Very low pricing that doesn't exist

[Mylene11]

I have a neighbor and others offering a lowball prices like $9.00, $10.00 night rate per night but has a 2 night minimum. You click anywhere on the calender and it's $9.00, $10.00. But when you go and click the 2 day dates to book the $9.00, $10.00  and goes up to $144.00-$154.00 x 2 night. The $9.00, $10.00 price disappears. I've called Airbnb and talked to on the phone and went through 5 customer service reps and they can't tell me a **bleep** thing. They don't know how the host's are doing this on thier website. They don't have a clue. This is really a bait and switch used buy here pay here tactic. Can anyone help please. 

[Emilia42]

@Mylene11, you listing shows the EXACT same thing. Only you don't have a price as low as $10. Change a random date to $10 and your listing will be exactly the same. Why don't you see that?

[Mylene11]

Again I understand hat tactic of putting one night at 10.00 to show up on the searc but if you click on every day of her month is all shows up as 10.00 untill you book her 2 or 5 day minimum depending on which month. But like on muy post I have 1 day at a lower rate and it shows up inthe final price but her 10.00 disapears when you go to do her 2 or 5 day minimum.. 

[Emilia42]

@Mylene11 

Yes, we know that. Your calendar does the exact same thing with the price of $89. Click on any date on your calendar and it will show a price of $89 because that is your minimum. Your neighbors minimum is $10 so this is the price that will show until you actually select a check in and check out date. Please for the sake of ending this, change December 25th to $10 and then you will see that every date comes up as $10 dollars until you click an actual date frame.

The only reason why you cannot find the actual $10s on your neighbor’s calendar is because she has a two night minimum set. So you cannot physically select that night because it doesn't fall within the two-night minimum.

[Emilia42]

Here is yours:

Looks like its $89.....

Just kidding.. It's really $139

Now pretend it's $10 instead of $89.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mylene11  @Emilia42  @Ana1136 

interesting.... I can't see the price until I select both, check-in AND check-out dates , it says" ad dates for prices" 

[Ana1136]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 I can see the prices for every day and every property without selecting a date when i click "check availability". Maybe it depends whether you use your phone or computer. I see this in the app. 

[Emilia42]

@Branka-and-Silvia0, I saw that a few months ago..... another example of different views for every host

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ana1136 

PC, any browser the same thing

and if I search for places without dates selected then I see the list of homes but without the price. On the map view, I can see the pointer and when I mouse over the listing then the pointer on the map doesn't change the color and I can't see where this listing is located.

When I select the dates then I can see the price on the listing and the price bubble on the map and it will change the color when I mouse over the listing.

ah, another A/B testing...so annoying..

[Miriam402]

I have seen this misleading pricing all to often.  The guests are setting their "base price" as something ridiculously low for the area. They do this in the settings, but then in the actual price calendar, they price each day much higher - market rate.  By putting in a low base price, they are probably seeing a lot of traffic and maybe getting preferential bookings than people who are honest about their base prices.  Airbnb should calculate the average price based on all available dates and show that as the base price.  The owner should not be able to arbitrarily set their base price.

[Alon1]

@Miriam402 

I understand it as a tactic to getting 'a lot of traffic'. 

But I don't understand why attempting to be smarter than the average bear, would secure more bookings?

  I rather imagine it would be a turn off to see a ridiculously low base price radically escalated when entering dates for booking. 

At that point, the Guest will simply compare alternative accommodation prices, and in the end choose what they like. If it still happens to be this lady Ally's listing, then its because Guest happens to prefer the listing despite the shennanigans. 

But it seems I maybe missing something....

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Alon1 

maybe low price is affecting the search position

[Alon1]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

It's what I understood from Miriam's comment 'a lot of traffic', 

i.e. raising the listing in 'the search position'.

But I don't understand why Guests would be attracted to actually book when they see a $ 10 base price rocket to hundred of dollars? -- No one will fall for this trick.

So I rather suggested when Guests compare, they still may like the listing and decide to book.

[Emilia42]

@Alon1,  I don't think this tactic actually works. I think a lot of guests would be annoyed and pissed off at a price difference like that. It's a waste of their time so to say. But I do think that in areas with a lot of listings that guests are searching with dates in mind. You can go from a few hundred listings to sort through with your selected filters and dates to thousands and thousands of listings with blocked out calendars when weeding through with no dates or filters.  So many guests may not even be aware of these “low rate.”

[Alon1]

@Emilia42 

We're certainly in agreement that thic tactic is likely to back-fire.

I've not come across it in London. Though most of my searches are local to my neighbourhood.

It seems to me in the current comparitive case of Mylene and her neighbour Ally, the real difference is that where the former has only one property (listed twice for room and entire flat), the latter has 16, with all but one in her name, (co-hosting the other). Ally is evidently a very wealthy woman or representing others with considerable wealth, and the properties reflect it. Consequently, it attracts a clientel who can afford luxuary accommodation.

[Linda-and-Rod1]

Agree - it would back-fire.  If a host wants to offer a low/discounted price, then they should consider offering a "special offer" covering a couple of days during the week (maybe mid-week?).  That might not only accomplish the same thing (lowering the price and increasing the search-ability), but also 'hit' a another AirBnB search criteria for "special offers".

But like so many other commenters, even though we are relatively newer hosts in the last year, we've found that honesty is always the best policy and playing "hide the pricing" is probably unwise.