Airbnb is in the making so that hosts can pay for contracting housekeeping services and the company may introduce tax-inclusive pricing where it does not do already.
These were the key points that came up in the discussion between Rafat Ali, founder and CEO of Skift, and Catherine Powell, global director of hosting for Airbnb, on Wednesday at the Future of Lodging Forum 2023 in London.
Powell expanded on Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, who said in February that the company sees a market for charging hosts for particular services in addition to providing free goods.
Powell, who joined Airbnb from Disney, has recently started learning about hosting on the job as she begins to list her California guest home.
Powell clarified that Airbnb is considering providing a marketplace where hosts can purchase or rent items like cleaners, co-hosts, and other services in relation to charging guests for services.
Powell pointed out that more than 500,000 co-hosts currently use the platform and that it’s not unlikely that Airbnb will run a marketplace with companies that offer host services around the world, as well as startups focused on the guest experience. She reiterated that Airbnb is considering this and it could be planned for next year.
“We have hosts asking us about cleaning services and other things they may or even want to rent,” said Powell.
Powell acknowledged on stage that taxes could be included in the all-inclusive pricing that Airbnb introduced last year in the United States and some other markets. Currently, when customers view the total price, the price is initially displayed without taxes, but includes the nightly rates, Airbnb fees and cleaning costs.
This is something Airbnb is considering, and it could happen in 2024.
Previously, when visitors looked at the prices of an offer, they first saw the accommodation prices, but they did not see cleaning fees, Airbnb fees, or taxes, so they did not have an accurate view of the total price. They often complained about expensive cleaning fees that they only discovered later, after they had already made a booking. Some landlords who decide on cleaning fees see this as a source of revenue.
Powell explained in a short interview with reporters that no decisions have been made yet, but she anticipates that Airbnb will indeed include taxes in the total price in the future, where they are not currently shown.
For instance, Airbnb has long made the entire price, including taxes, readily visible in Europe.