Airbnb continues to support federal price transparency legislation

Airbnb strongly supports the Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2024 (S.2498). Introduced by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), this legislation aims to establish a national standard for transparent price displays across the lodging industry, including short-term rentals and hotels. In July 2024, we shared a letter of support for the bill with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as part of our ongoing efforts to advocate for greater price transparency across the industry.

In 2023, we announced our support for the No Hidden Fees on Extra Expenses for Stays (No Hidden FEES) Act of 2023 (H.R 6543) introduced by U.S. Representatives Young Kim (CA-40) and Kathy Castor (FL-14). In December 2023, this legislation passed the House with broad support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“The Hotel Fees Transparency Act represents a crucial step toward ensuring that travelers have clear, upfront information about the total cost of their accommodations,” said Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb’s Global Policy Director. “Our commitment to transparent pricing aligns with our mission to help guests find stays that fit their budget and assist our hosts in setting competitive prices. We applaud Senators Klobuchar and Moran for their leadership on this issue and are excited to support the passage of this important legislation.”

To further demonstrate our commitment to providing clear and straightforward pricing, we introduced a total price display feature in December 2022. This feature gives guests the option to see the full cost of their stay, including fees, before taxes in search results, as well as on the map, filter, listing page and wishlists. As of September 2024, more than 15 million guests have booked travel on Airbnb using total price display since its launch. Our industry-leading price display changes were recognized by the administration highlighting private sector efforts to  improve price display for consumers.

Affordability Initiatives

In addition to supporting federal price transparency legislation, we continue to introduce tools that enhance affordability and transparency for guests: 

• Airbnb Rooms: Offering an affordable travel option with an average rate of $68 per night.¹
• New pricing tools for hosts: We’ve provided hosts with tools to help compare their listings with similar ones in the area and set weekly and monthly discounts that guests can take advantage of. Four out of five hosts use at least one of our pricing tools, with over two thirds of hosts offering weekly or monthly discounts.² Our similar listing tool, which allows hosts to quickly check the average prices of similar listings booked nearby, has been used by over 2 million hosts since we introduced it in May 2023.¹
• Search tips for guests: Guests now see fun animated tips that show them if they can save with weekly discounts, for instance by adding extra nights or monthly stay discounts.
• Monthly stays: For stays over three months, we’ve reduced guest service fees after the third month and offer savings for stays over one month when paid via linked bank accounts.
• Cleaning fees: Since the launch of our Total Price Display, over 300,000 listings lowered or eliminated their cleaning fees, and nearly 40% of active listings charge no cleaning fee at all.² For those that do add one, it is on average less than 10 percent of the total reservation cost.