Airbnb and the new resort fees: how do fees affect the final cost?
Airbnb and the new resort fees: how do fees affect the final cost? Airbnb for several years has been one of the [...]
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Airbnb and the new resort fees: how do fees affect the final cost? Airbnb has for several years been one of the main options for those who want an alternative to the classic hotel stay. Indeed, the platform boasts millions of listings and a wide range of accommodation solutions and booking options, with plenty of flexibility, somewhat like its smaller competitor Vrbo.
However, in the last period it seems that Airbnb is making the worst features of hotels its own. Without, however, having the set of features that make hotels attractive and comfortable instead.
Although the idea of a vacation home offers many potential advantages over hotel rooms-especially if we are talking about family vacations-things have changed in recent times.
Indeed, a number of travelers have found themselves in the position of finding very high prices in Airbnb without having the services usually offered by level hotels. Choosing Airbnb has not always been the easiest path: sometimes inaccurate reviews have created needs for adaptation; and if by chance once you arrived at your destination the accommodation did not match the stated expectations, you are often faced with fugitive customer service.
However, these downsides were still well offset by competitive prices compared to hotels.
In addition - and this is not secondary - Airbnb is infamous for its cleaning fees, which are already quite high in themselves if we commensurate them with the entire lodging rate.
And at the expense of the guests, sometimes there are also extra tasks to be fulfilled such as taking out the garbage; washing dishes or sheets. These are all costs that, as we know, are commonly included in hotel room rates.
Airbnb and the addition of new fees charged to travelers
But Airbnb seems not to want to stop its demand for extra fees here: in fact, currently living expenses have been added. A figure that piles up with cleaning fees, which are already quite steep in themselves.
With these assumptions, it is not surprising that the platform had a significant drop in bookings in the year 2022.
Trying to simulate a stay in many of the proposed accommodations around the world, one can see that the addition of all the charges that go into the final rate almost doubles the figure initially displayed.
But what expenses are we talking about? Let's see together what it is all about!
- Damage waiver: it may seem reasonable to pay for something that is damaged within the accommodation. But the introduction of the damage waiver expense, you pay regardless of whether damage exists or not. Simply, no more money will be charged if the damage is covered by the figure and was declared in a timely manner.
- Resort rate: a rather misleading fee, an additional charge for services that are included in the stay but are somehow billed separately from the accommodation. It is not clear from the directions introduced by Airbnb what benefits or facilities are actually covered by the resort fee. Perhaps you are paying for an apartment in a condo with a pool and sports field. Or maybe you happened upon a home near a riding stables or with free parking (even if you don't have your car with you). Sometimes, you pay just for proximity near a point of interest, whether you go there or not. Although mostly, we are talking about services and access to amenities such as a gym, pool, or solarium, which must be paid for even if you choose not to use them.
- Reservation fee: the commission paid to the unit owner for nightly rentals, not collected by Airbnb.
- Cleaning fees: the infamous cleaning fees that weigh so heavily on the final price of Airbnb accommodation. These are usually already included in the final price, if we are talking about hotels.
- Service Commission: the money Airbnb retains for the service provided. From this benefit, both owners and travelers benefit as they have a meeting (and transaction) point on the platform.
- Resort fees: in the same way as hotels, Airbnb also withholds local taxes that people pay for being in a particular location. The money collected usually funds projects or initiatives that benefit the local community.
Airbnb and the new resort fees: how much do all these fees affect prices in total?
It is an unpleasant feeling to be at the payment screen and realize how much the cost far exceeds the original price listed. This is because Airbnb listings involve all the expenses we have described. And between cleaning, resort, service and local taxes, it becomes fair to wonder how much these affect the final price. Overall and on average, the base price accounts for 68% of the total booking cost, while the addition of taxes and fees creates the remaining 32%.
A discrepancy that leads many travelers to feel uncomfortable booking on Airbnb, since if we compare them with hotel rooms, hotel resort rates average 4.4%.
Sure, hotels can carry other pesky fees, like parking and pet supplements. But in total, the difference between the price displayed at the beginning and the final price is not so staggeringly different than with Airbnb listings.
In conclusion: how is Airbnb doing?
Airbnb, in the face of all the issue mentioned, said it is "working to solve" the display of price operation, but this may take many months. However, the problem is not only with the "display" of prices.
When a potential tourist and customer searches on Airbnb, the first feeling is unrealistic, as accommodations seem much cheaper than they really are.
This is because commissions and all taxes-not least the new Airbnb resort fees-are not included in the displayed price. The price only increases when you deepen your search and then waste time selecting all the features.
A process that makes it more complex to compare the various alternative solutions and, above all, worsens the user-experience on the platform. We therefore advise all our readers to be careful about Airbnb and the new resort rates. And in case you are really interested in an accommodation, to simulate all the way through the booking process - including the number of guests - to see the real cost, without then having nasty surprises.
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