Changed in what way from her perspective?
I have a friend who has been hosting for two years on her urban farm, totally a eco-friendly lifestyle, and even in two short years she went from having glowing guests who picked her place on purpose, to people complaining there is no TV, the chickens are too loud, they have to walk through the garden to get to the room, etc. It seems like guests are not as self-selecting as they used to be.
Alas, people must think Airbnb is a hotel chain, growth changes stuff.
3 Likes
I think that is it. Iâve had maybe 4-5 guests who treated me like a hotel, surprised I lack amenities I donât offer (like cable tv, kitchen access). But my friend gets maybe half her guests now who want the hotel experience in a house that is clearly (an awesome) urban hippy experience. Her listing is very clear. The difference may be is that she lists her room as a separate apartment and mine I still list as a room in a house, even though we are both renting mother-in-law apartments with separate entrances. I suspect my guests have lower expectations when they think they are renting a room in a house, though I havenât run into the problem of guests expecting they were getting a whole house.
Hi. I did reply to this question earlier on when konococonutz asked, I donât know how to link to it but itâs this:
"Iâm trying to remember! We got onto politics soon after so the initial discussion is a bit hazy now. She said that it all seemed much more corporate now, listings were way fancier and more expensive, it was more complicated to navigate the system. Essentially, she said she liked it better when it was more loose and âundergroundâ. She did stop and laugh at that last comment because she realised she sounded like someone who wants to be seen as avant-garde, the old âoh I used to like that until it became popularâ. But I knew what she meant. She felt it was getting like Expedia, basically, I think.
Sorry, thatâs not very helpful, is it? I should have quizzed her more but she was so nice and the political conversation was so interesting."
OMG. How utterly ridiculous. It reminds me of that scene from Mary Poppins where the maid tells the singing robin 'Quiet! Youâre giving the master an âeadacheâ.
7 Likes
Thatâs pathetic! But the dim wits were bound to show up eventually as Air moves into the mainstream. Off topic, but I just got an email from Air asking if Iâd be interested in managing other properties in my area. I guess itâs for hosts who want the income but donât really want to host. I said I was âsomewhat interestedâ, but now Iâm thinking it would be a really big pain in the rear and for not much $ if Iâm only getting a cut.
1 Like
And thatâs precisely whatâs happening I think.
I agree. Imagine being criticized by the guests and by the hosts all for some paltry amount of money.
2 Likes
@whamser I stopped doing Airbnb about two months ago (after 3 full years), so my current listing is dormantâwhen I move, I hope to do this againâŚI loved being a resident hostâI would not do it without being on site. I received many excellent reviewsâsome made me blush they were so nice! I just wanted my guests to have great time and a great memory visiting Venice, CA. My mission statement was guests first, income second. If I had guests who arrived grumpy, I did my best to find out what might make their stay enjoyableâŚthey could sense that desire, and their grumpiness soon went away. Also, if anyone was disappointed AT ALL --I offered to refund every penny. This occurred two times, once when the person admitted they never read my entire listing. Sometimes they didnât seem 100% happy with my place (e.g. too small) but when I told them I would find them another place, they felt better that they were not âstuckâ and decided to stay anyway and ended up very satisfied. P.S. Burnout can and does occur with the best of usâno matter what the job! In that case take some time offâŚas long as you need to look forward to hosting againâŚremember professors take 1-2 year sabbaticals! Teachers take the summer offâŚanytime you deal with lots of people on a daily basis, you need to recharge your batteries!
When you start sounding mechanical in your presentationâŚtime to take some time off! (or hire someone else who is full of enthusiasm!) Again, to create a happy guest experience!
Yes, Tara, we would love to see you listing. Even if you are not hosting anymore. Sounds like you know better, then show us your listing.
2 Likes
I read that somewhere, yes. Bloody hell. I am investigating other options. HomeStay.com is a possibility. My latest guests are complete ***** and have spurred me on to moving away. Itâs probably just the usual issue of people with zero social skills. They are so hard to deal with.
I hate to tell you but youâre going to run into the same type of people, maybe? Iâll have to look at HomeStay. My frustration is kept to a minimum because I only accept one guest at a time. And I live here. I canât imagine having a group in my house even if it were just a couple. I used to have it in my house rules that guests should conduct long phone conversations outside because it drove me nuts hearing them drone on about nothing. I took at rule away, though. Sounded a little too fussy.
I am getting that impression from Tara as well. That we are getting a lecture on guest relations. I have to differ with Tara. The idea that you refund every penny if someone isnât happy or doesnât read your listing tends to create a class of entitled, spoiled guests.
And god knows that is the last thing we hosts need.
6 Likes
At ;least Tara finally admits she wasnât really running a âbusiness.â You donât let careless guests dictate whether you make zero income or not. So the guest didnât read the listing - and you just say âno problem I will give you all your money back.â - now of course there are situations where you really wouldnât want the guest in your home.anyway. But I damn sure wouldnât just offer someone every penny back because they were too lazy to read the listing. - especially when I could have rented to someone else who wasnât so entitled.
3 Likes
Iâve been smugly reading this thread about this type of guest 
But I donât feel so smug today! :)))) I had a late arrival, single guy carrying a suit, shirt and tie all freshly done from the cleaners. He gave me zero eye contact, no hello or thank you. It was late so I went to bed. This morning I walked into the kitchen to get coffee (heâs still asleep) and thereâs his last nightâs dinner place with crusted rice and sauce, fork on plate, in the middle of the table. He made tea last night and that cup is on a table in the living room.
Iâm clearly supposed to be the maid, which I really donât mind, but at least be friendly.
1 Like
Iâm in a bad mood too - two of our worst guests have been businessmen. Theyâve come to stay with us when all the hotels have been booked. And I remind the price in the hotel is 150-190⏠and weâre 52âŹ/night. These two guys have commented our family home âhow to make it more like a hotelâ. Weâve got no need for that, because this is our H O M E. Weâve got wonderful young travelers who want to discover our city and are mostly super polite. Today we spoke with my husband that we wonât get any business travelers anymore. They donât read the descriptions and are the only ones to complain. If we get inquiries from businessmen Iâll explain that hotels nearby are more suitable for them than this family home, + others in town for business havenât appreciated it. Heh, do I sound bitter!!!
âLack of respect is the most annoying feature in a guestâ said my husband today.
1 Like
You story just one more proof that guests for some weird reason think that our homes somehow have to resemble hotels and amenities of hotels. If thats so, then why they want kitchen and laundry then? Hotels dont provide those.
I dont mine to provide reasonable requests and follow reasonable suggestions. Like i bought hair dryers for both rooms, and other mini things, but to complain about lack of TV or a desk, or quality of sheets is for me beyond unreasonable. This is how i run my house household, ann they can run theirs how they want.
Your business men could have just gone to hotels if thats what they want to be hotel like but , no, its too expensive for them, why not rent a room for 52$ and then complain that its not like 150$ hotel
2 Likes
Haaaaa!!! Well maybe just a tad Now that youâve described the businessmen type it really does ring true. I get the overflow from the cheap ones coming to our convention center but donât want to pay $240USD or more for a hotel.
1 Like