This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I live in MO, theyāre actually in the process of passing a bill that would allow STR in homes and on the same property of the owners (like guest houses) and over-ride local municipalityās rules. Kinda excited about that since Iām technically breaking the local ordinance banning B&Bās though the city actually told me I could since itās in the process of being changed and Iām not running a full-scale B&B, etc.
Personally, IB works great for me since Iām renting out a guest house and not a room in my house. But IB simply does not work for many people and it should not be forced on people. People should not be penalized for not using it. It either works for you or does not. If you like it youāll use it! But Iām signing up for other booking sites and will only have IB turned on one of them, just imagine the nightmare if I had it on multiple!
One huge concern I have is on the last reading of the cancellation policy (from another thread) it looks like even IB hosts will now be penalized for any and all cancellations.
I just want to comment that this is getting ridiculous - Air allowing guests to stay several nights, and then they complain and Air takes it out of future host payments.
There was a recent thread of something similar happening to another host. So is the 24 hr. rule for guest to report complaints to Air - just basically all a lie now? Did Air give any kind of justification as to why you didnāt deserve to keep the money? Why did the guest stay for 3 nights if she was so unhappy? I know months later Air changed their mindā¦but that was only after you deactivated your account.
@LornaS (and anyone else) - When you respond and ask wanna-be guests for details, how do you phrase your questions so you get the desired results?
In earlier inquiries, the guest has usually included helpful info (what work they do, where they work or are traveling from, whether they are on holiday, celebrating, etc.), or it could be found in their profile.
Now, the inquiries I am getting are bare bones with only a first name and no personal info at all. The profile might only say they are a professional (no particular field), love to travel and see new places. Period.
I need to request for more info in my first response. The one I have used: āPlease tell me a little more about yourselfā is not working and only gets me a bland or vacuous response.
Weāre in NYC too! But we mostly get tourists from abroad - which I agree are almost always awesome!
But it sounds like you get a lot more domestic visitors than we do. Are you in Manhattan or another borough? Weāre in NJ - just across the river. Maybe thatās why. Sounds reasonable that American professionals would more often stay in Manhattan.
Apparently they never enforced the 24 hour rule. You would not believe the arguments I had with them by phone and email, to try and get them to give my side of the story. They heard it but it didnt make any difference. The woman invented an excuse that bypassed the 24 hour rule: she claimed that my site description was misleading and that it wasnt on the ground floor. The problem was that she read my OTHER ad for our six month sublet, which said garden floor through, the usual term for describing a ground level full apartment with a garden. Our B and B ad never used the term floor through. In fact the guest room is on ground level, right next to the garden. But the entrance to our apartment (we live in the lower two floors of the house) is about 3 steps down from the street, so it is BELOW ground level. Her other objection was that I failed to mention a short flight of circular stairs that go UP to the the guest room from the study. She said she had balance problemsā¦and waited three days to mention this. PS: her daughter lives around the corner in an old walk up tenement style building and she surely had to walk up many more narrow steep stairs than the few that go to the guest room. Anyway, months after our big fight someone got back to me and said they were re analyzing the problem, and then said they would not penalize or take future income from me. I think they got some bad publicity in a newspaper. They really need to get their act together. They are making money hand over fist from people renting entire apartments (illegal in NYC if under 30 days) or separate houses. People like us, retired in our 80s living on the premises are not big money makers for them. Those who own whole apartments and rent illegally by the night are making money hand over fist; some of these made $300,000 a year!!!
I simply ask what they do and the reason for their visit. Anyone who gives vague answers about loving to travel is to my mind a bit suspicious. Each request needs to be handled differently. When I get a photo of two lovely Germans who are coming for a holiday, thatās just fine. Or someone who says they are relocating to NY and need a temporary place until they find their own apartment actually sounds normal. Most of my requests give their profession without me asking; it is included in their reason for coming to NY. Aside from the one guy who wouldnt give me his bossā name because he was planning to quit his job (he stopped inquiring and I never contacted him again), I havent detected anything suspicious about any of my guests. My next guest needs temporary quarters and is moving into his own place in December. Then I have French and Spanish guests coming from abroad. No problem! The place you get weirdos is craigslist, which I used for years. Then the lists became long and disorganized (the weirdos I could spot a mile away).
OKā¦I do recall this nightmare guest. I am just disgusted with Air allowing guests to get refunds after they donāt mention a word until days later. Thanks for sharing.
Well, you canāt be in both NYC and NJ at the same time! We get about half and half domestic and foreign. We are in Brooklyn Heights, most desirable neighborhood in NYC, just across the Brooklyn Bridge. For most tourists being in Brooklyn is no problem because wherever you are in the city you have to take a subway! We have two subway lines within a few blocks of our house, the Bklyn Bridge is very close, and it is a very safe quiet area of historic homes.
It is one stop into Manhattan on either subway line. Nowadays it is easy to check out neighborhoods and even streets with google maps and tourist books always have Brooklyn Heights in them because it is a favorite area for tourists. When we used craigslist we got many Americans from out of state who were visiting children or new grandchildren, and whose children had no room to put them up. Those seem to have disappeared now, and we get professionals and foreign tourists.
Thanks for posting this. I had no idea and now I know why there has been such a drastic reduction to the inquiries and bookings Iāve had (despite being a host for almost 4 years and a super host for most of that). I have asked ABB over many months to check and see why this was happening but they denied there was any problem and suggested it might be the time of year (from November till now in Juneā¦) and would I like to try IB? Grrrrā¦
