There’s nothing that sours a great vacation like getting hit with an out-of-control cleaning fee on Airbnb. Customers have become fed up with these extra charges and with the chores, from laundry to vacuuming, some hosts require before check out. At long last, Airbnb is finally taking action.
“I’ve heard you loud and clear,” the company’s CEO Brian Chesky said on Twitter before unveiling a slate of changes the company’s making to its pricing policies.
Starting next month, Airbnb will give users the option to see the total cost of a rental, including taxes and fees, before booking. The company will also prioritize the total price, instead of its nightly price, in its search algorithm — meaning listings with the “highest quality and best total prices will rank higher in search results,” Chesky said.
The company launched a review of its fee system last year after a social media uproar about its policies. Cleaning fees have risen significantly in the past few years, frustrating customers. Across the board, they’ve increased 27.7% from October 2019 to October 2022, the Wall Street Journal reports. (The average charge for a stay in a large city now sits at about $114, up from $76.60 three years ago, according to data from the market research firm AirDNA.)
Airbnb will also ban hosts from requiring their guests to perform “unreasonable checkout tasks,” Chesky writes, “such as stripping the beds, doing the laundry, or vacuuming.” But they may still ask customers to do simple things like turn off the lights, lock the doors, and throw food in the trash upon their departure.
Airbnb used to be hands-down the best way to find a cheap room. That’s not really the case anymore. According to a recent study by NerdWallet, the company is still a great way to save on longer trips or for finding a pad big enough to accommodate a bachelorette or other group getaway. But when it comes to shorter stays of one or two nights — or for solo travelers or couples — “Airbnbs are rarely a good deal,” in part because of the service fees.
These changes are one way the company is hoping will keep its customers happy and its prices competitive.
“We started as an affordable alternative to hotels, and affordability is especially important today,” Chesky wrote. “During this difficult economic time, we need to help our Hosts provide great value to you.”
