It's often a surprise when you make a booking on theAirbnbA higher price than first thought. Take, for example, this studio apartment rented for 3 days in Paris. It appears at €243 for a stay from 23 to 26 November? But at the time of payment, it was €320. This is because the list price is gross and does not include the cleaning or service charges levied by Airbnb. In the case of Paris, the combined costs remain reasonable at €77. However, they can spiral out of control.
This is particularly the case in North America where travellers can end up paying an extra $200 to $300, or even double the price of the accommodation after adding expenses. In Montreal, for example, a studio apartment rented on the same dates at €155 for three nights ends up costing €288. That's almost double. As well as accommodation taxes, the final bill includes €56 for cleaning. That's 36% of the price of the accommodation!
After an investor complained on Twitter that sometimes Airbnb prices almost double because of fees at checkout compared to the originally posted nightly price, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky responded on the social network: "You're right - you're right. cleaning costs were never intentionally designedThat's why we need to do something about it now. This is one of my main priorities - we are currently rethinking the way pricing works on Airbnb.. "
Many observers say they are surprised by Airbnb's slow response to this fact. Particularly afteran Airbnb team has been appointed to review the apartment-sharing company's pricing structure. And that was more than a year and a half ago.
American consumer discontent prompts Airbnb to take action
There is now an urgency. The influential Wall Street Journal published an article in September entitled "Welcome to your Airbnb, your household fee is 143$ and you have to wash the sheets". The article detailed shamefully high cleaning fees charged by landlords. This is despite the fact that some guests are obliged to wash the dishes, take out the rubbish or even, in some cases, "mow the lawn"!
Brian Chesky explains in his tweets that the appearance of these charges on Airbnb was organic over the years. In September 2021, Airbnb had announced in an official statement that the company would begin testing new ways of displaying prices that would be more transparent to hosts. The apartment-sharing app could finally offer all-inclusive rates from the first posting onwards.
Airbnb's reticence is understandable. The introductory price helps position Airbnb as a competitive service provider with attractive prices. Another problem is the relationship with accommodation providers. The company is reluctant to limit the cleaning charges levied - and set by the owners themselves. Such a measure would alienate renters, who might take their business elsewhere.
But there is a real race against the world. Many Airbnb users - particularly business travellers - are returning to hotels.. On social networks, many people explain that a hotel offers not only a transparent pricing structure, but also automatically induced services - from luggage storage to room cleaning. Airbnb should therefore quickly opt for a more transparent display with a net price. However, this will not make the sometimes disproportionate cleaning costs disappear!
