New payout / fee structure question

41

When you go shopping and the price is $100 do you say to yourself well it is really $107 since I have to pay sales tax or VAT etc. No, you compare it to another item that costs $95.

I accepted AirBnB’s new pricing and haven’t had a booking or enquiry since!

42

The US is one of the few countries left that doesn’t require the full price to be shown on the sticker.

Here in Europe, the price on the sticker has always been the price you actually pay. And if you go to the checkout and the price is higher, it appears dodgy. A scam. “bait and switch”.

But I understand that sometime last year or the year before, Airbnb applied the “full sticker price” model globally. Yes, even in the US.

Sorry that means that if you adjust the price to the same as it was before, then it’s the same as it was before. No more “bait and switch”.

So that means that whatever reason you’re experiencing a downturn in bookings, it’s not because of price, because the price is the same as before.

I presume you’re in the US, and so surely you’re aware that the US is experiencing a serious downturn in both international and domestic travel. It’s all over the news, so I’m sure you know about it.

Anyway, does that help?

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43

Posted prices include the 16% VAT in Mexico, as well. It’s illegal not to.

44

I would suggest holding off on the switch to the single-fee model until after September. Even though Airbnb displays the total cost—including all fees—to potential guests, some may still compare your nightly rate against listings that haven’t transitioned yet. Because the service fee is now being shifted from the guest to the host, those who aren’t familiar with the new structure might perceive your nightly rate as higher, even if the final total price remains the same.

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45

I too definitely see the bookings are slower than before, thought it was just me. I wish I could go back to Split Fee.

46

Your sticker price should be almost identical either way, so those who haven’t yet transitioned to the single fee model won’t have any price advantage.

I’ve been on single fee for years. Nobody ever noticed any difference. It’s as if nothing happened.

Unless you adjusted your prices manually and miscalculated, setting your prices higher than before (some hosts have made this mistake) . But you can always tweak your prices as needed.

47

In the US, consumer protection laws are primarily adopted and enforced by states (e.g. my State has long required sellers to disclose all fees, so prospective buyers can easily “compare apples to apples”.) Federal agencies, which enforce the relatively fewer federal consumer protection laws, don’t regulate travel-related fee disclosure at all, and only badly coordinate with one another or with states. (E.g.:www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/gao-reports-continuing-lack-of-agency-1703685/)

I wonder whether patterns of weirdness in visibility and bookings specific hosts are experiencing may have more to do with the cheap, clunky chinese AI that Airbnb is implementing (along with disruptions in US travel Islacat mentions, higher gas/travel prices, and other regional issues.)

48

Last month, our building had an incident that caused no hot water for several hours. So I offered my guest a 1-day refund. She got the refund and then asked why it was much less than she thought it would be. I showed her my payout details and told her that what she paid includes taxes; also, she didn’t pay any service fee to Airbnb; I paid it all. She didn’t say anything, but she was not so happy.

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49

My mother was like that. She wasn’t happy unless she could find something to be unhappy about. I used to take her to some of the finest restaurants in London. Despite the unbelievably fabulous quality of the entire experience, she would always find something to complain about.

Some people are just like that. It’s not something you can fix.

We’re in the hospitality business. It’s just the nature of the beast.

Sigh

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