[truantbuick]

I can't fault Airbnb hosts if they use this -- if I was a host, I probably would. Nevertheless, it takes some of the charm and advantage out of it for us hostees. Airbnb seemed like a marketplace where sellers for the most part aren't trying to optimize their profits to squeeze out every last buck.

Edit: Actually, to be more accurate, it didn't feel like much of a "marketplace" at all, and that's where the charm was. You weren't terribly aware of supply and demand and the rest of econ 101 when using it.

[andrewkitchell]

Great point -- as we designed this, we thought a lot about how this might impact a marketplace/community (Airbnb) that we love.

In talking to a lot of hosts, as well as hosting ourselves, we've learned that (a) pricing your home is really hard, and (b) there is a LOT of work that goes into being a great host. From cleaning your home to welcoming guests and answering inquiries, (not to mention the cost of food, furniture, linens, etc.), most hosts spend hours every week making sure their guests are safe & happy.

If we can help hosts by making it easier to accurately price their home, we think we can create a bigger incentive for great hosts to continue hosting.

* Edit :: I run operations at Beyond, have hosted for years on Airbnb, and helped design this - appreciate the question

[rajacombinator]

This is awesome. I'm very impressed by the concept and design. Do you guys have any kind of development blog, etc? Would love to read more about the development process, timeline, etc, and my initial googling comes up totally blank.

Would definitely use the pricing tool, and maybe the management service too if I were Airbnb'ing my place.

[andrewkitchell]

Thank you -- we appreciate that!

We're going to be sharing a lot more in the coming weeks.

There is a lot of interesting data out there, and making sense of that data/making it available is one of our teams goals.

If you have any ideas, send them my way: [e-mail]

[krisdol]

I agree, and it depends. In super high-demand, low-supply markets like Manhattan and San Francisco, I opt for the hotel over Airbnb. The price difference is usually minor, and the hotels in these cities often have better amenities than the crappy studios and efficiencies being offered.

On the other hand, in Boston, Montreal, and a plethora of international destinations, Airbnb 110% of the time. Most cities don't have the demand that Manhattan has, and everyone wants to make a quick buck renting their apartment out to some friendly guests. The markets tend to be so saturated with great places, from my experience, that raising the price is more likely going to hurt the probability of finding someone who will rent it.

[graeme]

If hosts don't use this, then you get sold out listings.

I was in Boston in November. Normally there would be a range of listings in the $60-$120 range, and then some in the ultra-pricey $250-$500 range.

Except there was a yatch race on, an ALL but one of the affordable listings was booked. I researched, and there really were dozens of listings that were normally cheap, but they were full.

I fortunately got the last affordable place in town. But I would have been much happier if some of the other hosts had charged a small premium. I was almost forced into a luxury listing.

[andrewkitchell]

Good point -- in response we'd say: 'pricing is hard!'

Its pretty rare that an individual hosts will have enough information to accurately/comfortably price their home.

By studying larger trends across a municipality, we think we can help paint a clearer picture for these hosts, both for short term price surges & also for how they should set the base price their home.

[graeme]

I also expect you could help mobilize spare capacity. I know some hosts who rent out their space one weekend a year and make $500-$600. They just go on a short vacation when the major festival hits town.

They get easy money, guests find space. With more spare capacity, I'd bet the average price would drop and more people would be happy.