Clicking on an Airbnb search result only to find that the cheap, three-night vacation rental you're keen on has a ridiculous $200 cleaning fee tacked on is frustrating, and the online rental marketplace has finally figured that out. Starting in December, users can include those extra fees in the total price when searching for properties.
The fees won't be included by default, but there will be a "display total price" toggle on the search results page to show the final total (before taxes) including all fees that don't normally appear until further in the booking process. The total price will show up on search results, maps, filters, and listing pages, Airbnb says.
Was looking to stay one night at an Airbnb. The cleaning fee is 2.5 times the stay. lol pic.twitter.com/09NcLL08Ln
— Neil Jacobs (@NeilJacobs) November 7, 2022
In addition, Airbnb will start ranking search results by total price instead of nightly price, which will help quash hosts who keep their nightly rates low to stay at the top of search results but then add huge fees to make up the difference.
Gallery: Airbnb Rental Scams to Watch Out For
Airbnb is also pushing back against hosts who implement unnecessary checkout tasks like stripping beds, doing laundry, or vacuuming, things that most guests would never think to do in a hotel.
Hosts will also be provided guidance on not requiring unreasonable checkout requests, the company says, and reasonable requests like locking doors or turning off lights need to be communicated to guests before they book. Hopefully, the changes will help eliminate the chore lists that many guests are surprised by when they check into their rentals.
