Like anyone who has used Airbnb probably already know, the initial price is just the beginning. Additional costs such as cleaning fees, service charges and taxes can be exorbitant – sometimes amounting to hundreds of pounds or dollars – and can lead to a much, much higher final price than originally advertised.
But everything is now set to change. Airbnb has announced that it is removing its hidden “junk fees”, which will now be included in the advertised cost in advance. This will allow users to search by overall price, rather than having to wait until they have clicked through the listing to find out the total cost.
And that’s not all. Airbnb is also getting rid of what it calls “unreasonable” requests from hosts. Currently, some rentals require guests to perform certain tasks such as vacuuming and washing bedding – often in addition to cleaning fees. Airbnb wants to suppress such requests, saying all host requirements will be visible before guests book.
It should be noted that Airbnb does not get rid of everything host requests – only those it deems unreasonable. Asking guests to turn off the lights and lock the door before leaving is the kind of thing the platform considers more “reasonable” requests. Changes to both Airbnb pricing and host requests will go into effect starting in December.
Sounds pretty good, huh? Think about it, no more rushing before payment to do tedious chores! Now that really is a holiday…
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