Why price tips on already booked nights?

[Matta1]

I’ve noticed that I regularly receive tips to lower my pricing on nights that are already booked at much higher rates. I sometimes accept given there appears to be no negative impact of doing so. This results in an artificially low potential price when guests search for my property. Wondering if others have noticed this and how they manage it? And whether accepting or declining tips impacts your listing or search placement in anyway?

[OhmandWalter0]

You mention here the two most important problems, I'm confronted at Airbnb.
On one side, Airbnb trends to offer low price objects and not at best price-performance level. If you are in the higher end qualitywise of a certain group (typ, size, location), you get all the time the tips to lower your price. 
And there comes the other problem. What happens, if you dont follow the good tipps of Airbnb? You have no way to check what happens, because the system of search placement of your listings is completely intansparent. 
I see even a risk to make a comment like this..

[Sarah977]

@Matta1   Almost no hosts follow Airbnb's price tips- they are usually insultingly and impractically low. Your price should be based on what your competition charges (and you have to do your own research on this, not look at what Airbnb calls "similar listings"- those are usually way off the mark as well), what you feel your place and your time and effort and amenities are worth, and what type of guests your pricing attracts. Just ignore the price tips. Airbnb would have us rent our places at prices which barely cover our hosting work and expenses. As an example, they often suggest I lower my price for a very attractive private room with ensuite bath and full use of my kitchen for less than a grotty shared hostel room for 4 people goes for in my town.

As far a search placement goes, there are so many factors that go into that, all of which are non-transparent, that it's certainly not worth lowering your price to achieve.

[Inna22]

@Matta1 

I have tracked price tips for a while and can tell you with outmost certainty that following them does not change booking rates. I have tracked performance of my listings when I followed the price tips and I did not and saw no difference. I diligently changed to  price tips for a particular month (I had a minimum threshold I did not cross, but I checked suggestions daily) and did not for the following month, all in the same season and there was absolutely no difference in the booking rate. Furthermore, there is something to be said about $99 (69, 89- whatever). There is a reason stores do that. Psychologically, you think something is less than it is. So when the suggestion is, let’s say, $64, you might be better off pricing at $69 for a consumer to be drawn by the number. The search will also show the lowest rate for the month and some hosts pick the least busy date and price it super low but I cannot see how someone attracted by a low price will end up booking for four times the amount when they plug their actual dates. My rate already doubles after taxes, fees and cleaning, that’s before it is lowered artificially. I’d say forget about the tips.

[Matta1]

I just want to be clear on my question - why price tips on already booked nights? Surely the algorithm knows that these nights are booked?

I noticed that when I accept the tip on an already booked night it sets a new artificially low price when potential guests search for my property. Artificial in that there are no available nights at this price.

[Sarah977]

@Matta1  There's a lot of things about the Airbnb computer bot that makes zero sense. Hosts also get messages about how if they reduced their price to $xx, they'd get xx% more bookings when they already have a 100% occupancy rate! 

The listings they show that they call "Similar listings" to mine (a very pretty and artistically designed private room and bath in the midst of a heavily landscaped tropical garden) are either double the price, or a "Monster truck on the beach" with a dirt yard and an outhouse.

[Robin4]

@Matta1 

Matta, these tips are sent out enmase to hosts in each area and bare no resemblence to the individual hosts circumstances. I also get pricing tips for booked nights on my calendar page, I get them for nights I have already blocked as they are booked on another platform and these tips suggest I cancel those existing bookings and open those nights up to get considerably less money for a possible Airbnb booking that might stagger along!

Matta, I even get emails telling me it is time I took a break, had a holiday and stayed in my own listing....seriously!

These tips are best ignored, they are autogenerated and designed to make Airbnb money at your expence. Have a laugh at them and then consign them to the junk folder to get them out of your life!

Cheers......Rob

[Inna22]

@Matta1 Yes, that is exactly what I am taking about- guests see a non existent price. I do not think any of the algorithms work in sync. I think the pricing algorithm works completely separate from anything else. I think it did not even cross their mind to connect it to calendar.