Wow, just wow! Here was I thinking I was explaining how it works

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Guest (with 1 review): I was looking at booking your lovely house for my parents as a Christmas gift, though when I went to book, the per night fee doubled from $205 to $460. I was just wondering if there might be an issue with the system at the moment.

Me (this is a combination of 2 saved messages I use all the time): Thanks for your enquiry, if you don’t put in any dates then Airbnb shows the cheapest price it is available for in the next 30 days and they don’t add on the other fees, and that is tonight’s price of $150. Ideally it should have a “from” in front of it but unfortunately there isn’t this option. There are nights when it is $135 to stay and peak nights when it is $550+.

Also, just like hotels there are different prices for different nights, depending on the day of the week, the time of the year, events on in the area, peak times etc.

The only way to find out whether a place is within your budget is to use the filter and put in your travel dates and budget before you start searching so you obtain a total cost for your stay up front.

Clicking on the check in date box or on a mobile “check availability”(make sure you have downloaded the app) will bring up the calendar and show what nights are free.

Another option is that you wait to make a booking until the last few days before you want to stay as accommodation properties drop their prices at the last minute to make sure they have maximum occupancy.

However, I couldn’t accept your reservation as it is against Airbnb’s TOCs and our house rules to accept any third party or gift bookings. The person staying must be the same person as the person who booked and has supplied their ID to Airbnb.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Kind regards,
Poppy

Guest: I found this reply quite condescending and rude. Your property was within my budget, and I was only emailing to confirm as the other Airbnb properties I’ve stayed with previously have listed their additional or peak rates. I understand perfectly well how to use a filter.

To be clear, I was planning to book through my parents’ account and simply pay for the expense on my card, which is not a violation of policy, and one which I am well aware of. Your assumption that we were attempting to circumvent this policy was quite patronising, particularly given the intention was entirely innocuous. My sister and I were also planning on visiting ourselves since we often visit the area and liked the look of the property so much, but I think perhaps our time and money is best spent elsewhere. Given your response, it seems you weren’t interested in having us stay anyway.

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After that guest reply I would want to reply “after that bonkers reply, you are correct. I don’t want to host you.” But instead I would remain silent and I’d block them. 4 Bullets dodged because the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree.

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Those who know nothing and those who know it all! you try to cover both and they don’t like either. I had a newbie yesterday when she booked an entire house for 1 guest and tells me she is bring 7, then has a fit when she doesn’t like the proper price! Had Airbnb CS ring them to explain the process, the extras and the Airbnb fees…feeling a horrible review coming up!

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I didn’t reply, what’s the point?

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Then it should go the end if it is scathing enough, like my last one did as it was so out of line with the others.

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Just got a reply from another guest that I sent the same message to (minus the third party reference), very different attitude:

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  1. You dodged a bullet. Thank goodness your info unconvered that the guest is crazy before booking.
  2. I would definitely REMOVE this paragraph from your explanation: …“Another option is that you wait to make a booking until the last few days before you want to stay as accommodation properties drop their prices at the last minute to make sure they have maximum occupancy.”
    Let’s not teach the public lousy habits.
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Nope - no price adjustments- rather be empty than cheap, because cheap attracts guests that are poor in attitude as well as pocket.

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I hear this a lot and I don’t think it’s necessarily true … we always look for cheaper (not ultra-cheap) places to stay, because … we don’t have much money! And we are outstanding guests!

Hosts should, of course, price their listings at whatever level they want, but I think we should absolutely get rid of this idea that “poor in pocket” equates to “poor in attitude”!

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So I thought I’d out-condescend and over-rude you! This is the sort of reply which Brits will know used to be signed “Disgusted, Tunbridge Wells”. You can just hear the offended sniff with which she wrote it!

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I agree with georgygirl- yes, please take that paragraph
out!

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This is so me: I would also give a “full and helpful” answer, only to get no or such an answer. :unamused::unamused::unamused:

Next time, try to shorten the message and I also think that it’s better to leave out the last two paragraphs.

Agreeing with others. Just let guests guess how prices could evolve over time. Even if it applies to your own place, you don’t want to “educate” guests in this sense. Better to tell them that the most expensive dates sell out the quickest.

Since you already gave him other bad news, I would have just left this out.

Also as the guest indicated, there are ways for guests to go around the policy. If I want to make a reservation for my parents, I will just make an account for them and make the reservation for them. The result for hosts is quite the same, but it’s not against the policy.

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Sorry, I don’t agree. Every morning I look at the bookings for the next two weeks and lower the prices by $10 until I get a booking.

I used this as a guest 20 years ago. I worked out that if you waited until a few days before you wanted to stay it was considerably cheaper. It is a normal, accommodation marketing strategy.

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Well it has been my experience, whine and whinge for a discount and nothing makes them happy.

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As a guest I would agree. As I travel a lot for long periods I am always looking for the best cheapest stay. However, I have had poor experiences from the guests who have paid the cheapest price. Then again not everyone is like me and you.

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I was really into the “price it high and give a discount” in the beginning but I now “resent” guests that ask for a discount as I have already priced it according to what works for me.

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I also NEVER ask for a discount!!

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I like your response, but agree with the others about reducing the amount of paragraphs. We are all guilty of not reading everything and I feel you are adding too much in the last 2 paragraphs.

Personally I have a long running issue in guests treating Airbnb as a commodity that is all about price. It seems to me that those asking for a discount irrespective of their wealth are damaging for the entire community.

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I agree it’s also not true in many cases so could be seen to be misleading.

As many hosts don’t discount for last minute stays.

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I have re-written it, please let me know what you think:

Thanks for your enquiry, if you don’t put in any dates then Airbnb shows the cheapest price it is available during the next 30 days without the extra fees. Ideally there would be a “From” in front of the price but unfortunately there isn’t this option.

Also, just like hotels there are different prices for different nights, depending on the day of the week, the time of the year, events on in the area, peak times etc.

The best way to find out whether a place will suit you is to use the filter and put in your travel dates and budget before you start searching so you obtain a total cost for your stay up front.

Another option is that you wait to make a booking until the last few days before you want to stay as many accommodation properties drop their prices at the last minute to make sure they have maximum occupancy.

People new to Airbnb often find their pricing confusing, let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.