Why Is Airbnb So Expensive?

Yes, the cost of Airbnbs and hotel rooms have dramatically increased lately. It’s not just your imagination. 

Both hotels and Airbnbs have seen their average nightly rates skyrocket within the last few years— and there seems to be no signs of slowing down. Elsewhere in the travel industry, airline tickets have ballooned to nearly double the pre-Covid rate. Simply put, vacations have become extremely expensive in an extremely short amount of time.

Why is that?

There’s a few factors to take into account, and the first is that despite these surging costs, demand for rooms and tickets has not gone down. In a post-Covid world, people are willing to pay nearly three times what they normally would have to be able to enjoy the things they missed out on in the last few years. 

And that’s not hard to sympathize with.

However, a serious lack of regulation with the Airbnb model has led to staggering increases in fees that are blindsiding renters.

To break down the reasons why Airbnbs and hotels have gotten so expensive, we’ll examine the ins and outs of the travel and hospitality industry. We’ll crunch the numbers to determine how you can still get the vacation that you want— but without having to shell out hundreds of additional dollars.

Let’s begin!

Why Is Airbnb So Expensive?

Recuperating Losses

First and foremost, income property owners are looking to maximize their profits that they lost out on during the pandemic. Although there was still a steady enough trickle in 2021, Airbnbs suffered great losses for a year straight in 2020 that are still being felt in people’s wallets. 

If some rental units may have seen their rates dip during the height of the pandemic to try and entice renters, those days have long gone because of the rejuvenated demand in 2022 and onwards. The cost of Airbnbs isn’t likely to dip any time soon on this fact alone.

Lack Of Regulation On Host-Set Fees

This is the big one. Per Airbnb’s fee transparency information page, Airbnb does not set a limit on how much hosts can charge guests for things like cleaning fees. Although they can “recommend” that hosts don’t overcharge, the power is totally within hosts to set whatever number they want.

And this is on top of another issue that Airbnb has yet to come up with an answer to.

Although cleaning fees may be charged at whatever sliding scale the host determines is appropriate, in many cases guests will still be expected to do a portion— sometimes a significant one— of the chores anyway.

It’s not uncommon on Airbnb listing rules to find a list of things guests must do before they check out that include:

• Taking out the trash/recycling
• Changing and replacing bedsheets and comforters
• Vacuuming
• Cleaning the pool or hot tub
• Mowing the lawn

(Yes, that last one is a real request that an Airbnb host had for their renters.)

Although the idea of a sharing economy is one that many of us desire to embrace, the cost of Airbnbs have only gone up and with less and less of the perks they initially offered.

At least hotels have room service, right?

Are Hotels Cheaper To Use Than Airbnb?

So, what about choosing to stay in a hotel instead? Surely that’s cheaper now.

Nope! Wrong again.

According to this May 2022 report by Business Insider, hotel rates have increased by a whopping 184% within the last year.

And there are no signs of slowing down either.

Again, this is due largely to an intense surge in demand within the last year. Across the world, cities are feeling swelling pressure from tourists despite a worldwide shortage in the travel industry’s labor force.

This time, there isn’t a cleaning or service fee that can be attributed to the increase in costs by the companies. It’s purely that hotels can charge as much as they do for the demand they face, and so they do.

And there’s not much to be done about that.

So What Is The Cheapest Way To Travel?

If you’re feeling doom and gloom at this point, don’t be. You can still be able to visit some of the world’s most popular vacation destinations without having to take out a second mortgage to do so. Plus, you can do so while still participating in the sharing economy.

Introducing: RV rentals.

RV Rentals vs Hotels and Airbnbs

Although the idea of a traditional RV vacation may seem unorthodox to some, we have a strong case to make for that.

Renting an RV is no longer just about camping in the outdoors. Cities like Las Vegas, Key West, and even New York City all have a sizable RV resort community that allows people easy access to everything the destinations have to offer but without the price tag.

RV vacations saw a huge boom during the pandemic while traditional travel dipped. According to KOA’s annual North American Camping Report, camping made up 41% of leisure travel in the US. RVing is at an all time high, with urban residents making up for a large percentage of new RVers that are looking to rent an RV in 2022.

But despite this demand, the cost for an RV rental still hasn’t matched the rates of hotels, Airbnbs, or airline tickets.

Even the term “RV camping” has different meanings depending on who you ask.

Urban Camping

The traditional picture of an RV vacation set deep in the woods still dominates the scene. But within recent years, the rise in urban camping has seen cities become the new frontier of RV vacations.

This means that places like San Francisco or Miami are no longer out of reach destinations for many of us. 

Not to mention, RVs are a great alternative to Airbnbs for groups or families that are priced out of hotels. You’ll still be able to house more people for less money.

For more information on the ins and outs of urban camping, check out this informative article here.

TL;DR What’s The Bottomline?

Skyrocketing demand for travel and lack of oversight on fees that hosts can charge has led to astronomical rate increases for the cost of Airbnbs and hotel rooms. But you can get around these issues by choosing to use an RV rental instead.

Whether you use it in the traditional sense, to go stealth camping, or to find yourself at a resort right in downtown Vegas, RVs can take you to all of the places that traditional vacations can.

And they can do it for less.