What the...? Did Airbnb change your pricing to their "price tips" today without authorization?

[Susan1028]

Did anyone else have Airbnb change their pricing from manual to the "price tips" today without your knowledge or consent?

My pricing was downgraded by an average of 30% !  Is this another unannounced "new improvement?"

I now have a reservation request for 5 nights at my base rate from someone who registered in 2015 with no reviews or profile info other than a first name.

This is going waaaay too far Airbnb!   I've carefully studied my market, I know it well, and I've manually priced every night since I started on this platform and been booked at 90% (until the latest shootings) and avoided many issues with bad guests by pricing myself well and being diligent about screening.

There are a lot more uncomplementary sentiments I could share...

Has anyone else had this happen?

[Sarah977]

@Susan1028  No, mine didn't change. Checked both my host calendar and the listing preview.

[Susan1028]

Good @Sarah977 !  Keep an eye out though.  Like so many other "glitches" it could happen at any time.

[Rebecca181]

Dang! So sorry this happened to you. I de-listed last night to protest Chesky's lame and pathetic tweet that basically blamed 'abusive hosts and guests' for the Orinda shootings, versus taking responsibility for the guest-centric policies and practices that ultimately allowed something like this to happen. I hope you were able to revert the prices back to what they were!

[Susan1028]

According to "support" this has been happening randomly, so check your prices folks before you get a 5 day booking at $100 below what you priced it at, like I did! 

They offered to call the guest and inform him of the error.  Requests have declined since the shootings in Orinda...my first full week off since I listed, so I declined, but let them know that many if us are ready to walk based on the way the current tragic events and constant problems that should not exist are being handled at our cost...and lives lost : (

[Rebecca181]

Now that I am thinking about it, @Susan1028 , I think this did happen to me over a couple of years ago. Same thing, all the prices reverted to the base price and I then got an Instant Booking for Labor Day - And I had originally priced it at a holiday rate I could have easily gotten. I lost nearly 200.00 on that booking. Prior to this happening I was getting those annoying 'nudges' to lower my price for Labor Day. So was it really just 'random'?

[Susan1028]

I don't believe it was "random" @Rebecca181 

I mentioned this was my first booking request since the shootings...the longest vacancy since I began listing.  The rep confirmed bookings are down overall since then.

It would fit the psychological profile of Mr C's narcissistic lack of empathy to make comments like that AND pull something like this and whatever else he can do to increase bookings/his profits at our expense as he blames everyone else for the tragedy.  It's classic, just like POTUS' treatment of citizens after the devastation in Puerto Rico, the California fires, climate change...

He's got to make extra to pay the legal fees he faces...

I wish I could afford to de-list.  I am looking at moving on to more professional and ethical horizons though...

[Rebecca181]

That would make sense, @Susan1028 . Bookings are down since the shooting; suddenly prices are dropped to the basement 'randomly'. Let's see if anyone else reports the same. 

[Susan17]

@Susan1028 @Rebecca181 @Sarah977 

This is another years old "glitch", that never gets fixed. Host's set prices are lowered by the system, but in many (if not all) instances, Airbnb's service fee is increased. So the host gets a less, Airbnb gets more, and the guest still ends up paying a similar amount to what they would have paid for the host's regular prices. 

[Sarah977]

@Susan1028  Isn't it awful that the company operates in such a way that hosts have come to have so little faith in them having any good intentions that we instantly suspect something like you are thinking?

It's a really sad state of affairs.

[Susan1028]

Whats remarkable is I'm not the only one thinking the thoughts.

Does a leopard have spots...?

[Pat271]

@Susan1028 I just saw something similar while experimenting with viewing my listing as a guest.  There were “Special Offers” of a 20% discount being offered on dates where I have not set up a Special Offer!

I hope this is just an inadvertent defect that made its way online recently. These days, software updates are published daily into live, running versions of software in a fast and furious manner, sometimes without proper testing.  Let’s hope it’s fixed soon.