Some hosts are considering removing cleaning fees and other surcharges to attract more guests, aiming for transparency and competitive pricing. Instead of removing those fees altogether, including more things in your rent display could lead to several advantages for both hosts and guests.
First, it ensures transparency by making all costs clear upfront, thereby preventing unexpected fees or hidden surcharges. Additionally, this approach enables guests to easily compare prices across different listings, facilitating a more straightforward search for the ideal vacation rental. Finally, hosts who adopt this inclusive pricing model may gain a competitive edge, as listings that are clear and comprehensive in terms of costs are likely to attract more interest from potential guests.
California users subject to California Assembly Bill 537, effective July 1, 2024, may find that surcharges, such as cleaning fees, are already automatically displayed as part of the rent. Additionally, the 'Property Pending & Auto Cancellation' settings support article may be useful.
- Listing Channels that Support Displaying Surcharges as Part of Rent
- Configure Cleaning Fees and/or Other Surcharges to Display as Rent
Listing Channels that Support Displaying Surcharges as Part of Rent
Here is the list of channels where you can include your fees and other surcharges in the rent display. If a listing channel is not displayed below, it means that fees and other surcharges cannot be included in the rent display at this time and this article will be updated as we learn more.
- OwnerRez Hosted & Integrated Websites
- Airbnb
- Book Direct Forgotten Coast
- GuestSmiles
- HomeToGo
- Hopper Homes
- Vrbo
Configure Fees and/or Other Surcharges to Display as Rent
Including your fee and other surcharges in the rent display is a two-step process that can be completed in OwnerRez.
1. Navigate to Settings > Pricing > Surcharges > your specific Cleaning fee or Surcharge > Change > and in the Options section, select Categorize this as a 'rent' line item.2. Then, navigate to Settings > Pricing > Pricing Preferences > How Guests See Charges > Rent > Combine all rent lines together with a description > Description of combined rent items: Rent.
Airbnb
Airbnb has very specific categories that should be used for configuring surcharges. However, if you are unable to use those categories, you can still configure your surcharges to display as rent, as long as the following conditions are met.
- Your surcharge is a nightly or percentage surcharge.
- There is no criterion for the number of nights or the number of guests.