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Where does it indicate that running an AirBNB is not a business?
What I see is: All serviced and self-catering accommodation premises must keep a record of all guests over the age of 16. The record should include their full name and nationality.
Obviously, you are a serviced accommodation. I just don’t see where there this document indicates that privately run accommodation is a separate and exempt class.
The nuances are difficult to explain and of course don’t apply in every case which is why I said most. Effectively it comes down to whether you’re registered business or not. If you are there’s a whole raft of legislation including health and safety, employment and this sort of thing that you must comply with. Your business will also be inspected to make sure of your compliance.
I host as a private individual, I earn less than £8,000 a year and I claim tax relief on the whole amount via the rent a room scheme. In effect my guests are seen as lodgers. As such I don’t have to comply with any of the above, the same way I don’t have to comply with legislation that hotels require sprinklers in my private home. The sprinklers thing is just something I plucked from the air, my point is that there are some things businesses comply with that private individuals don’t need to comply with.
I agree. It was a bit off-putting when I was in Cuba and the host took a picture of my passport WITH HIS PERSONAL CELL PHONE. Ugh. I understand that in countries like Cuba they would require certain documentation, and maybe that is just the fastest and easiest way to the host to obtain this info. But dammit I was uncomfortable.
I wouldn’t put so much trust in hotel security procedures.
It’s not so much that I trust hotels. More that they’re governed by legislation so somewhat accountable.
I think Erin Andrews would have preferred basic security measures to accountability.
Luckily, STR market is not as deregulated in some countries as it is in the UK and there is tons of regulation for it (even too much). We have a flat tax that you have to pay whether you earn 100 or 10 000 euros that year. And accompanying regulation that you have to comply with too (size, things that have to be provided, safety measures etc). In the case you earn more than 30 000 euros you become a proper renter and pay tax according to your earnings, but have some benefits such as VAT tax returns etc. So you become a proper business. But from the aspect of collecting documents from the guest and registrating them with police and tourist board, nothing really changes. You have to do it whether you own a camp or just rent out one room. Btw, in Croatia there is no legal option to rent out a spare room in your home. There is simply no such category. If you rent a room it has to be a separate unit and comply with certain regulation. So if you check Airbnb you’ll see that this is rarely an option in Croatian cities. People mostly rent spare whole apartments or individual rooms specifically furnished for such purpose.
He could’ve written down your data. No need for photos. I heard some people doing it because the guests find that to be less problematic than handing their documents for 5 min. Personally I would be much less comfortable with someone taking a picture of my documents…
Agreed, and I wish he had. Having the required information and having ALL of my information are two different things.
Since last year’s introduction of regulation in Andalucia for STRs, we also have to take passport numbers and submit them to the police. It’s a piece of bureaucracy I wish I didn’t have to do, but there it is … It sounds as though @Zandra thinks that we have a choice in the matter, and yes, I suppose we do - we either register legally as short term letters or we don’t and risk quite substantial fines.
@Zandra the problem is the government and ABB believe you are running a business.
The Government has published a guide to fire safety in paid-for accommodation in England and Wales,
The guide states that "fire safety law applies to you if anyone pays to stay in your property.
https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1379/responsible-hosting-in-the-united-kingdom
I love the last bit:
Even in that document you’ve linked to there’s a long section on the ‘rent a room’ scheme. The rent a room scheme applies to hosts that share their homes and it is not taxable as business income.
Separate from that is fire legislation which I wasn’t aware of … it appears that there’s higher standards for Airbnb guests in London than residents in high rise buildings. Oh well.
Youre never staying at my house. I will at least check and write down the info from the IDs if I can’t copy it. Just because they uploaded IDs to airbnb doesnt mean it is them or its not fake. I’ll compare the photo on the ID to the persons face and write all the details for my records.
Do you have a preferred way to share the draft document in case they don’t want to sign? I’ve had several back out of the reservation once reviewing my short term rental agreement.
Do you think the way the document is shared will make a difference assuming that the way you do it now is electronic and easy for the guest to sign?
OwnerRez has this built-on functionality.
Alternatively you could create a DocuSign account so that the document is signed electronically.
If you already offer simple electronic signatures then I would think that either there is something off-putting in your rental agreement or that your marketplace is not accustomed to signing short-term rental agreements.
If your competitors don’t require a signed agreement guests might book with them.
I would venture a guess that either your agreement has a long list of micromanaging rules which puts guests off, or else they had intention to break a short list of reasonable rules, like throwing a party, or sneaking in pets or extra guests or smoking indoors. Those are more likely reasons why a guest would back out of a booking than how the document is shared, unless you are asking for a lot of personal information or it requires them to use a third party site (which I believe contravenes Airbnb policy).
This has been my experience. I’ve had a few that didn’t sign and backed out, but I highly suspect it’s because the contract says I can cancel and evict them with no refund if they smoke inside the house.
I really don’t want unreasonable, sneaky, entitled guests who feel they pay to play by their own rules not matter what I request. If they respect me and my property, we’ll have no issues. I’m providing for reasonable protection for my property and myself as I don’t trust that ABB has fully my back her in my playground of AZ.
However, since we are now experiencing a huge surge of properties saturating the market, I will have to review and adjust. Looking forward to hearing from your best practices.
Here is a recent thread where a guest objected to a host texting them. It’s just one guest and they were jerks, but in a competitive environment it’s certainly worth thinking about which of our requirements are wants and which are needs.
A guest reminding a host that the airbnb preference is to keep communication within the app does not, to me, signal 'bad guest". An ANGRY reminder from the guest does - and sends a red flag.