Airbnb is introducing more price transparency in the United States and beyond, rolling out a feature to display total costs, including fees, and urging hosts to implement “reasonable” checkout requests.
Starting next month, the company will display a booking’s total pricing allowing guests to see the final cost of a listing, including fees, an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed to Travel + Leisure on Tuesday. Fees often include a cleaning fee and service fee.
The company will also prioritize the total price over the basic nightly rate in the search ranking algorithm, ranking listings with the best total prices higher in search results, according to Airbnb. The total price will include fees before taxes and will be displayed in search results and on the map, filter, and listing pages.
Travelers in the U.S. can currently see the total price for a property by hovering over a grayed out number, but going forward it will be the only number they see for a listing. The expansion of this tool comes after Airbnb rolled out total pricing in some markets in 2019, including in Europe and the United Kingdom, the Airbnb spokesperson told T+L. Total pricing is also available in Australia, Canada, and Korea.
Additionally, Airbnb will provide “guidance” to hosts on what checkout requests are considered “reasonable” and require them to be displayed before guests book. The updated guidance comes as memes of over-the-top checkout requests have circulated on the internet, comparing the company’s short term rentals to hotels.
“Guests should not have to do unreasonable checkout tasks such as stripping the beds, doing the laundry, or vacuuming when leaving their Airbnb,” the company wrote in a statement. “But we think it’s reasonable to ask guests to turn off the lights, throw food in the trash, and lock the doors — just like they would when leaving their own home.”
