Airbnb seems to have heard all our complaints about outrageous add-on fees during the check-out process because they’re now finally being transparent about total costs.
On Monday, Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky took to Twitter to share that the vacation rental company is rolling out changes to the app next month, allowing customers to see the total price (before taxes) they are required to pay for their stay.
Vacationers will be able to toggle a “display total price” feature to see the total cost of nightly rates, services fees, and discounts, with that price displayed on search results, maps, price filters, and individual listing pages.
Other updates include:
The search algorithm will prioritize total price over nightly rates so that higher quality homes with the best total pricing rank higher.
New pricing and discount tools will enable hosts to set more competitive prices to better understand what guests pay and what to charge to remain competitive.
It’s fair to say that this is a long-awaited change from Airbnb, as I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s been in and out of love with listings many times after feeling the pain of sticker shock.