It’s me again. I figured that communicating my issues here, versus calling Peerspace support is the most effective, assuming others may have similar issues they may be dealing with.
I think that it would be really great to have a tax option added on to the hourly rate that allows hosts to get their full rate after Peerspace takes their cut. Right now, I have a cleaning fee that helps make it up, but it’s $25 and after a few hours, it doesn’t cut it. I think it’s also important for customers to understand that the tax is a separate cut, whereas now where many make the assumption that the host gets 100% of the amount that host charges.
Also, for the add-ons, the tax option only allows you to include a flat rate. I think that if there was a percentage option to the price, rather than a flat rate, it would also be more helpful for hosts. Especially if a tax option can be added to the hourly.
Just adjust your hourly rate to account for Peerspace fees. Adding a tax option is superfluous and misleading since it’s not a true tax (which, by definition, is a compulsory contribution levied by a governing body).
Yeah… just adjust your rate to compensate. I charge 15% “less” if you book with me directly than if you go through Peerspace. Either way, my take home is the same.
Geoffrey, now I’m wondering if PeerSpace is okay with us booking services outside of the PeerSpace platform? I’ve heard that if hosts get caught taking direct bookings for space rentals found thru the PeerSpace platform, then they will ban you from hosting. What about charging for services on or off the platform???
I bill for photo equipment and props directly. I have hundreds of items in-house and the list changes constantly. It would be impossible to keep track of everything as an add-on on Peerspace. Plus I already have an inventory system that allows me to check items in/out and keep track of who used what.
Everything related to the space, including overtime, I run through Peerspace. I never take direct bookings from clients who contact me through the platform. People ask all the time, but it’s not worth a couple hundred dollars to get kicked off and lose several thousand.
It is not superfluous or misleading. It is an obligation. If it wasn’t why is is available with add on. The site is odd in it’s many details that are left out. It’s inability to move smoothly. This is yet another. They charge us 15%, that is reasonable if they responded. They also charged the customer an additional 10 percent or more. The customer gets dinged at least 25 percent by PEERSPACE. Separating the fees upfront can distinguish our actual payout to the customer. PEERSPACE charging upfront and behind our fee is a bit misleading and superfluous don’t you think.
I think you’re misunderstanding me/my response to the topic. The OP is proposing that Peerspace add a tax line for the hourly rate with the intention of keeping that tax line amount to compensate for the platform percentage fee taken out of a host’s payout. Charging a tax and then pocketing that amount IS misleading because taxes are a compulsory fee that must be remitted to the government (sales, income, excise, etc…). It’s superfluous because the price of the service rendered should already account for the expenses of rendering that service, including the marketing and administrative cost of utilizing a fee-based booking platform.
You are lamenting the platform fee, if I hear you correctly. While I agree that the platform could be more forthcoming and apparent in communicating with the renter the platform fee charged to the host, that is a different matter and would not be resolved by adding a NEW tax line (an additional fee) to guests. Generally speaking, retail type clients aren’t concerned with our bottom line, only theirs. And it’s common practice and implied that the price or rate of a product or service is calculated based on the total cost of providing said product or service, including taxes, fees, costs, operating expenses, profit, etc…