A lower headline becomes a higher bill
Your property page says £89 a night. The guest compares that with another stay and decides to book. At checkout, a £25 cleaning fee appears. The price is now £114, although the property and dates have not changed.
The cleaning service may be reasonable. The surprise is the problem. You asked the guest to make a decision using a number that did not represent what they had to pay.
For this article’s fictional one-night stay, £89 accommodation plus £25 mandatory cleaning equals £114 total. There are no additional charges in the example.
See the price before the commitment
The improved flow makes £114 the main price at the property and payment steps. A breakdown explains the number without competing with it.
Price uncertainty makes comparison harder
Baymard’s accommodation usability research identifies unclear pricing and unexpectedly introduced fees as problems when travellers choose a stay. It supports making totals understandable; it does not predict a specific conversion increase for your property.
A guest booking for work may need approval against a fixed allowance. Someone booking several nights needs to understand the total stay cost. Neither should have to reach the payment screen to find out whether the accommodation fits their budget.
There are also jurisdiction-specific rules. The UK CMA’s price transparency guidance addresses mandatory fees, taxes and charges. The US FTC’s lodging fee rule requires mandatory cleaning charges in the displayed total, with specified exclusions including government charges. The two regimes are not identical; check the rules that apply to your business.
Make the complete cost easy to compare
- Once dates and guest numbers are selected, make the total stay price the prominent figure. Include unavoidable charges under the rules applicable to your market.
- Show the number of nights and a clear breakdown. Label whether an indicative price is a nightly rate or the full stay.
- Explain genuinely optional extras before selection. Do not preselect them or make them look compulsory.
- Keep the property-page total and checkout total synchronized. Recalculate visibly when dates, occupancy or optional extras change.
- For longer stays, add a helpful weekly or monthly equivalent while keeping the actual payable amount clear.
- Explain security deposits separately, including whether they are paid or authorised, when they are released and any conditions.
If your booking engine cannot show the right total, raise the limitation with the vendor. A sentence saying “fees may apply” does not give the guest a usable comparison.
A five-minute self-check
Select one property, one night and the same guest count. Write down the first price presented after those choices. Follow the journey to the final summary without paying.
Does the total change without a choice you made? Can you identify every required charge, optional extra and deposit? Repeat with a longer stay. Fix the first screen where the actual cost becomes unclear, rather than explaining the difference only at checkout.
