Price now automatically includes all fees, anyway to avoid this?

[Greystone0]

Hi Hosts,

I am now seeing my listing pricing showing "Price includes all fees". This used to be an option to choose as a host for each listing, but now it is automatic, or so it appears to me. Anyone else seeing this in their market or listing? I cannot find a way to remove nor can I conduct a general search without the fees being included.

In our case the AIRBNB fees are quite high per reservation and so having it separate added a layer of transparency and honesty to the pricing system. I realize that AIRBNB has been suggesting and pushing hosts to include the fees in an 'all in one' but the result is that it hides the AIRBNB fee.

Curious what you are experiencing? ANd if there is a way to remove this?

Thanks for any insight.

[Joelle43]

Hello @Joan2709 

This is awful!!  There's something that I can't get my head around though - if I'm on Airbnb.fr and I look for places to stay in New York let's say,  I see a price per night and total price of course on each listing, one click on a listing and I see the breakdown with the cleaning charges, taxes and Airbnb commission just like in Europe.

  But if I've understood correctly, a US guest has to make a second click on Price breakdown to see what makes up the total price?  And the host cleaning fees are automatically incorporated into the hosts nightly fee?  No idea if they charge 50$ or 250$?  Someone has clearly lost the plot!

[Joan2709]

@Joelle43 

Yes…that is correct. 

[Frances3408]

@Greystone0. Wow. thats one way for Airbnb to have their cake and eat it too. 🤣 

It hasnt happened here in OZ- we got the total pricing view a while ago but you can still get the cost breakdown when you search and before you click reserve. Really helps to understand how other hosts are positioning themselves.

[Greystone0]

Hi @Frances3408 ,

Hi @Helen3 ,

Thanks for weighing in! 

I have no issues with the total price being displayed. This is essential information and as Helen noted, it was not always obvious what the total was. 

The issue that I have is that the AIRBNB fee is now wrapped into the nightly rate when displayed. For our rental, the AIRBNB fee is always more than $400 and upwards of $1000 for our high season. It's a steep fee.  Guests get the same AIRBNB service for a  $1200 AIRBNB fee as someone who pays $26.96.  For the case above, the $26.96 is probably a really good value for using the service, but how is that same guest getting a $1200 value. The platform isn't different, or special, or more efficient. 

For a long time AIRBNB was asking hosts to absorb the AIRBNB fee into one total. Now it is automatic.  For listings in like our case, the transparency of having the AIRBNB fee separate made the process more transparent and understandable. Combined, it makes the host look like they are offering a crazy price. Granted, I need to get used to it and ultimately once that happens and all the guests slowly realize that the fee is tucked away in there things will normalize. But for now it doesn't feel more transparent, it feels less.

I also think that guests searching and  reviewing our listing and listings in our category will not get a second look because the perceived value is off kilter. This will impact our sales thru AIRBNB in the short term and medium term, in my opinion.

[Joan2709]

@Greystone0 

All good points...

You might have to concentrate your efforts on other platforms and a Direct Booking Site, as I doubt Airbnb will change this. 

I also think this is possibly a way for Airbnb to "push" hosts to use Simplified Pricing instead of the Split Fee to lower the price shown.

[Greystone0]

Hi Hosts,

Thanks for weighing in. Much appreciated. 

I dislike this a little more each day, as I look at it closer. The advice to focus elsewhere is spot on.  As noted, you can't even tell if the cleaning fee is included in this structure. And the AIRBNB fee is well hidden,  making the individual host look bad. 

And to top it all of, this thread was marked as answered by AIRBNB with an answer that only is relevant outside of the US and one that gives this a very positive spin.  No digs against the answer though, it just didn't address the issue we are facing and was immediately marked as answered as if to stop further conversation. 

If you haven't already, you should consider logging a complaint via support. 

[Lorina14]

@Greystone0 

Id recommend all hosts and guests to log a complaint to Airbnb through the feedback button. It’s weird that in Europe and Australia they have a different system that shows all fees (taxes, cleaning fee, Airbnb service fee) easily viewable under check out.  I also discussed this with @Joan2709  and we were considering the app view vs a computer view and what it looks like in different states (as different states must show full fees and the app and computer interface is sometimes different, using different browsers is also a good option for investigating too) and Joan mentioned that Airbnb was moving to full fees across the US. The toggle button was available for some listings and not for others at that time and now it appears it is gone.

I think you can go back to your post and select an answer that you feel best suits the question. You should have that option as the original poster. There is a button underneath each comment and you can select it and it will say x is the top answer. You can also unselect it (I accidentally selected one when I had a post not knowing what the button was for and chose a different answer that was more comprehensive after deselecting it).

Sometimes CC managers do select an answer if the original poster did not. I have seen some write a summary of everything and then select the answer as the top choice which is helpful for those who don’t read all the comments and dialogue between the hosts and guests. All community boards except the host circle are viewable to hosts and guests so they may have wanted to choose a top answer because it may be a common question. 

[Beverly310]

@Greystone0 I am with you on this. Guests are used to seeing the fees after they are first interested in the base nightly rate and click through to reserve. The cleaning fee in my area is on average at least $100 (regardless of if the booking is 1 night or more). It's now blended into the nightly rate and you can't even see it in the price breakdown. The only two line items in the price breakdown are the service fee and taxes. So now all prices seem to be inflated for frequent airbnb guests.

The option tab should have remained. As a new host, this doesn't feel like a positive change. 

[John5097]

@Greystone0 

In the past few weeks I've noticed that sometimes the listing displays the list of fees and sometimes it doesn't. 

I just now tested searching in my area with two different browsers. 

The first search on Chrome had the search with all fees included in the total price. Guest would need to click on reserve and would then have the option to select price breakdown which would show Airbnb service fee and taxes, while the cleaning fee would still be included in total rates. 

Then for the same listing and same nights on a different browser it list all the fees including cleaning fees. 




Then the plot thickens! Went back to Chrome again and opened a new search window and new search and it listing all the fees! 

I thought this was just part of the new Summer Release roll out scheduled for May but as of now it's alternating between all fees included and displaying all the fees on the first listing selection. 

They are likely testing it out to see which one generates more bookings. 

It's also unclear when guest would learn of any additional fees such as cleaning fee. If they only see it later in a receipt or invoice they may think it was added on by the host after the reservation was made. 

One guest left me an all 5 star rave review, but mentioned at the bottom she was charged twice for the cleaning fee.

I reached out to her and she said she choose the pay half now and half later and when she got the second invoice she saw the cleaning fee on the bill and assumed she was being charged twice.

I did the basic math for her (said she was a teacher) and she kindly reached out to customer service and requested to have it removed. It was a rave 5 star review but I didn't want other potential guest to think they would be charged two cleaning fees.

So while I like the total price display (previously there was a toggle to show total price in the initial search which would show nightly rate and total price under each listing on a search page) my concern would be guest thinking host added the cleaning fee after the reservation, like the example above. 

I'm hoping if they stay with total price display the cleaning fee is never Itemized  later on in the invoice. It can just say the cleaning fee is included in total. 

Would appreciate any additional info on what guest see in their invoice after booking with the new total price. 

[Greystone0]

Hi @John5097 ,

This is great info. Thank you for weighing in! Great sleuthing. Makes sense and I'll add some additional browsers/other devices to my searches going forward. Really good advice.

This did, however, unlock a new concern: the guest view of the cleaning fee! It seems very likely that, as your guest felt, that the cleaning fee was somehow added later, unbeknownst to the guest, regardless of any math. I would probably feel the same. Interesting to consider and almost impossible to avoid. I suspect that whoever gave the credit at AIRBNB probably was woefully unaware of any guest facing changes to fee structure that would have led to this. No rest for the weary here - eyes wide open and yet it's still full of surprises.

Thanks again for weighing in! Great info.

[Joan2709]

@John5097 

Wow John! Good catch!

I'm wondering what else is gonna show up with guests with Klarna to split pay or adding travel insurance? 🤔 Were you able to send screen shots to Airbnb on that? 

They should just leave well enough alone and keep the toggle switch and let guests decide if they want to see total price or not.  In areas where the total price is mandated, then of course they must comply, but then show the detail before a guest books. Doing it this way actually leads to an increased lack of transparency.

Not being able to see the nightly rate by each night and only seeing a "Total Stay Price" on the Host side is also an accounting nightmare.

[John5097]

@Greystone0 

Yes glad that made sense: if guest only see the cleaning fee later on in an invoice they may assume it was added by the host after the booking was made. 

The guest I mentioned only mentioned it in their review, that they thought they were charged two cleaning fees. They didn't request a refund and weren't issued one. 

I just sent them the pice details of their trip like this. 





@Joan2709 

Thanks! I know you are one of the rare host who genially try and give the best advice to help people. 

As mentioned customer service was never involved. I've never had a guest request any kind of refund that I'm aware of. 

I'm just now seeing this Klarna thingy! Today I happened to read a post here that also mentioned Klarna and thought it was the first name of a customer service rep that hadn't been xxxxx out yet. 

I have in the past itemized each of the fees and taxes in my Other Things To Note on the listing page, but removed that. 

I've also tried both having a cleaning fee and not having a cleaning fee. 

I did ok with both but in the past noticed it better with the lower nightly rate and cleaning fee. 

In fact I also just increased my cleaning fee for the first time, as some guest are doing things that increase the cost for everyone. So that's why I was searching around to see what other listings were charging and happened to notice some of the changes.

If guest only see the total price and don't see any break down of nightly rate, cleaning fee, then there wouldn't be any real reason to have a separate cleaning fee, especially if guest get a itemized breakdown after making the reservation that shows a cleaning fee for the first time. 

Even on the search it defaults to 5 night length, total price shown even on the map for other listings, and if guest enters no dates or specific dates it will default to total price, so they wouldn't see nightly rates anywhere. 

I'm not sure what happens if they select a price range for nightly rate? That may be the only advantage of lower nightly rate and cleaning fee? 

I tried no cleaning fee for a year but went back to adding it because Airbnb algos at the time still prioritized having the cleaning fee. Although mine is just a one bedroom and may be different for others.  

I'll be watching this though, and adjust accordingly as always. 

Thanks for insights! 

[John5097]

PS.. not sure about the accounting break down. I"m sure you know all the ins and outs of the Earnings section? Can get both earnings reports or earnings summary. The earnings summary does itemize the Airbnb service fee, which the 1099 doesn't. So I include both to my accountant. It does it in both. 

Although you are right for itemized details for each guest, the earnings report only shows the amount. This is what I have to submit to my County to prove Airbnb paid the local taxes, although it doesn't show the break down, so hopefully it's ok, because its all super wishy washy, and intentionally vauge and I've been paying double for that for the past 6 months, which hopefylly will be resolved.