A woman is taking to TikTok to voice her grievances about Airbnb’s high fee costs.
In a viral video with over 675,000 views as of Tuesday, content creator Deets (@deetsontheeats) addresses the home rental service company directly.
“If you are Airbnb, I’m gonna tell you in real time why no one wants to book with you anymore,” she begins.
She shares a screenshot of a “tiny home” in Joshua Tree, located in Southern California.
“Okay, here we go,” she says. “We’re going for two nights. $73 dollars a night. Perfect, within our budget. So should be around $150.”
However, the added fees significantly change the price of the Airbnb home. “No. $275 after taxes and all of the fees. That is an additional $125 fee. That is more than we would be spending on one night there. Like, that just seems absurd,” she says.
Deets shares a screenshot of another Airbnb home in Joshua Tree. “Next one, $159 a night,” she says. “Not too bad. $563 total for two nights when it’s $159 a night. So, let’s do some quick math: $245 in fees, coming out to about $122 a night in fees.”
“This is why no one wants to book with you anymore. That is so silly,” Deets concludes.
@deetsontheeats #greenscreen unless you are booking as a large group it makes no sense @airbnb ♬ original sound – Deets
In the comments section, users shared their own issues with Airbnb’s fees and customer expectations.
“Plus the list of chores they make you do before leaving,” one person added. Another user responded to this comment, writing, “then also paying an insane cleaning fee.”
“Legit just tried to book one night while on a road trip. The price: $80 bucks, the cleaning fee: $65. Nope,” a third viewer shared.
“Just booked an Airbnb yesterday, 4 nights at $169/night and the total came out to $1,226,” another said.
“Airbnb, Netflix, Uber, Ticketmaster etc…they all started as ‘cheaper’ alternatives and have now become the expensive ones,” a further commenter noted.
The Daily Dot has previously reported on the frustrations Airbnb customers experience with paying cleaning fees and still being expected to clean before they leave. In a previous TikTok, a woman listed her complaints with Airbnb as she tidied a rental that required guests to clean while also charging a $250 cleaning fee.
With the rising cost of Airbnb fees, many customers have turned back to hotels as a cheaper alternative.
“Airbnb was great for a couple years and now all they’ve done is make hotels just a little cheaper,” one user noted.
“I’m sticking to good ol’ hotels with free breakfast. And extra fee is tipping the housekeepers for putting up with my mess,” another viewer declared.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Deets via TikTok message and Airbnb via email for more information.
In a viral video, a woman calls out Airbnb for its high booking fees, which she says added hundreds of dollars to her total.
Update 2:19pm CT Oct. 18: In an email to the Daily Dot, Airbnb shared the following:
“In 2022, we rolled out total price display globally, which makes fees even more transparent and shows all fees – including cleaning fees – before taxes in search results, as well as on the map, filter and listing page. Guests can still view a full price breakdown of Airbnb’s service fee, discounts, and taxes before booking.”
The company also shared that it announced several fall updates, “including lower cleaning fees and better search and filters,” on Sept. 20.
“While Hosts maintain the ability to choose their own cleaning fees – which some Hosts charge to cover the cost of cleaning their space after a stay Airbnb offers tips to Hosts on keeping the amount reasonable and suggests they consider not charging cleaning fees at all,” the company concluded.
