Yet another AirBnB bug related to minimum stays

[Dede0]

Being a bit paranoid about the many, many bugs and misbehaviors within AirBnB, I always check several things every single day -- the rates in my calendar, my settings for base rates (weekday and weekend), my base minimum stay, my weekly/monthly discounts, my settings for Instant Book (always, always OFF) and the so-called "Smart Pricing" (also always OFF), plus any custom minimums I might've set for specific dates. And, for the first time ever, I just found that ALL of my custom minimum stays also had a "must start on Sunday" requirement, which I had NEVER set. All of them, even including date ranges that actually started on Saturdays. Clearly, another example of AirBnB's truly horrible coding and/or near-useless quality control. Seriously, AirBnB, you can afford better coding and better QA, so why not give that a try?

If you'd like some help with this fairly easy to solve problem, give me a ring. I've been in the software biz for 30+ years, and it's not all that hard to get it right.

[Donna58]

The pricing on my calendar is correct, but when a guest tries to book a week, it comes up incorrectly. Who do I speak to, or what can I do. I have a guest that contacted me and asked for the rate. I responded with the correct price but the information sent to the guest shows a different price from the one I sent to them. What can I do? ( I checked my weekly price and it appears to be correct.) DP Klein

[Dede0]

@Donna58 Your issue isn't really related to the one I posted, so perhaps you should create a new thread for yours. That said, are you sure that the discrepancy between what you think of as the guest's correct charge and what they're seeing isn't the result of two additions to their charge? That is, first, your cleaning fee (if you have one) and second, AirBnB's "guest service fee", which tends to be around 12% for most bookings. Might that account for the perceived discrepancy?

[Marit-Anne0]

@Dede0

In the beginning I could not even set the special requirements.  After some time this changed - I could set the requirements, but they were useless as they did not actually work.  Then one morning there was this requirement to arrive on a specific day that I had not set. Like you I checked every morning for changes as I was full of hope that the issue would be resolved and bookings pouring in for my gap days.  It did go away in the end, but it took far longer than acceptable and I have lost income for sure.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Dede0

I had exactly the same issues recently.  The custom minimum did not take at all and suddenly one morning there was this must arrive on a specific day added without me be being involved in these changes.  I made a song and dance about it and after a week or so the the issues were resolved.   I am pretty sure that I and probably others have lost some business due to this issue as it is a very busy time and the city is more or less booked solid.  

[Donna58]

The question still remains. What can I do about this error in pricing? The guest will no doubt opt to book my space at the reduced price that Air B and B has given them. If I refuse to allow the booking, then there will be reprisals from Air B and B. What can be done. Someone suggested that I send the guest a "special offer" with the correct pricing, then the guest can cancel if they so desire. Any suggestions on that idea? Thanks to everyone in the community. DP Klein

[Marit-Anne0]

@Donna58

If this is a technical issue, you would have to contact airbnb.  

It is very hard for anyone on the community to make suggestions without knowing which property you are referring to or what period. If we knew, we could take a look and see what we get at our end.  Without such info we really are in the dark.  

Do bear in mind that airbnb fees are added to your asking price.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Notify your guests straight away that correct pricing is not showing and either tell them the correct amount, or get them to accept existing price but clearly note the error above and that you will be sending them an increased price for the booking which they will need to accept.

. Then contact AirBnB

[Marit-Anne0]

@Donna58

I have entered dates on your listings where dates are available and the correct price shows.  Have you done so from your end to check that what they claim is actually correct ?  My guess is that they claim to see a lower price in order to lure you into giving them a discount.

[Dede0]

@Marit-Anne0 The problem recurred for my listing. I had redone all of the customized minimum stays and when I checked just now, the "start on Sunday" requirement was back. So, I've deleted all of them to avoid losing bookings. One odd aspect is that once the "start on [DAY]" requirement appears, there's no way to simply uncheck it; instead, all it gives is a list of the days of the week, meaning that one can switch it to any other day, but not remove the requirement. My guess is that someone is fiddling around with that section of code right now and they've broken things. Very typical of AirBnb's approach to their code.