Thanks Helsi. We switched it on and watched the meter go mad. I wonder if there’s something wrong with the rail. Probably worth us contacting the manufacturer to question it. We have heated towel rails in our property next door but no smart meter so we’re now dreading the electric bill in case they’re the same.
Definitely something wrong they should cost about 12p per hour, I think.
There could also be something wrong with your meter?
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I rent the entire house with 5 beds. Even though a couple rented it, I made all the beds and placed towels on all of them because I wanted the house to look nice for them. Big mistake, they slept in ALL the beds and used ALL the towels. I guess they were like Goldie Locks trying all the beds to see which one they liked the most! It simply created unnecessary work for me. I had to strip all the beds and wash everything all over again. Now if it’s a couple that books the house, I only make one bed for them. The rest stay undressed with just the plastic mattress protector.
- List item
The best asset you have is your instincts. if it feels wrong, it probably is!
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Do you know for certain they didn’t have more than 2 in their party? It’s hard to imagine a couple paying for an entire 5 bedroom home. Or perhaps your price is too low.
Do you have exterior security cameras on all the entrances to the home?
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I have to concur on the microfiber. They seem nice for the reasons @Hostymosty1 mentioned but they do NOT breath. And they start to pill. I stick to cotton, personally, so that’s what I provide for the guests. Glad I found this thread! Thanks everyone, learning lots!
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I agree with smtucker. Smart pricing is terrible. They wanted me to lower the price for my entire house rental for $55 a night. I looked at my competition and they were renting homes for $150. I turned off Smart Pricing and listed it for $150 and sure enough, I got three bookings.
Well, just to be devil’s advocate, I think it’s fantastic. It never prices our rental at below the price we set but sometimes gets high prices for us that I’d never dare charge.
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Still trying to figure it out…I’m on smart pricing but have been actively searching out comparable accommodations (per the advice on this wonderful forum) and the lesser properties (by lesser I mean location, amenities, etc.) are going for much more money. I keep upping my minimum, which is still very low, and Air keeps telling me to lower it, that I’m missing many bookings. What??? I’m booked solid. I’m blocking off a day here and there for a break. Do I have to religiously search out open dates and what they are going for on the Airbnb market? If so I’m fine with that. Example. For the first weekend in Sept. I’m $20.00 less than many properties with less to offer–No offense toward these great hosts at all–but should I be asking for more? Or bide my time for more reviews? I’ve had 15 stays since May 28th and all 5 star reviews. I have July totally booked except for 6 days. Several bookings in Aug, Sept, Oct. I’m guessing I’ll hit “super host” July 14, crossing fingers. I’m also a “rare find” every time I do an anonymous search. Thanks for reading this far.
I think ghe generally accepted opinion is that you should ignore the many attempts by Airbnb to lower your prices, especially if you have all the bookings you can handle. Smart pricing is aimed at maximizing Airbnb’s profits, not those of each individual host.
Sounds to me like you should be raising your prices, if anything.
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Interesting. I thought that their profits would be from a percentage basis, so if I charge more, they make more on service fees. Rethinking, they just want to book book book. Less money to hotels, more to them. 
It’s all making more sense now!
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The guest service fee is not a flat percentage. As the total rental amount goes up, the percentage goes down. I think the lowest percentage is about 5.5%.
So, yes, AirBnB wants us to lower our prices to the point that they take all the business away from hotels!
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Yecatsr, That makes sense! It explains why Airbnb recommends such low nightly prices for my property.
Chrissie, I too feel it’s a nightmare to iron the bedding. I was getting all tangled up when using the ironing board. Now I simply do it right on the bed and it works well! Get an extension cord so you can freely moved around the bed to iron the sheets.
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Airbnb is a business. Just like the local supermarket or whatever. Any company is going to try to affect the behaviours of its customers or suppliers.
Let’s take a supermarket. I get all sorts of offers in the mail from our local grocery store suggesting that I buy various products at bargain prices and it includes coupons for me to use. I don’t care if they are offering me Fruit Loops or instant cake mix or cheese whiz at 5 cents per packet - I never buy those things and don’t care how cheap they are.
The supermarket is also negotiating prices with its suppliers. It only Budweiser would give an even better bulk discount for their beer then the supermarket would make more money. But Budweiser knows how much money they need to make. They can’t give beer away to please the supermarket.
Customers (guests) and suppliers (hosts) have their own agendas and make up their own minds. But the company will still keep trying to influence behaviours. But we don’t have to do it. It’s all just advertising and normal business. I’m not going to put up the price on my rental just because Airbnb suggests it and more than I’m going to buy the Porsche that an advert suggested I shouldn’t be without.
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I’m upping my prices to be comparible to the market in my area. Let you know what happens.
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Econ 101, thank you! And here I am being naive thinking that Airbnb cares about me and sends me these messages because they are looking out for my best interests. 
always learning!
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Upping min. pricing is working well on “smart” I use this term loosely “pricing” Still booked solid. Don’t really get it, but I’m definitely not complaining!