Many travelers have been disappointed to find out that Airbnb has been charging a
3% conversion fee when you book any listing outside your country. The fee is not well displayed when you're booking, as airbnb adds it automatically. This 3% is on top of the regular service fees.
Now you might think- Dan told me to get the chase Sapphire Reserve- 0% forex fees, why don't I just pay with that? Tough luck, even if you change your payment currency to the host country they will still charge you the 3% currency conversion fee. In addition to the 3% hit, the conversion rate that Airbnb uses to convert is many time far off from market rates, which many customers say have added up to 10% in hidden fees.
In the case of my parent's listing in Israel that I manage, it's actually much, scummier what Airbnb is doing. I chose my payment currency as USD. My guests are all American and pay in USD. I get paid from Airbnb in USD. Yet, when a guest views my listing they will see a price that is 3% higher (before service fees) than what I set it at. Airbnb is literally charging 3% for an imaginary currency conversion that never took place.
I am writing this
a) to make sure you are aware of these hidden fees
b) remind you to avoid using sites that are scammy. Airbnb is a multi-billion dollar company that should not be using dirty hidden tactics to make more money
c) to help spread the word. I believe credit card companies do not allow forced currency conversion, and I'm not sure that the FTC will be too happy either about predatory business practices.
Some links:
FT,
reddit,
airbnb community
