We are a community of AirBnb hosts. This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts!
Every now and then I get an inquiry for certain dates where the guests asks that the total charges are?
Is this a passive aggressive way to ask for a discount, a guest that is just clueless? or is there an actual reason i’m missing. I find it very odd.
Clueless. That is my guess and I am working to create a post with at least 20 characters.
That is a new guest, someone who has never used Air before. Simply answer that you don’t know as you are not provided with that information by the booking platform.
In my experience people who ask stupid questions don’t end up booking so I ignore them.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t get to see what Airbnb add on as their fees my end. In fact, you receive more information on charges as a guest, than we do as hosts”.
Clueless.
That occasionally happens here too. I find such people are rather unlikely to book. I usually do answer their (dumb) questions.
And I agree that’s it’s just clueless. Probably not a way to ask for a discount.
I think these people do a search, then get a shock at Air add ons. They probably don’t even realise the charge can go up with additional people on the booking, so they then find somewhere within their original budget.
With Airbnb’s addons plus Indian tax (I think GST is like 18% for my normal rates - it’s graduated per the rental cost), it’s like 30% on top of my original rates here. Even I find the final figures a bit shocking.
Here is Airbnb on the rates: https://www.airbnb.co.in/help/article/1991/guidance-on-gst-for-india-hosts
|Below 1,000 INR |Exempt|
|1,000 INR — 2,499 INR |12%|
|2,500 INR — 7,499 INR |18%|
|7,500 INR and above |28%|
For a couple my rates are around 2500. And for a single person it’s between 2000 and 2500 but closer to 2000. I’m not sure if the GST is on the cost with the Airbnb fee added in.
Agreed. I get asked from time to time and answer in a similar way. An added issue is that many of our guests are not thinking in US dollars but in the currency of their own country so the amount can differ day by day.
I get a lot of newbies and have never been asked this question, they can see the price before they hit the go button.
I get questions about this too, and have a canned response for them similar to those that others have posted.
On a related note, the folks who as ask me why the rates vary by date booked drive me nuts. I wish Airbnb made it more clear that rates can vary by date instead of displaying just one nightly rate when guests don’t select a date.
I won’t say always, but yes it is a common strategy to disguise asking for a discount. If they are asking about specific dates, then they should have plugged them into the system. The dates option stays on the screen while they are searching. Now, if they ask for your general rates because they want to see a full on rates table for the year, that is different. Many people who have flexible schedules prefer to see all rates and then determine when they will visit. They then will find dates within their budget. But if someone asks what are your rates for this and that date…likely fishing for a discount - in my experience
When they ask what the total charges are: The total number or cost of something is the number or cost that you get when you add together or count all the parts in it.