "responsible marketing from a guest's point of view".

I have learned the hard way, a person can become a pauper trying to be responsible for a tenant/guest.

From my experience,  a tenant feels no responsibility to a landlord. 

This is captialism. If both parties don't like the deal, a deal will not happen. Guests are adults and they have the power to say no. 

I know as a guest, I hate cleaning fees and taxes. I do try to be clever and find low cleaning fees and taxes. But when I book a place and shell out my hard-earned $$, I know I'm getting the best deal around, irregardless of fees. Nontheless, I still may complain about the fees...

[Sarah977]

@Claire475 I agree that the pricing should be transparent. I've not yet used Airbnb as a guest, but when booking an airline ticket, for example, you can go to some "cheap ticket" sites and see what look like incredible deals, but then you see that is doesn't include the taxes and fees, which can double the original price shown. If you book through the official airline website, they show the total price, no suprises (at least with the airlines I use).

It must be so irritating to guests to see some places where the price doesn't include things like the cleaning fee, and some that show the price with the cleaning fee built in. Really, Airbnb should make all the pricing format the same- show the total price, then guests can click on the price to see the breakdown. Of course, if hosts have different pricing for different times of the year, or charge extra for extra guests, the price wouldn't be totally accurate until they enter the dates and the # of guests, but it at least would give a more accurate and transparent idea of the true costs.

[Claire475]

@Sarah977 

Yes you are right with regard to the airline ticket scenario. 

Finally, I guess it’s down to Airbnb to initiate a plan/ strategy / policy that can be used across the board by all hosts. 

Thanks for your input.