Whether due to feedback or the realization that it’s been prioritizing hosts, Airbnb has decided it’s time to throw renters a proverbial bone by way of (slightly) more financially friendly search options. CEO Brian Chesky revealed the company’s plans on Twitter today, stating, “I’ve heard you loud and clear—you feel like prices aren’t transparent, and checkout tasks are a pain.” Probably the most important upcoming change will be an option for you to view a property’s subtotal (i.e., pre-tax cost) when viewing the listing before you book anything. Search results will also begin sorting by total price—instead of per-night price—and will include a full list of Airbnb’s discounts, fees, and taxes. The catches are that (right now, at least) the projected total option will have to be turned on manually, and you won’t be seeing the full post-tax cost until you’re getting ready to confirm and pay. Chesky also touched briefly on checkout tasks, which the CEO admits have sometimes been unreasonable. Checkout requests will be shown in the listing—pre-booking—and should be more “reasonable” going forward. However, no mention was made as to whether Airbnb will monitor listings for less reasonable tasks such as vacuuming or stripping off bedding. The company also plans to add more tools for hosts to manage pricing and discounts so they can stay competitive with other local properties. The timeline isn’t entirely clear in the Twitter thread, but it seems the plan is to start rolling everything out “starting next month.” So presumably, these updated search and listing info features will be available in early December.
