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Host Fees & Taxes Transparency Policy

Summary

To foster trust in our community and ensure price transparency, Stayz requires hosts to clearly disclose all fees and taxes related to a booking. 

Key terms

In this policy and across Stayz, we use the following terminology: 

  • Base Price: The price of a reservation before any fees or taxes 
  • Mandatory Fixed Fees: Fees guests must pay as part of their reservation that can be calculated and are known at the time of booking.  These may include cleaning fees, resort access fees, or administrative fees. Note: Pet fees are considered Mandatory Fixed Fees if guests travel with their pet. 
  • Mandatory Usage-Based Fees: Fees guests must pay for utilities or services measured by usage, which can’t be calculated at the time the home is booked (e.g. electricity charges). 
  • Optional Fees: Fees only charged if the guest chooses specific features or services, such as optional parking, heated pool or spa pool access, streaming services, or premium Wi-Fi. 
  • Taxes: Government-imposed taxes or charges that guests must pay for their stay.  

What’s allowed

Rates must be fair and competitive with other marketplaces, to the extent allowed by law. 

Hosts must disclose all Fees and Taxes in the listing, as outlined here: 

  • All Mandatory Fixed Fees and Taxes must be loaded in the designated fields in the Stayz Dashboard or the host’s connectivity software. 
  • Where a host’s account type allows Mandatory Usage-Based Fees, these must be loaded in the designated fields. If a host’s account type doesn’t allow Mandatory Usage-Based Fees, they must either build them into the Base Price, or load them as a Mandatory Fixed Fee. 
  • Optional Fees must be loaded into the designated fields, where they’re available, or otherwise included in the property description. No other fees should be added to the property description. 
  • Taxes may be collected either at the time of booking, or at the time of the stay. 
  • Hosts may choose to provide more details on Fees and Taxes in the property description, such as when they need to be paid. 

What’s not allowed

The total amount of Mandatory Fixed Fees must not exceed the Base Price. 

Hosts may not charge any Fees or Taxes unless they have been clearly disclosed to a guest at the time of booking as above.  

Enforcement 

Hosts who violate this policy may be suspended or terminated from our marketplace. 

Need help? 

If a host believes their account was suspended in error, they can appeal the decision. Contact customer support to begin an appeal. 

If a guest has been charged a fee or tax that was not disclosed in the listing or at the time of booking their stay, they should contact us.