Airbnb has finally taken action on the feedback that its hosts were demanding too much of their paying guests. The platform announced on Monday it will be implementing four changes, including helping hosts more with their check-out requests.
Airbnb shared the updates in a blog post, and on Twitter CEO Brian Chesky thanked guests and hosts for their feedback, vowing to continue to improve Airbnb.
“I’ve heard you loud and clear — you feel like prices aren’t transparent and checkout tasks are a pain. That’s why we’re making four changes,” Chesky tweeted.
“You shouldn’t have to do unreasonable checkout tasks, such as stripping the beds, doing the laundry, or vacuuming, But we think it’s reasonable to turn off the lights, throw food in the trash, and lock the doors — just as you would when leaving your own home.”
I’ve heard you loud and clear—you feel like prices aren’t transparent and checkout tasks are a pain. That’s why we’re making 4 changes:
1. Starting next month, you’ll be able to see the total price you’re paying up front. pic.twitter.com/58zodrzU3g
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) November 7, 2022
From December, the platform will also make the total cost of rental properties — including all taxes and fees — clearer to customers as they search for places to stay. This is already the case in Australia, but will be implemented in countries where it isn’t already.
From December, the company will introduce an option to display the total cost of stays before taxes, including cleaning and other service fees, in search results, for all countries.
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Airbnb also said it would be prioritising total price, instead of nightly price, in its search ranking algorithm. That’ll means that when you search properties in an area, those with the highest quality, which refers to a number of factors including reviews, and best total prices will rank higher in search results.
Earlier this year, travellers had been complaining on social media that Airbnb hosts had been asking more and more of guests during their stay, despite guests already having to pay cleaning and service fees when booking.
“Pretty much everyone [on TikTok] agrees that the prices and fees for Airbnb have gotten completely out of hand,” TikToker @Melworeit had said in a video earlier this year. “The only people disagreeing and calling me lazy are the people that own Airbnbs.”
In another clip, since deleted but reported by Business Insider, @Melworeit explained she decided against booking an Airbnb because it charged a $125USD cleaning fee, but still asked guests to take out the rubbish, remove bed linens, run the dishwasher and do a load of laundry.
“We’re providing guidance to Hosts that if they have checkout requests, they should be reasonable and displayed to guests before they book,” Airbnb wrote in the post.
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It also said that in early 2023, it would provide hosts with new pricing and discounting tools to help them understand the final price guests pay and how to set competitive prices. Airbnb hopes these changes will help hosts be more successful and provide greater value to their guests.
Currently, hosts can choose their own cleaning fees, with Airbnb providing recommendations on these charges so the amount is kept reasonable. The platform also suggests hosts consider not charging cleaning fees at all. An Airbnb rep told Business Insider 45% of global Airbnb lists don’t charge a cleaning fee and that for those that do, the fee is on average less than 10% of the total reservation cost.
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