Feedback Wanted: Markups will be applied to all fees
On the previous Town Hall we discussed that Markups will now be applied to all fees instead of applying it only to Base Price.
The reason for this change is because platforms (Booking, Airbnb, Direct Premium, VRBO) charge commission from all the fees, not only the base price.
As some of you know, I'm currently working on a way for Hosts to be able to manage all their fees from Hospitable and have them synced to all platforms but I wanted to get some feedback from you first:
Do you currently have a setup in which your cleaning fees are drastically different between platforms?
Spoilers:
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I don’t typically have a different cleaning fee between platforms, but given the fee structure differences, it would make sense for the Markup to apply to all fees as well, so that Direct remains less expensive.
Hi @Marina Coimbra - No, we don’t typically have drastic differences of cleaning fees by platform.
In fact, we are SHIFTING away from any cleaning fee listed and simply bundle ALL fees in Management fee (which blends across all nights, but is opaque for the guest). Regardless, that management fee needs to be marked up accordingly too if hosts (us) are looking to achieve the same net revenue as we would on 10/25 or 10/27.
Thank you and the team for the commitment to doing this. I’ve heard directly from a revenue partner that sees many PMS setups and not one has addressed this proactively like Hospitable. Kudos to @PC Hamana for leading the way here.
Nope same cleaning fees on all platforms- they differ by cabins but same no matter the platform.
Our cleaning fees are typically roughly the same across platforms.
I agree with the hospitable change to add the markup to fees, I think it makes sense.
We keep all cleaning fees at the same rate, but now with all the different host fees taking place it is making us need to adjust. Right now we've added a 18.34% mark-up on airbnb to our cleaning fee from the base price. If the markup fee on hospitable could apply to all fees, that'd be super helpful.
So trying to understand, if my cleaning was $200 you would mow have it be $215 with the 15% markup? This is the markup for the new Airbnb charging us and not the renters?
That would cause all sorts of issues for me as all my homes, the owner pays for the cleaning. So if the cleaning is $200 we give the owner of the $200 so they pay the cleaners. If we're making $215 instead so we're keeping the extra $15? And then the owners wondering why we overcharged for cleaning? I think if I'm understanding this correctly?
Applying the markups to all fees will be perfect for me!!! We keep all cleaning fees at the same rate for all platforms. Thanks in advance!!!
Same fees all platforms but want the option to have different ones to drive direct bookings. Can’t you just provide a box for fees and mark ups for each platform? Can’t you have a separate fee mark up box so hosts can opt out? Flexibility is key.
Applying the markups to all fees will be perfect for me!!! We keep all cleaning fees at the same rate for all platforms. Thanks in advance!!!
It’s a critical component to this whole “fee-shift gate” - sadly Airbnb could have done this 100% on their side and it would have been no action/no tool/no code needed. It’s confusing by design.
This will be nice to have, as I've previously needed to do spreadsheet math to figure out what the cleaning fee should be on each OTA in order to net the same amount after commissions. Ultimately, it only yielded a $10 difference, but it will help the most with booking.com because I do use their "Visibility Boost" feature, which increases the commission paid to BDC, and until now I've not had an easy way to have my mark-up applied to the the cleaning fee as opposed to just the nightly rate.
s.
Thanks for all the comments Community. I am new here and find this section super helpful! And I am still trying to wrap my head around the best practice for all this math with the new airbnb change. Joining Hospitable has made this change easier to make for sure!
@Krista Rica - The community overall is a great resource! Welcome
We are just starting out so have kept the cleaning fee the same across the board. I would enjoy being able to keep Hospitable as the source for all my fees, rates etc and truly manage from one spot rather than keeping track of things across multiple platforms.
While fees vary by property, all of our fees for each property are the same across all platforms we use. Since we are ultimately paying Airbnb 15.5% on all fees then it makes sense to include all fees so that we aren’t getting shorted. Thanks to Hospitable for making this easier on us!
Same fees all platforms but want the option to have different ones to drive direct bookings. Can’t you just provide a box for fees and mark ups for each platform? Can’t you have a separate fee mark up box so hosts can opt out? Flexibility is key.
Yees! We will be taking that into account for sure!
So trying to understand, if my cleaning was $200 you would mow have it be $215 with the 15% markup? This is the markup for the new Airbnb charging us and not the renters?
That would cause all sorts of issues for me as all my homes, the owner pays for the cleaning. So if the cleaning is $200 we give the owner of the $200 so they pay the cleaners. If we're making $215 instead so we're keeping the extra $15? And then the owners wondering why we overcharged for cleaning? I think if I'm understanding this correctly?
Thank you so much for raising this! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns – that's exactly why we made this post, to make sure we're thinking through how this affects everyone.
I want to walk through the numbers with you because I think it'll help clarify what's happening:
How it works today: When you set a $200 cleaning fee on Airbnb, you actually receive $194 per reservation because Airbnb takes a 3% service fee. So you're covering that $6 difference to ensure the owner gets the full $200 for cleaners.
What changes with the new 15.5% fee: If you keep your cleaning fee at $200 without any adjustment, you'd only receive $169 after Airbnb takes their cut. That means you'd be losing $31 per booking to make sure the owner still gets $200.
Why a markup helps: Adding a markup ensures you can still pay owners the full cleaning amount they need without losing money on every reservation. It's really just offsetting what Airbnb is now taking from your fees.
I totally understand this can feel confusing with all the numbers! If you'd like to talk through your specific situation, I'd love to hop on a quick call with you. I want to make sure this makes sense and that you feel good about how it works.
Hi @Marina Coimbra - No, we don’t typically have drastic differences of cleaning fees by platform.
In fact, we are SHIFTING away from any cleaning fee listed and simply bundle ALL fees in Management fee (which blends across all nights, but is opaque for the guest). Regardless, that management fee needs to be marked up accordingly too if hosts (us) are looking to achieve the same net revenue as we would on 10/25 or 10/27.
Thank you and the team for the commitment to doing this. I’ve heard directly from a revenue partner that sees many PMS setups and not one has addressed this proactively like Hospitable. Kudos to @PC Hamana for leading the way here.
This is unnecessary. AirBnb already hides the cleaning fee in your nightly rate and doesn’t show it as a separate line item to the guest. So it works exactly as the management fee does.
Hi @Marina Coimbra - No, we don’t typically have drastic differences of cleaning fees by platform.
In fact, we are SHIFTING away from any cleaning fee listed and simply bundle ALL fees in Management fee (which blends across all nights, but is opaque for the guest). Regardless, that management fee needs to be marked up accordingly too if hosts (us) are looking to achieve the same net revenue as we would on 10/25 or 10/27.
Thank you and the team for the commitment to doing this. I’ve heard directly from a revenue partner that sees many PMS setups and not one has addressed this proactively like Hospitable. Kudos to @PC Hamana for leading the way here.
This is unnecessary. AirBnb already hides the cleaning fee in your nightly rate and doesn’t show it as a separate line item to the guest. So it works exactly as the management fee does.
I did not realize that AirBNB “hides” the cleaning fee in the total. I’ll be looking for some forums on cleaning fees. This has been my primary struggle over the years of hosting.
Hi; I have reviewed and confirmed the suggested markups for our properties, however this message is still present, I am wondering if there is anything else I need to do? Just want to make sure I am aligned prior to the 26th. Thanks! -Jen