How is messaging another host to tell them what price you believe they should charge not an attempt at price fixing?
I understand your concerns completely. Discussing prices without setting them is certainly not price fixing. Just as Airbnb, Rover dog boarding, even ebay, offer suggestions on minimum price. I read your OP as being in the vein of educating new hosts. I also suggested you not attempt it. LOL. Let them learn the hard way. We often discuss prices on this forum and prior to this thread Iâve never seen anyone accused of attempted price fixing.
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You have no idea what I would say if I ever got to meet fellow hosts in the area. I would never tell another host what to charge. Youâre reading between the lines, and incorrectly.
Thanks. You did read me correctly, and Iâm not attempting it. It would be nice if we had a local Airbnb host meet up here, though. There isnât one listed here.
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You could create a Facebook group for local hosts? We had a fairly active online one on Airbnb before they got rid of groups. Now I check in with 2 different host groups on Facebook.
If you frame it as helping local hosts get better at hosting, you might even be able to get airbnb to organize an event for your area? And then you could schmooze and collect contact info.
Nice ideas, thanks!..
WhoaâŚwhoa⌠I would not get together with other owners to fix prices. I commended the OP in the other thread for getting together with other owners and they agreed that they will be raising their rates next year. All kinds of people within any industry discuss their business with other owners within the same industry. And part of discussing âbusinessâ might entail comparing rate structures or bouncing feedback off of each other.
I can only dream of being able to organize such a thing as price fixing in my area, and be the designated rate setter for all Air listings in my community. SighâŚ
Trust me, you do not have to explicitly agree on a price for it to be considered price fixing or anti-trust activity. What you are suggesting is illegal and if Air finds out about it you will be kicked off. You might think you are being clever âjust discussing pricesâ but it is still price fixing. Imagine if all the big telcos got together to âjust discuss pricesâ. You donât think that wouldnât be seen as price fixing? Iâd drop it if I was you and just try and win business on the basis of offering a great product, not trying to manipulate the market.
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You donât understand my intent, and it appears that you need to not understand it. Thatâs fine. But since you donât know me, my motives or my intentions, please donât imprint on your image of me what you think Iâm trying to do. There are markets, and there are markets. The fact of the matter is that hosts in the Twin Cities are drastically underpriced compared to many other areas I have traveled to and stayed in in Airbnb locations. Discussing how we all arrive at our prices isnât price fixing. Iâm not suggesting anything illegal. Please save your warnings for people who are actually doing such things. From here on out, I wonât approach defending my statements or wonderings. Iâll simply ask people to read the whole thread. Itâs a beautiful day where I live. I hope it is where you live, too. Please enjoy it! 
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In all fairness Jam, I doubt the OP had plans to get together with people in her area to solely discuss prices under some âcleverâ way of really agreeing to fix prices, but not leave a trace of evidence that this is what they were doing. She was ventingâŚlike we all do.
I was the first person in my area to list on both Airbnb and Booking.com. When new people started listing I wanted to scream from the top of the mountain - âwhat are you doing? I set my rates comparable to a hotel and you could have priced accordingly! - I set the bar high just for you, and all you had to do was follow suit!â I so badly wanted to tell them âletâs keep our rates on par with hotels because we also offer so much more in terms of space, kitchen, etc.â I didnât do that.
However, I have discussed my rates and pricing with others in the area. Maybe I have made adjustments based on their experiences and justifications, and maybe they have learned some things from me too. We also discuss the changes in the listing sites and how difficult it is to increase rates when the listing sites keep increasing their commission.
Just look at Homeaway now having a dynamic service fee. If you lower your rates, then they will just increase their service fee because they know the market rate that the average traveler is willing to pay. If anything, I would consider the practices of the listing sites to be illegalâŚnot a bunch of hosts exchanging recipes, house cleaning tips, and discussing their rate structure, mininum night stay, and house rules. Even after paying Homeaway an annual subscription to advertise, they can come in and add 18% to your rates if they feel the traveler is willing to pay it. And yes, it may cost you bookings because in essence they are setting your rates for youâŚat least to an extent.
The OP already clarified herself and a lot of people are putting words into her mouth of what her intentions are/were.
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Itâs dismazing how intent people are to tell her what sheâs thinking.
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My new vocabulary word of the dayâŚâdismazingâ - how would I keep expanding my vocab if it wasnât for my fellow hosts!
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Full disclosure: Iâm not sure if I made it up or read it somewhere. For me itâs a hybrid of dismay and amaze. Iâm dismayed and surprised at the same time.
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I found it on urban dictionaryâŚso totally legit phrase. But maybe you did originally make it up - lol. I always want to start a phrase and then see if it becomes a common term!
After all, I was the one who started the bed head hair look. It was the glamorous models who followed my styleâŚha!
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I also use automagically but that one is def out there being used before I did.
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Why donât you set one up?
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If I knew how, I would. Do you know how to do it?
Iâm here in Minnesota, too! I would love to join a forum with other MN hosts!
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Setting one up is easy, just set up a private Facebook Group and/or Meet Up Group. The more difficult part is to find hosts in your area. Keep the name simple and include your city so that those searching to see if there is a group find it easily
Invite the ones you know to join and ask them to invite others they know. Advertise your groups in local area groups. If you have local airbnb management services ask them to let their clients know about it. Advise on groups like this and the Community Centre forums.
People will only be active in a group if there is interesting content, so invite discussion on relevant topics, post news, organise meetings etc
Good luck
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And yet, no matter which mobile telecommunications company I go with, my bill ends up being just about the same.
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