I agree with you. I do not agree at all with this change Airbnb is making. Sure we can do a channel rate adjustment of 15.5 % to our Airbnb pricing to recoup our fees, but I believe the customer needs to know the "additional cost" they are paying to use the Airbnb service as opposed to booking direct. Without some sort of breakdown to show the guest the additional cost of using Airbnb, Airbnb comes out looking like a free service to the guest. Airbnb claims this is all about "Fee Transparency" in fact a direct quote from their site is; "Updating our fee structure to a single fee is part of Airbnb’s commitment to improving pricing transparency". But in reality, It's Airbnb's attempt to hide the cost of using their service from the customer.
I do not agree at all with this change Airbnb is making. Sure we can do a channel rate adjustment of 15.5 % to our Airbnb pricing to recoup our fees, but I believe the customer needs to know the "additional cost" they are paying to use the Airbnb service as opposed to booking direct. Without some sort of breakdown to show the guest the additional cost of using Airbnb, Airbnb comes out looking like a free service to the guest. Airbnb claims this is all about "Fee Transparency" in fact a direct quote from their site is; "Updating our fee structure to a single fee is part of Airbnb’s commitment to improving pricing transparency". But in reality, It's Airbnb's attempt to hide the cost of using their service from the customer.
I too believe what you are recommending is necessary. The customer needs to be able to see the cost of using the Airbnb service as opposed to booking direct.
Also, please note it is not 15.5%. You have to account for snowball effect of fees on top of fees. I did a xlx ss to calculate it last year and came back with about 18%. Pricelabs just sent an email on the same topic and they came up with 18.34% adjustment to nightly rate and fees. They can probably explain it better than I https://youtu.be/PxeCISyAb9E . And I completely agree that hiding airbnb fees behind our backs is immoral at the very least.
PS I have a few more details on the same topic here https://www.ownerrez.com/forums/general-help/how-to-protect-your-payout-after-airbnbs-fee-update . I should've probably check the forum before posting - my bad. If admins are reading this and can move it, please feel free to do it.
I adjusted ABB rates upward by 15.5% as OR suggested for Rent & Surcharges. But now my cleaning fee, pet fee, and Safely Trust & Safely Fee all show 15.5% higher to the guest. Problem is that my listing states my pet fee is $75, but for people booking through ABB, that pet fee is showing as $86.83! To the guest, this is disceptive advertising!
How to address this?.....
Can I take off the ABB adjustment & add a surcharge line for ABB guests ("ABB Surcharge") of 15.5%? Or will ABB object and delist me for doing this? OR
Can I jusr change the % mark-up on ABB listings to a higher rate (so it would cover the extra cost on my surcharges) but only apply that to nightly rent? At least my pet fee charge would match the description in my listing.
Any ideas?
I am thinking of trying the same approach as you mentioned about adding a Surcharge of 15.5% (or 18.?? % which some are saying is a more accurate calculation) instead of a "Rate Adjustment" to my Airbnb integration settings. I feel it is important for the customer to see the additional costs they are paying to use the Airbnb platform as opposed to booking direct. The Surcharge method would allow them to see the Airbnb Fees where a simple "Rate Adjustment" would not.
Does anyone else have any input as to whether or not this will violate any Airbnb rules?
I am going to go with the surcharge, otherwise anything else calculated off the rent will be affected. I use Beyond Pricing and they due to based on rent, so I would be giving up more to them just because airbnb is greedy.
UPDATE: I just made this change and despite the airbnb "fee transparency" the show it as part of the nightly rate somehow. They aren't showing any breakdown beyond nights and taxes.
Thanks for the update. If Airbnb is neglecting to show the breakdown, I will provide the guest an invoice/booking confirmation printed from OwnerRez showing the breakdown, given to them on arrival or placed in the unit for their arrival.
NEW THOUGHT - or even trigger a 'Channel Message" as a booking confirmation showing the breakdown.
So are they not showing your cleaning fee in the breakdown?
I don't currently add a cleaning fee, I never have. I know I should, but in my situation I have chosen not to.
Well airbnb has blocked my whole calendar since I made a change, so I will be opening a support ticket. It seems pretty related.
No breakdown at all before booking. Not sure how they think this is full transparency.
Could you keep us updated on the results of your support ticket? It does indeed sound related.
They did nothing. By the time they responded the calendar returned to the expected state. I am not sure if they temporarily flagged it and won't admin it or if something happened during the sync with OwnerRez. Seems suspect regardless.
There were significant internet outages around the country yesterday. A potential customer called me direct because they were seeing my calendar blocked off on either a different channel or my direct site, they weren't sure which site they were on. I suppose there may be a small possibility that this is what you were experiencing with your Airbnb calendar.
You should just state there is a pet fee without listing the amount. They will see it in the cart when checking out. Or you could say $75 + Airbnb fees and taxes (b/c don't forget Airbnb will tax on EVERYTHING).
Fair point. I will try on another property and see if the same occurs.
