On May 12, a rule of the Federal Trade Commission aimed at combating so-called "junk fees" will come into effect in the United States. In connection with this, Airbnb is changing its pricing policy and will now show customers the total cost of accommodation by default, including cleaning and service fees. This is reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
The publication notes that Airbnb Inc. will now show customers the total cost of accommodation by default, including cleaning and service fees, to comply with US Federal Trade Commission rules that will take effect next month.
Customers in the United States and over 200 other markets where price display rules were not previously in place will now automatically see the total cost of their booking, including all pre-tax fees, when viewing listings in search results
Airbnb is making these changes as the Federal Trade Commission rule aimed at eliminating so-called "junk fees" is set to take effect in the United States on May 12, the publication says.
The rule, enacted under the Biden administration last December, requires companies selling event tickets or short-term housing to "clearly and conspicuously" display the total price with mandatory fees on any display and advertisement related to their goods and services.
Additionally
Airbnb customers in parts of Europe, Australia, Canada, and Korea have had an all-in price display since 2019 under local regulations establishing such requirements.
In 2023, Airbnb introduced an optional toggle to display the total price excluding taxes for customers in the US and other countries where such rules were not in place. The ability for potential renters to see the full price was one of the efforts that CEO Brian Chesky said were necessary to fix Airbnb after online complaints from hosts and guests.
The toggle was launched then to encourage hosts to lower cleaning fees to make rentals more affordable, as sometimes disproportionately high fees were a major reason why some customers preferred hotels over Airbnb.
According to the company in February 2024, hosts who created nearly 300,000 listings removed or lowered cleaning fees within months of the feature's launch.