Airbnb Makes Total-Price Display Standard on Listings Worldwide

Airbnb Makes Total-Price Display Standard on Listings Worldwide

Garrett BrownPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2024 · 517 posts · 554 votes

How do you feel about this as hosts? I am slightly torn but do believe this is the way to go.  https://skift.com/2025/04/21/airbnb-makes-total-price-displa...

Why it’s good for you as a host:

  • Transparency builds trust. Guests seeing the real price upfront means fewer surprises and angry messages like “I didn’t know cleaning was 150 dollars.”

  • Fewer abandoned bookings. Guests are less likely to bounce mid-checkout when the price doesn’t spike at the end.

  • You can stand out. If your pricing is clean and fair, you’ll look great next to listings that inflate fees.

Why it might sting:

  • High-fee listings could suffer. If you rely on low nightly rates with big cleaning or service fees to look cheap in search results, this change exposes that.

  • It forces you to get competitive. Pricing strategy matters more than ever now, no more burying the true cost.

It’s ultimately good for the guest experience, which long-term is good for hosts who run a tight ship and price honestly. If you’ve already been transparent and thoughtful with your pricing, this levels the playing field in your favor.

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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1y

It levels the playing field and exposes bad actors.

See this reply in the discussion

22 Replies

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  • Investor · VA AZ, SC · Member since 2017 · 173 posts · 172 votes
    1y

    I agree. I have been using ‘management fees’ to minimize the bit of the cleaning fee at checkout. It hurts on the front page, but I think it results in less abandoned reservations. I agree with your perspective that this is a pro-guest benefit.  I think it  should be host neutral. 

  • Mike GrudzienPro Member
    Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    I'm happy to be upfront and transparent.  I might even add "NO hidden fees" as a catch phrase at the beginning of my description.  

  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    1y

    It levels the playing field and exposes bad actors.

  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    1y

    Frankly I am not sure why people never looked at the breakdown when booking.

    I always look at the breakdown of where funds are going so I see all the fees.

    I guess it is fine. We have never hid anything. We charge a fair nightly rate, a pet fee and cleaning and that is it.

  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    1y

    I think, for once, this is a good move by ABNB.  It did cause me to change my pet fee structure, but c'est la vie.

  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    1y

    Probably does not matter. Folks surfing for properties online seem to be pretty good at math.

    • Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      1y
      Quote from @Collin Hays:

      Probably does not matter. Folks surfing for properties online seem to be pretty good at math.


       I would disagree. This is the same country where A & W introduced a 1/3 lb burger to compete with the Quarter Pounder, only for it to fail because the average consumer thought it was smaller.  

      Consumers in general are tired of junk fees, especially with several years of inflation. Airbnb has been taking heat on social media for fees so they are now wrapping it all in, while VRBO still has itemized fees that are confusing. Smart move IMO

    • Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ and Rehoboth Beach DE · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      1y
      Quote from @Jon Martin:
      Quote from @Collin Hays:

      Probably does not matter. Folks surfing for properties online seem to be pretty good at math.


       I would disagree. This is the same country where A & W introduced a 1/3 lb burger to compete with the Quarter Pounder, only for it to fail because the average consumer thought it was smaller.  

      Consumers in general are tired of junk fees, especially with several years of inflation. Airbnb has been taking heat on social media for fees so they are now wrapping it all in, while VRBO still has itemized fees that are confusing. Smart move IMO


      Ha, I once asked for 2/3 lb. of lunchmeat at a grocery store counter, the guy didn't know how much that was!
  • MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    Any chance it will lessen the number who feel they don't need to do dishes because they paid a cleaning fee? lol 

  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    1y

    It should be transparent what all of the fees are.  

  • Property Manager · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2024 · 28 posts · 13 votes
    1y

    Agreed — this is a smart move. It promotes trust and rewards hosts who already price fairly. It’s a win for responsible hosting!

  • Don KonipolBusiness Member
    Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Garrett Brown:

    How do you feel about this as hosts? I am slightly torn but do believe this is the way to go.  https://skift.com/2025/04/21/airbnb-makes-total-price-displa...

    Why it’s good for you as a host:

    • Transparency builds trust. Guests seeing the real price upfront means fewer surprises and angry messages like “I didn’t know cleaning was 150 dollars.”

    • Fewer abandoned bookings. Guests are less likely to bounce mid-checkout when the price doesn’t spike at the end.

    • You can stand out. If your pricing is clean and fair, you’ll look great next to listings that inflate fees.

    Why it might sting:

    • High-fee listings could suffer. If you rely on low nightly rates with big cleaning or service fees to look cheap in search results, this change exposes that.

    • It forces you to get competitive. Pricing strategy matters more than ever now, no more burying the true cost.

    It’s ultimately good for the guest experience, which long-term is good for hosts who run a tight ship and price honestly. If you’ve already been transparent and thoughtful with your pricing, this levels the playing field in your favor.

    The problem has always been that the “public” is used to hotels, and hotels are priced per night, so three nights is 3 times one night, for TOTAL price.
    Since most STR hosts provide cleaning one times per STAY, the fee will of course result in a one night stay costing significantly more per night than a 7 day stay (even double on a nightly basis).  Add in the other fees and the platform isn’t so “user friendly”.  The hotel frustration most like this for the user is the hotels that, in certain areas, add on a “resort” or “facility” fee, which they define as use of all the resort amenities, to be paid whether or not the guest utilizes the said amenities.  More annoying is the limited service motels in a resort area that add on a “resort fee” despite having no resort amenities.  

    I’ve been both an owner of STR housing and I am a “guest” at least twice a year for the last 15 years.  In my opinion this is long overdue.  Give the user all the information upfront and easy to use- STR is in numerous instances far superior to hotel stay.  
    Private Mortgage Financing Partners, LLC
  • Real Estate Agent · Blue Springs, MO · Member since 2023 · 23 posts · 8 votes
    1y

    Transparency is for the best over the long haul. Glad this is a change that has been implemented!

  • Property Manager · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2021 · 17 posts · 9 votes
    1y

    I think this is a win for the STR crowd - both sides of it, too.

  • Real Estate Agent · Greater Milwaukee Area · Member since 2025 · 54 posts · 27 votes
    1y

    Making moves like an industry leader.

  • Member since 2024 · 2 posts · 4 votes
    1y

    Let’s be real here the only reason Airbnb did this was to hide their increased fees. It has nothing to do with transparency. If you notice you need to go to price breakdown and then price details to even see what Airbnb is charging guests.

    • Collin HaysBusiness Member
      Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
      1y
      Quote from @Madelyn Morris:

      Let’s be real here the only reason Airbnb did this was to hide their increased fees. It has nothing to do with transparency. If you notice you need to go to price breakdown and then price details to even see what Airbnb is charging guests.


       This X100.  Airbnb would be the antithesis of transparent. 

  • Member since 2024 · 2 posts · 4 votes
    1y

    exactly!  the junk fees are those that Airbnb is charging its guests now up to 10%. 

  • Brad HammondBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 605 votes
    1y

    I love it and I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time.  Now we won't charge cleaning fees so we will be so much more competitive.  I'm planning on our occupancy going up since we will be a better value.  

  • Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    1y

    About time. As a host, I have no reason to want customers to NOT see all my fees upfront. As a guest, I tried booking my first AirBnb 2 years ago. Went to book, and the fees added something like $100 a night to the overall price. I walked away and never touched AirBnb again.

  • Investor · Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 146 posts · 72 votes
    1y

    I’m all for it — transparency helps build trust, and long term that's a win for hosts who are already pricing fairly. We never tried to hide fees anyway, so this change really just levels the playing field. Plus, anything that reduces abandoned bookings at checkout is a good thing in my book!

  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    1y

    As Madelyn Morris mentioned, this was just a self-serving move by Airbnb, which is par for the course for them.  They did it to disguise their own fees.

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