Upgrades to Amenities recently

[Brian112]

Hi all

I noticed recently that there has been a site upgrade and that there are a number of additional options under the Amenities section.

Even more recently, I noticed a sharp drop in the Airbnb recommended pricing. Now it could be that we are moving in the 'quiet' season (ie Winter) but I somehow don't remember that happening last year?

The only thing that I can think of is that by not having some of these 'new' features is now penalising my listings.

What do you think?

Cheers

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Brian112

thank you for posting this, I just upgraded my amenities for stove, linens, hot water etc .... 

[Brian112]

No problem. The only reason I ask is that that pricing is considerably lower than the long-term average.

[Todd-and-Beth0]

It must be on a roll out. I don't see any change in the amenities I can offer.

[Brian112]

Might be. I think it's a very good feature.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Brian112

I have noticed that the smart pricing is not all that smart.  As an example, the price for my 2 bedroom apartment is compared to studio flats less than half the size in the same area.

If competition is hard in off season, some hosts think that anything is better than nothing and lower their prices to a level where I would not be able to make a profit. This will be reflected in the price suggestions.  

@Branka-and-Silvia0

The new amenities showed as a message in my dashboard a while ago.  But they are not searchable, so not sure how useful they are.

[Todd-and-Beth0]

Smart pricing: I started off not offering breakfast. And then I added breakfast among other amenities. No change in the price. You'd think there should be a slight change in price for more and more amenities one offers.

[Brian112]

Hi all

I'm going to withdraw the comments in the first post. Upon investigation, it seems that whilst the minimum price has lowered significantly, none of the actual prices advertised in the calendar actually go that low. It is foreseeable that on a night with particularly low demand it might go that low, but my long term average still seems to be about the same.

I applaud the initiative of additional amenities which will help distinguish hosts and result in happier guests.

Thanks all!

[Bruce43]

@Brian112 now the problem seems to be  Airbnb has forgotten the southern hemisphere mate! 

[Annette33]

1.)New, extended list of amenities:
as much as guests don't seem to read the finer points of a listing, I doubt the majority of guests will even click on the symbols and go down the line.
Still, I would like to see a differentiated choice for breakfast:
a.) hot or continental breakfast served
b.) do it yourself:  all fixings for a full breakfast are provided.
I am hesitant to check off the breakfast option in amenities, afraid to get dinged for inaccuracy, as I don't serve breakfast, but I leave all fixings for a do it yourself in the refrigerator of the separate apartment we rent out.
2.) Smart pricing:
haven't observed it as I don't use it, but if it is true I can only think that Airbnb is coming under price pressure from guests, as service fee, taxes, and sometimes cleaning fees are added to the price they originally see, so it seems Airbnb is pushing on us hosts to lower our prices so that guests will continue to book Airbnb accommodation instead of comparable hotel lodging.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

The recommended listing price is so unreasonable, I honestly don't see the reason to have it other than to scare new hosts into low-balling their prices. I also use smart pricing but for the past couple months it has consistantly stayed at the lower end. I've compared my listing to other similar listings in my area and I'm at the mid to lower end of pricing. I've also noticed the amenities upgrade menu and made changes accordingly, but while I understand the need to improve, I wish ABB would not make so many changes to the site so often and without letting users know. 

[Paul154]

The change in suggested pricing is probably more related to lower demand, not the change in amenity listing.

I know personally I am shocked/offended by their pricing suggestions for low season. However, this is business.

In the beginning of the last slow season, I did not lower my prices much, cause I wanted some free time.

However later in the slow season, I chose to get closer to Smart Pricing's pricing and I did get full booking.

Depends on how you want to play it

[Monika64]

@Brian112 @Jessica-and-Henry0 Don't even get me started on Smart Pricing. The amount adviced in my area is so low it's insulting. I'm not even sure it'd cover a cleaning fee for the most host let alone any profit.

I think it really just an attempt to scare new hosts or less than busy host into lowering their prices ... however, as some people use it, it is generally brings down the overal price level of my development 😞

[Joanna85]

You have to play around with price.  I know once I go over a certain mark I"ll get absolutely nothing..I can never get a good idea of what my 'comps' are charging because my space is big and has a seperate entrance and I have actual furniture in my space...lots of people around me use air beds, couches, etc etc and charge more than I do.  I think mostly people are looking for price--so you just do what works for you.  I take my break even and add money if there is a big event.  Overall I'm shooting for a certain figure every month, regardless of what smart pricing' suggests.  

[Julia66]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, @Brian112.  I went to my listings and happily marked a few new items in Amenities.  I was especially pleased that I saw Private Bathroom included.  I thought that Airbnb had at last heard our requests for this.  Apart from location, Private Bathroom is the main thing I look for when I'm a guest.  And I would like to think my listings with Private Bathroom appear when my potential guests are searching.

Then I tried searching for listings in my area with Private Bathroom, but could not find a filter for this amenity.  So, I thought, maybe you have to click each individual listing to check for this amenity.  No luck.  It doesn't appear.  The only way you can tell if there is a Private Bathroom is if it appears in the listing name or somewhere in the description.

So What Is The Point?

I can only hope that as Private Bathroom is now a feature on the system, it will appear as a filter in due course.