Bait and Switch Pricing at check out

[Tammy634]

My son booked this place, took a pic just before booking and got upcharged at booking time…Is it common practice to bait and switch on booking?   He contacted the owner and they were unwilling to make the adjustment…
Very concerned momma bear!

**[Identifiable listing  information/image removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines- Please note that is not allowed to post a listing link unless posted by a listing owner due to privacy concerns]

[Helen3]

What do you mean by he got upcharged by booking time? Perhaps local taxes/cleaning fees were added  .

Obviously if when he went to book he wasn't happy with the total price then he shouldn't have gone on to confirm the booking. 

why is he expecting the owner to make an adjustment?

if it's more than two weeks away from the start of the booking date he can cancel penalty free within 48 hours of booking .

[Tammy634]

Obviously?? Oh Helen, you sound hostile. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tammy634 In Europe the price charged is shown inclusive of any fees/taxes. In America there is a toggle you can switch to show the total price including all fees except taxes. Taxes are only added in America at checkout as it is apparently illegal in many (all?) states to include taxes in the total price earlier in the process.

[Emilia42]

@Tammy634 

Somewhere on that host's calendar, the nightly rate is $53 per night. But unfortunately, not when your son wanted to stay. Let your son know that he should always search with his preferred dates selected. That way the nightly price, taxes, and fees will all be current with his specific timeframe.

[Tammy634]

He did search with preferred dates selected…. a 2 month stay. 

[Lorna170]

@Tammy634   He took his snapshot before booking...and then was probably shown the full price inclusive of the AirBnB fee and taxes, which he did not anticipate.  If the owner is using smart pricing, the booking amount can change from minute to minute.

AirBnB handles the booking calculations and how pricing is presented to the guest.  Your son still should have been able to back out of the booking if he was not happy with the apparent upcharge.

[Cody308]

This happened to me yesterday. I made a partial payment on an airbnb and the host canceled it. He then sent me a special offer. The TOTAL price was $150 higher. I chatted with airbnb support and they said the host can do that. It's a shady bait and switch. 

[Pat271]

@Cody308  

I see you just joined, you are not a host, and this is your first post.

Hosts cannot simply cancel without big repercussions (large fines, the removal of any kind of status designation, flags on their profile that they cancelled). Plus the dates of the cancelled booking are blocked on the hosts calendar. This would make it quite unlikely that a host would engage in this kind of “shady bait and switch” strategy.

[Cody308]

I did just join, I'm not a host and that was my first post. So what?

If you want to say he denied my stay that is exactly what he did. Denied or cancelled I did make a partial payment. It was refunded. He wasted hours of my time. I did a lot of research to find the right place to stay. I'm not going to let anyone else waste my time. When I've booked a hotel room no one ever got back to me and said the price I booked wasn't enough and offered me the same thing for more money.

**[Inappropriate content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Sandra856]

@Cody308 Reported! 

[Pat271]

@Sandra856  I guess I should be relieved the “inappropriate content” was removed before I got a chance to read it, right?

[Sandra856]

@Pat271 He ended his reply in a nasty way with calling you a douche and something else I can’t remember now. I thought it was low. So I reported him.  

[Pat271]

@Sandra856  Thanks, Sandra, appreciate that.

[Sandra856]

@Cody308 What you did was requesting to book. This host most likely didn’t have an updated calendar with correct prices and because of that declined your request. And afterwards sent you a new price. It is completely up to you if you would like to book at the new price or just skip. But what happened was that your request wasn’t accepted - it wasn’t cancelled since there wasn’t an actual confirmed reservation to cancel. 
Best, Sandra