Host asking for higher city tax Prague

[Andrea5073]

Hi all,

The host of the Airbnb I’m staying is asking me for a 50 czk (around 2 euros) per night as city tax.

I’m already having an awful experience with him being extremely unprofessional so I decided to researched it and turns out that according to what I’ve found, Prague’s official city tax is only 15 czk. 
(https://www.praha.eu/jnp/cz/potrebuji_resit/zivotni_situace/poplatky/local_fee_for_spa_or_recreation...) 

How do I approach this with him? 

Thank you! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Andrea5073 perhaps ask the host why he is charging 50 when the tax is 15? If the listing doesn't say 50 then he has no right to collect it anyway.

Would it be worth asking Airbnb to cancel the booking as the host is trying to rip you off? Interesting to see what others think.

[Andrea5073]

Thank you Mike! 
It does say in the “house rules” that is 50 czk, this is mainly why I’m a bit doubtful how to approach it as technically I agreed to the 50 czk but also, I feel is not ok if that’s not the real amount! 
I’m at the end of my stay already (he conveniently forgot to ask for it 3 weeks ago when I checked in) so I’m afraid I will just have to accept he’s ripping me off 😞 

[Mark116]

@Andrea5073 I would ask him about the discrepancy.  Even if he's adding a 'little extra' for his time/administration in dealing with the tax issue, he's charging you more than 3x what the tax actually is, unless he's collecting some other types of taxes or he could just be price gouging. 

[Sarah977]

@Andrea5073  I don't know that it will be productive for you to bring this up- the host is already being dishonest, and you say he has been unprofessional in other ways. So I don't think it will result in him saying, oh well, I'll only charge you 15.

And it was something you agreed to when you booked, so you don't have any case for a refund.

But if you want to let him know that you know he is being dishonest, go for it. 

[Andrea5073]

Thanks for the insights! 
I agreed in paying a certain amount as a “city tax” . If part of that amount does not go to what it’s disclosed to be going to, I believe that is illegal.

For me is a matter of what’s right. Just because he’s an Airbnb host doesn’t mean he has the right to be scamming people. If this was outside of this platform I doubt the response would be the same.

[Sarah977]

@Andrea5073  Of course he doesn't have the right to scam people. Are you under the impression that the hosts  who have responded here are condoning his behavior? Of course not- bad hosts reflect poorly on the platform and that affects all the good hosts, too. Most hosts would like to see scamming hosts kicked off the platform.

We said it's probably not worth your while to approach him about it because as you describe him, he's not going to then refund you the difference, he's just likely going to respond unprofessionally or even belligerently, and then leave you a bad review. 

But as I said previously, if it feels to you like you should let him know that you are aware of his scam, that's up to you. If I were in your shoes, I would  just wait and mention it in the public review you leave, to warn future guests, which might be more worthwhile. That might force his hand to list the real tax, not an inflated one, and you will have publicly shamed him and alerted other guests. I think that might allow you to feel like you haven't just "accepted" it, and will have more impact than him even giving you back your few euros and continuing to overcharge future, unsuspecting guests.

[Anonymous]

@Andrea5073   You can make a pretty good guess how the host would react if you suggested he was overcharging you, based on your past communication with him and on previous guests' reviews (were there any when you booked?)

This might be a case of pick-your-battles. Disputing an off-platform charge is totally winnable, but that victory would save you less than 50 EUR. If the host is a real scumbag he might retaliate in some way (e.g. a trumped-up damage claim) that only drags out the conflict. Even when the truth is on your side, you have to decide for yourself what you want to do about it.

[Andrea5073]

Thanks for the feedback! 
While I agree that’s a matter of picking your battles, it is also extremely disappointing that I need to just accept being scammed, specially in such a reputable platform. 

[Anonymous]

@Andrea5073 I totally agree, and I think all reputable hosts are offended by having to share a platform with scammers and scumbags. But one thing it helps to know about Airbnb is that, even though they're a big multibillion dollar corporate brand, they have no real standards for who gets to use their service. Guests who book new or unreviewed listings take a huge risk that the host might be a con artist or cancel their booking and ruin their trip. Hosts take a huge risk that their guest might be a con artist who abuses their home, throws an illegal party, deals drugs out of the living room, or rapes somebody. 

You have every right to be disappointed that this is the way it is, but your trust in the platform was misplaced. Airbnb is just a listing service that profits from booking fees; they don't care about quality control. So when you use it as a third party in a peer-to-peer transaction, what's most important is that you can establish mutual trust with that peer before you pull out your credit card. Reviews aren't always reliable, but they're a great way to gauge how reputable an individual listing is. Since you haven't mentioned it, I wonder how the reviews were for the home in Prague that you booked. 

[Cyril1]

The city tax (tourist tax) in 2021 was 21 CZK per guest per night, excluding kids, long stays and some other cases. Since January 2022 its 50 CZK per guest per night. In next years it can go as high as 150 CZK per guest per night. If the host charges the correct amount and you were informed about it before booking (description or house rules) you should pay it. The best thing would be if the fee was added automatically by airbnb to avoid these situations but its not possible now.