Airbnb is s great alternative option to hotels. You might be able to stay in areas where hotels are not available, and they let you experience a city or a country in a different way. Here’s an Aribnb apartment that I rented in Albania for about $45 a day, just across the street from Ionian Sea.
Related: Airbnb Signup Bonus, Get up to $55 for Your Stay and Activities
Now some positive changes are coming. Airbnb is eliminating guest fees in properties in a few continents, although the Americas are not part of the offer. Many property managers and hotels that sign up for its service beginning June 4, will have the option to pay a flat fee and have their guests pay no fees at all.
Property managers in the Asia Pacific (except Japan), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will be charged a 14% host-only fee by default. Until now, the default was that Airbnb charged hosts a 3 to 5 percent fixed fee, and guests paid a fee of up to 20 percent of the rate for the listing. Existing and newly enrolled property managers will have the choice to switch to the new 14% host-only fee or the old shared fee model if they prefer.
Skift reports that Airbnb has tested its new fee structure “with a number of hosts globally” and “saw an increase in bookings in certain regions for hosts that adopted it.”
The new move by Airbnb is likely an attempt to better compete with Booking.com, which has long advertised it as an advantage that it doesn’t charge booking fees to guests.
The new fee structure from Airbnb will probably make property managers raise their prices since they will now be charged a 14% fee instead of 3-5%. But overall guests should see cheaper prices as they will not pay any fees at all.
