New Airbnb Simplified Pricing

[Yiwei3]

Hi hosts, I just saw that Airbnb is giving people in the US an option to pick simplified pricing where you pay 15% and the guests pay 0.  They are saying it comes with increased bookings.  Has anyone had that experience?  From what I see, the nightly rates are higher but there's nowhere in search that explains there is no service fee.

[Debra300]

@Yiwei3,

Airbnb just converted my listings to simplified pricing last week.  The possible increase in bookings could arise if guests choose a listing that doesn't charge them a service directly vs. one that does.  As a host, you will need to raise your nightly rate by at least 12% to make up for the additional cost.  In the end, the total reservation cost should be about the same to the guest.

[Maria1534]

The problem is that when people run a search, your listing will show higher nightly rates than those that use the old method, even though in the end, guests will end up paying more when they book the other places. I've had to significantly reduce my nightly prices just to "appear" competitive. This is insane. I wanted to do something good and be transparent with my guests, but it's been terrible for my bottom line. And apparently now they are not letting you turn this off. They need to switch everyone to simplified pricing if they want to be fair. I hate Airbnb. I've had so many poor experiences with them in the last few months that I am moving my 9 listings to other platforms.

[Sudha33]

Is that true? Because when I search for listings in my area, I see the Total Price for every property, which includes the Service Fee. So irrespective of who pays the fee, the total price stays the same in Search Results. If you click on the Total price, it shows the breakup of Nightly Fee and Service Fee. I am assuming that if I turn on Simplified pricing, the Service Fee line item will go away.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sudha33 it depends on the country you are in . Europe requires all fees and taxes to be shown. In the USA it is optional to see total price (exclusive of taxes).

[Sudha33]

Ok. I am in India. So assuming turning this feature on shall not create an issue, as the total listed price doesn't change. And based on AirBnB FAQs the guest pays the same amount and the host receives the same payout. But I do see the Fee coming down from 17% (14+3) to 15% (for India).

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sudha33 Because percentages are tricky things the 14.2% and 3% are applied to lower figures than the 15% so, depending on VAT style taxes, the actual amount paid is roughly the same (typically within 0.5%). 

Another thing to watch in the UK is that the gross rental figure is higher with simplified pricing so hosts could hit the VAT registration threshold if they use it. Of course if this doesn't apply then the fees are just added to revenues and costs so are not taxable.

[Sudha33]

Thanks! I will keep that in mind. Though I think my revenue is well below the limit for requiring a GST registration as per Indian laws (I still pay personal Income Tax on the earnings).

[Michelle826]

trying to figure out how to turn off the simplified pricing . . . the reps don't seem to know about it.

[Soontaree0]

Was just told there is no way to opt out at this time it is permanent. That may change in the future although I doubt it.

[Maria1534]

😭This is insane. My profits have dropped significantly because in the search results, my listings appear to have a higher nightly rate than the ones that use the old method, even though in the end, the guests end up paying more when they book the other places.

[Soontaree0]

After implementing simplify pricing bookings are down 25%. Customer service says this is a test project to be reevaluated November. I was told at this time it’s permanent there is no way to opt out.
I intended to implement it on one listing although when I implemented that listing all of my listings automatically changed to the simplified pricing. When I signed up I did not see a disclosure that it would be permanent without a way to opt out. I also noticed Airbnb advertised Enhanced listing as a pro;  I have seen my listing is buried, does not appear to be enhanced. I don’t think the guests understand and I now appear less competitive. The listing does not reflect the host Absorbing the fees.

[Susan1188]

Help!  I wish I saw your post before I stupidly clicked on "simplified pricing" for all my listings!  You are right it seems there is no parameter button to turn it off!
Now on the phone with CS to gry to get it turned off!

[Margaret444]

You need to go into your general "Account" settings, select "Service Fee" and then change back to "Split Fee Pricing".

And if you are using third party software to manage your listings, "Simplified pricing" (host pays all the fees) is your only option.

[Maria1534]

I've searched everywhere and I cannot find how to turn it off. My profits are way down since I turned this on. 😭 I've had to significantly lower my rates to appear competitive in the search results in comparison to those that use the old method. The way Airbnb organizes the search results makes no sense. They are penalizing us hosts that wanted to be transparent. They need to fix this, but as most things when it comes to Airbnb, they won't. I've been a super host for 9 years and I become more and more disillusioned every day with the way they've treated me.