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The Almighty Buck

Airbnb Will Soon Let You Search By Total Price To Avoid Hidden Cleaning Fees (theverge.com) 65

Posted by BeauHD from the no-longer-hidden dept.
Guests will soon be able to filter their search results by the total cost of the stay before taxes, which will include additional compulsory charges such as cleaning fees. The Verge reports: The appearance of these fees separate from nightly rates has long been criticized for deceptively making accommodations appear more affordable. Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky shared the announcement on Twitter along with a video demonstrating how the planned "display total price" switch can be enabled to display the total cost of nightly rates and fees, with that price displaying on search results, map, price filter, and individual listing pages.

A full price breakdown of Airbnb's service fees, discounts, and taxes will also be made available, and the total price of accommodation will be prioritized over nightly rates in the Airbnb search algorithm. "The highest quality homes with the best total prices will rank higher in search results," says Chesky. "We started as an affordable alternative to hotels, and affordability is especially important today. During this difficult economic time, we need to help our Hosts provide great value to you." [...] The transparent pricing toggle is set to roll out sometime in December, alongside new pricing and discount tools for hosts to allow for more competitive rates. In other Airbnb-related news, the European Commission said Airbnb, along with other short-term home rental companies, will have to share data on the number of people using their platforms under proposed EU rules. "The new proposed rules will help to improve transparency on the identification and activity of short-term accommodation hosts, and on the rules they have to comply with, and will facilitate the registration of hosts," the Commission said in a statement.

"They will also tackle the current fragmentation in how online platforms share data and, ultimately, help prevent illegal listings. Overall, this will contribute to a more sustainable tourism ecosystem and support its digital transition," it said.
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Airbnb Will Soon Let You Search By Total Price To Avoid Hidden Cleaning Fees More

Airbnb Will Soon Let You Search By Total Price To Avoid Hidden Cleaning Fees

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  • Surprised they didn't do this sooner (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:29PM (#63033795) Homepage

    Tacking on fees was an old trick back in the early days of eBay. You'd list an item for $0.99 and hide the real price in the shipping. They caught onto it eventually and now it sorts by price + shipping. That old saying is true, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

    • Re:Surprised they didn't do this sooner (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Richard_at_work ( 517087 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @07:18PM (#63033925)

      And then Ebay got in on the act themselves, with their Global Shipping Program...

      For a $50 item, Ebays GSP can easily add another $50+ to the total cost to the buyer, and thats not included in their search results. Its also not representative of anything at all, as it claims to cover both shipping costs and import duty, but it doesn't take into account that for my destination import duty isnt collected on anything less than $700, so is Ebay pocketing that?

      Ebays GSP charges have basically ended Ebay as a usable thing for me.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        And then Ebay got in on the act themselves, with their Global Shipping Program...

        For a $50 item, Ebays GSP can easily add another $50+ to the total cost to the buyer, and thats not included in their search results. Its also not representative of anything at all, as it claims to cover both shipping costs and import duty, but it doesn't take into account that for my destination import duty isnt collected on anything less than $700, so is Ebay pocketing that?

        Ebays GSP charges have basically ended Ebay as a usa

        • Your UPS and FedEx examples are also part of the problem - it's perfectly possible to fill out the customs declaration, pop it in the post, and have the receiving postal service handle it.

          In which case, I would not be charged import duty, tax *or* a handling charge on 99% of my purchases. They are taking money purely because they can, not because theres any reason to...

          Ebay also doesn't take any risk at all - one of my final purchases was from the UK, totalling around $500 in goods. I paid, I think, about

    • It would be interesting to know if they really were that dense; or if there's some amount of covert price increasing that's seen as actually beneficial by the operator, with the crackdown only coming after it gets too blatant or too well known.

      Given how common it is for product lines to include some blatantly compromised entry level model more or less just so that the "starting at just $X..." tagline can be attractive, it doesn't seem terribly implausible that airbnb would find some amount of artificiall

  • Bait and Switch (Score:4, Interesting)

    by fermion ( 181285 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:42PM (#63033833) Homepage Journal
    Over the summer I was looking for places to stay. I found one place where the stated price seemed very reasonable even though the place was tiny . But the final total was double what I expected. This could provide a competitive advantage

    It reminds me of university prices. When I went to school the tuition was a large part of the price, then dorm, then books. Then the states trying to keep schools competitive started capping tuition, which meant that the fees were now the big cost. And now universities have to have calculators so students can compare real totals.

    • Overall, for reasons like this and others, AirBnB is just not worth it unless there isn't a reasonably priced hotel in the area or you have special situations.

      • We use AirBnb when we want more space than a hotel offers and when we want the option for home cooked meals. Eating out on a longer trip becomes more expensive and unhealthy, so we like to mix it up a bit.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Why aren't hidden fees illegal? They are in Europe. The airlines used to try it, advertising a low ticket price but when you get to the website they add on all the taxes and airport fees, and the EU stopped it.

  • why not just require one price that includes everything. No separate fees.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by CommunityMember ( 6662188 )

      why not just require one price that includes everything. No separate fees.

      In some jurisdictions state/local fees and taxes are based on the various categorization(s) of the items/services rendered, so there may be a pricing advantages to not just call everything, say, "lodging".

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dfm3 ( 830843 )
        That shouldn't affect the way websites are able to display that information, though.

        Say I am browsing for a room and the website shows a price of $100* (*plus $10 in taxes and $50 in fees, for a total of $160). There's no reason they can't just list it as $160, and then when I go to complete the purchase I see the breakdown of the total price. Most airlines are better about this these days, hotels and rental cars are still bad about hiding the final price.

    • Cleaning can be legitimate, though. If I stay one night, I'd hope that the owner pay for cleaning just as he or she would if I stayed seven nights.

      • In other words, the owner's cost for staying n days is a*n+b, where b is the cost of cleaning, meeting you to pass the key, etc. Thus, basing the price on that is fair. As long as it's given up-front, that is.

    • why not just require one price that includes everything. No separate fees.

      Because that doesn't reflect the cost. Whether a guest stays for one night or ten nights, the unit is only cleaned once upon departure. So it makes sense for cleaning to be a separate fee.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Xrikcus ( 207545 )

        If you search by dates and so they know the length of stay they are quoting for, then making the price inclusive does make sense. The only time you can't is if you are asking for a nightly rate for the property.

        • Airbnb should show the total. But it is helpful to the customer to also see the fee breakdown.

          If a unit is $50 per night plus a $100 cleaning fee, a longer stay will be much more cost-effective. That isn't clear if the fees are hidden in a single price.

  • other hotels need to do this with resort fees! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:49PM (#63033847)

    other hotels need to do this with resort fees!

    • Thank you, yes. There have been a lot of buzzfeed etc articles lately about Airbnb issues, but nary a peep about all of the disgusting hotels and motels that litter the country. Someone is very motivated to diss Airbnb.

    • Well... Really, the bottom line is that every business should be required to do this with everything. The advertised or posted price should, in all cases be inclusive of all taxes, fees, surcharges, etc. Sure, if you're butthurt that, for example, Healthy SF medical coverage (Which would never have been necessary if you were a decent employer in the first place.) raised your expenses; fine, include a breakdown in the receipt or invoice (And I, for one, will immediately 1-star you on Yelp and add you to my

  • A what now? (Score:3)

    by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:52PM (#63033855)

    Isn't a cleaning fee something hotels charge?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fermion ( 181285 )
      Some hotels insure the ancillary costs are going to be covered by requiring a minimum stay of say three nights.

      • I'm a road warrior off and on. Never had a hotel yet tell me "Three nights!" and I wouldn't stay there as I am frequently gone in 4 to 5 hours anyway. In one 24 hour period, I had:
        2 hours sleep
        3 hotel rooms
        4 rental cars
        5 cities.
        And I'm an old man. How old? I was on /. before it turned right wing.

    • Not in the US it's not. I stay in hotels maybe 3 or 4 times a year, and I've never been assessed a cleaning fee. Some hotels threaten to charge a cleaning fee if you smoke in a non-smoking room, but I don't smoke, so I wouldn't know if they follow through.
      • Before Covid I would run into the occasional hotel that would give you a gift card, future credit, or meal voucher for skipping cleaning. During and now post Covid I have run into a couple hotels where during checking I'll get told we do a cleaning at checkout and if you want cleaning during your stay it's $15/night.
    • Why aren't we inundated with horror stories about flea-bag motels? Nope. Just a non-stop barrage of Airbnb scares. Someone is afraid of Airbnb, and it's not all of their happy customers.

      • Probably for the same reason we never see stories about how awful the legacy taxi companies are, but every time Uber or Lyft have any issue we're inundated with tales of woe and evil by the ride shares: marketing, lobbying, public relations, and regulatory capture by those decrepit old fossil companies who would rather legislate than compete.

  • Also see that sort of crap on Amazon and Etsy (Score:3)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @07:03PM (#63033885)

    When you search for an item, and you see a couple are priced well below the others... but when you look closely those sellers tack on a ridiculous shipping fee that raises the cost by 50-100%.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by taustin ( 171655 )

      Kinda like the days on Amazon when 1 GB thumb drives were $1 each, but shipping was $5 - per drive, regardless of how many you ordered at once, and how cheaply they'd all ship together.

    • That's only possible because the average consoomer is dumb as fuck and only looks at the initial price and thinks they're buying the cheapest thing, then bitches about "getting ripped off" when they pay the clearly-stated price in the end.

  • Taxes are non-zero.

      If AirBNB wanted "Transparency", it would add taxes into the search and display capabilities as well. I'd like to be able to search on out of pocket costs. Is that too much to ask?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      Unless legally mandated, it is. No sane business is going to make itself look more expensive because of costs that have nothing to do with the business itself and everything with how government funds itself in that location.

      This is why governments have to legislate this point of integrating taxes into the main price sticker, and even the part where it's indeed the main price shown and price w/o tax can only be much smaller and less visible.

      • Some businesses do, in fact, post inclusive prices without it being mandated. Starbucks, for example, posts its prices inclusive of everything. They even round to the nearest nickel so that you never have to touch pennies unless you're just the sort of ass who thinks it's funny to torment retail/service workers with the damn things. That is the case at the company-owned locations anyway. If your coffee or scone ever costs anything besides what's posted, or if the price is ever not divisible by 5 cents;

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

          Yes, that is why I delineated "sane" business.

          Ultra expensive coffee shop aimed at mentally ill rich kids has simply adjusted to be just as sane as the clientele.

    • You'll find in a lot of places it's illegal to advertise prices with taxes included for the same reason income taxes are so complicated. There are people who want taxes to feel as painful as possible so there's more desire to lower and eliminate them.
  • It doesn't matter whether you stay 3 days or 7, a host is likely going to incur the same fixed cost for cleaning in between stays. That is why it is a separate line item.

    • That is why, when I had an AirBnB room, I charged a discount for longer stays.
      The cleaning was a pita, taking an hour and if you had back to back bookings, it was a specific hour and I have a day job.

      But charging reasonably and not adding hidden costs kept that sucker booked solid.

  • Use the Austrailia Airbnbsite (Score:5, Informative)

    by Misch ( 158807 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @08:47PM (#63034141) Homepage

    Lifehacker just pointed out that you should use the Australia AirBNB site to show the full price of places. (yes, you can have AirBNB Austrailia show the price in USD if that's what you need.) The site displays the full cost, including fees.

    Just don't book it through the Austrailia site. Then you get hit with VAT.

    https://lifehacker.com/always-check-the-australian-site-before-booking-an-airb-1849751018

    • Pick most other country's websites for this. It would be better the USA simply passed laws that the sticker price is the final price. This whole not showing totals bullshit is toxic to consumers. This goes double tax at a grocery store, you fucking know how much you're going to charge, if the Marbar is $1.10 then don't put 99c on the sticker and charge me $1.10 at the checkout.

  • I searched for the cheapest rental in Redmond. Found one for $30. Was about to confirm a reservation, when I noticed the cleaning fee was $50... Of course, there are like $15 taxes on each one too.
  • If you think it's too expensive then just do what it takes to get your money's worth, like smearing shit on the door handles.

  • Without taxes it's partially useless (Score:3)

    by PhantomHarlock ( 189617 ) on Tuesday November 08, 2022 @12:17AM (#63034519)

    Many popular tourist areas have ENORMOUS hotel taxes. Not also including those is disingenuous. It makes a large difference on the final bill. Sometimes 10 - 20%.

    I still have not found an AirB&B that was a good deal compared to a hotel.

    While we're at it 'resort fees' need to be banned as well. At least one state is considering it. They have the exact same effect as the cleaning fees in the AirB&B world. The hotels use them to advertise one price and get you with another. You have to look very closely during booking to spot them. This is especially pernicious in Las Vegas.

    • This! Besides Airbnb being unbelievably painful to find a place because you don't get a final total until after multiple clicks. I haven't found it to ever be cheaper than a hotel, and I typically go the one bedroom suite route so my kids can watch tv while I call it an early night. The other thing that started killing Airbnb for me was running into ever growing lists of check in and check out procedures. I've had airbnbs where upon checkin I had to flip breakers to full power the house and wait for hot wat

  • A blanket law should do it (Score:3)

    by rossz ( 67331 ) <ogreNO@SPAMgeekbiker.net> on Tuesday November 08, 2022 @01:54AM (#63034641) Journal

    One law could handle a host of problems. Prices posted/listed must include all fees and taxes without exception. This would apply to AirBnB, hotels, airlines, and ticket master equally.

  • Do not ask me to clean if you charge for cleaning (Score:3)

    by pchasco ( 651819 ) on Tuesday November 08, 2022 @07:42AM (#63035199)
    My biggest complaint about Airbnb is that these properties all charge cleaning fees, yet every one of them leaves instructions on how YOU must clean the property before you leave. This is absurd, and would never fly at a proper hotel (which never charges an additional cleaning fee, in my experience). For this reason I only very rarely use Airbnb.
    • I have never been at an AIR BnB were it told you to do a deep cleaning yourself although apparently some exist. At most the instructions are like "Strip the beds you slept on and put the sheets on the floor, please do the dishes or put the dishes in the dishwasher , take out the garbage" The stripping beds takes like 30 seconds and sometimes there is a reason they ask you to do it, so they know what beds you slept on . I know people who rent out cabins and they hate it when people make the beds. Like a cab
      • If they are already asking the guest to strip the bed, why not just ask them to do something else to indicate the bed was used? I think there are more options than âoewash all the linens,â and âoeask the paying guest to do housework.â Also, I donâ(TM)t agree about taking out the trash. If I fill the trash during my stay, fine, but not when I leave. Itâ(TM)s already a hassle getting all your stuff together and getting on the road prior to check out.

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