What The New Airbnb Fee Changes Mean For Your Short-Term Rental Business

The thing about being in a new industry is that as it grows, there will be changes along the way.

Recently, Airbnb made some changes to their fee structure, and if you’re using them to get people to book a stay at one of your properties, then you’re probably wondering exactly how or if your business is going to be affected.

First things first…

Airbnb is evolving, taking things to a higher level, because it’s finding more and more professionally managed properties, including hotels. This change makes sense for all the short-term rental business owners who are using multiple platforms, as well as Airbnb, and is actually a good thing for those of us running short term rental businesses.

Here’s what you really need to know about the new Airbnb pricing changes, and what that means for your short-term rentals:

Airbnb’s New Fee Structure

Airbnb recently announced that they are going to be changing their guest fee, which used to be around 12-15%, by transferring it to the operator (host).

Right off the bat, this probably sounds like a bad thing for you and anyone that’s starting out in the short-term rental industry. But…the way you need to look at this new fee structure is that the real change is just how these fees are going to be displayed.

Other booking agencies have these fees as well, but Airbnb used to itemize those fees for guests to see in plain sight when they are finalizing their transaction.

Now, those fees will be less visible because they are moving to the operator side of the transaction; and naturally, the response will be for those fees to be transferred back to the guest by adjusting the rental prices.

Before the change, Airbnb’s listed prices were more likely to be lower than the other booking platforms, because of this added guest fee at the end of the transaction. However, now the listing prices should be more even across platforms.

The bottom line is: Airbnb is streamlining its platform to mirror the structure of its competitors.

Pricing Your Short-Term Rentals:

Knowing how to price your rentals is probably the most challenging part of owning a short-term rental business.

You don’t want to price too high and drive away renters, but you don’t want to go too low and negatively impact your profits.

This new change with Airbnb’s pricing structure is going to make it much easier to determine the right price for your property, because the pricing structure for all the different platforms will now be more uniform.

As far as accommodating these new changes in Airbnb’s pricing structure, it’s a pretty simple process of adjusting your pricing to make up for the fee transfer.

What’s in Store for the Future?

As far as what’s going to happen as the industry continues to mature, I predict that ultimately you, as a short term rental owner, are going to have the opportunity to make MORE income, build your assets, and set yourself up for a killer retirement if you continue to adapt to the changes in the industry.

The more professional tools you add to your toolbox, the more standardization you get in terms of your processes, the more you’ll be able to stand out as a professional in an industry of dabblers.

And, as the platforms change and become more streamlined, and the more even the playing field gets across the board with booking platforms, the better it is for everyone.

In truth, as short term rental owners, we want more regulation. It gets rid of the hobbyists and lets the professionals who are serious about short-term rentals lead the industry.

Inside of the Short-Term Rental Mastery group, my students have the benefit of hearing about my proven processes for EVERYTHING related to their short term rental business, access to myself, and other experienced professionals, to help guide them through the process of building a passive income through a thriving short term rental business. To join, click here!

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