3 misconceptions about hosting I learned this summer

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I started our AIr BNB “business” early December last year. We were total newbies to Air Bnb, but not to hospitality, as we had run and owned resorts in the South Pacific for over 10 years.

I have found mostly the opposite in our experience. We have flat out 5 star reviews. And it’s because of the little things, not in spite of them. We have turned our upstairs into totally Air BnB space. Downstairs the living room and dining room are for our guests. We essentially live in an office converted to our bedroom, a small sitting room and our large kitchen (which is off limits to guests).

We greet each guests with a warm smile, a handshake, we wait for them at the door to arrive and help them with luggage if they need it. We give them a bit of a briefing about the house, breakfast and then walk them upstairs to their room. There is homemade soap in the bathroom, and homemade cookies and water bottles in their bedroom, which always has a warm comforter at the foot of the bed and a fluffy throw on the windowseat.

Breakfast is yummy, and there’s a basket of flyers on local sites. We have a list of recommendations for lunch and dinner, and we are onhand to serve breakfast, show them on a tour of the farm, recommend the best hikes or sightseeing within a short drive from the house. But at the same time, we are aware of those who want to be left to their own devices - to wander the grounds, hang out in the gazebo or just chill in their rooms.

To us (and again, we’re experienced in hospitality - it’s been our “business” for over 20 years) you have to have that spidey sense of what the guests want. If they want to sit and chat, or have you guide them through the farm, that’s what they get. If they want to be together by themselves, then that’s what we provide - peace and serenity and alone time, but if they need something, they know where to find us.

It IS a business. And like any business, it’s the special things that people remember. That’s our experience. A nice room is a nice room. But so is a nice hotel room. it’s the welcome when you arrive, the hug when you leave, that sometimes makes the difference between Motel 6 and a great Air Bnb experience.

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154

Sure, I’ve mentioned it quite a few times here already.

IB with the following conditions;

Verified Photo Id
Clear photo of themselves
Completed profile
Nominated check in time
Reason for their stay
Details of any party staying
Reason for choosing my place

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@summerfun
You got it! I have been recommending this for years…raise your prices and people will treat your place with more respect. And the more you give, the more you get is so true.

As guests are guests, I treat them as if they were in my own house…coffee, many teas, wine, beer, sodas, fruit, and a number of different snacks…rolls, popcorn, oatmeal I always ask if people have any food issues …lactose, gluten intolerance, vegan. There is probably $35 of stuff for them to enjoy. The joke is not one guest in 4 takes advantage of this beyond a couple of beers and an energy bar or two and it all lasts or I can eat what is left. The medicine cabinet is full of stuff they may have forgotten and again, after 80 guests, 2 toothbrushes, one sample size nail polish remover and a few feminine products have been used.

My place is about 25% more than nearby strs…which are new condos with a lot of granite or studio apartments. Airbnb frequently chides me saying I am more expensive but then relling me I have 18% higher occupancy. I shoot for 3 or 4 days minimum otherwise all my wkends would be full with nothing during the week. This is serving me very well

STR is a job and a business…here I have to be licensed including a state business license and there are taxes I pay monthly. To the IRS it is reported as rental income. Iwish I had a boss doing all the tax work, but no, this is my little business i. Addition to my full time retail shop and a couple of LTR’s.

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What a wonderful, sensible message.

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After hosting 70 couples this year my experience is almost the opposite:
(I have IB and accept almost everybody)

  1. People with no pictures and no reviews where the best guests
  2. Many people with 5-7 5-star reviews were so-so
  3. People who asked questions that were answered in the listing description were the worst
  4. The longer people stay the better their feedback. I have 3 nights minimum stay. A few times I changed it to 2 nights to fill in the gaps in the calendar during the busy August. Those were the the messiest guests
  5. Most people who messaged me how great the stay was never left reviews ( I never asked for any reviews)
  6. Some people specifically mentioned that they “would leave a positive review” left 4-star reviews with not very positive comments. I really don’t know why people did this. They also left quite messy rooms
  7. I never ask about guests’ plans. I think privacy & safety are super important in hosting
  8. My best, cleanest, and nicest guests are almost all Europeans (80% of my guests), French Canadians, and Australians…

Now my standard operating ptrocedure includes:

  1. No stays less than 3 nights
  2. Reject all “non-readers”, those who ask obvious questions
  3. Reject all last minute bookings (I have 2 day advance reservation) but somehow people managed to book me 1 day in advance without my permission
  4. Read AirReview if the guests have 10+ reviews
  5. I totally ignore (It’s almost never what they think) what people say about the stay and the property
  6. I’m very careful with travelling hosts. (They can hurt you big time)
  7. Always check out profile of the second person traveling. (This way I discovered an unhappy host who left negative reviews everywhere he was staying. It was very stupid of me not to cancel that stay. And I paid the price. I have got my first 3-star review …yeeeey :slight_smile:)

LESS IS MORE thing truly works for me in many aspects of hosting

I’m still superhost but 200% certain that I will loose it sooner or later

Cheers to everybody and happy hosting :slight_smile:

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Wow that’s told me then @summerfun hasn’t it :slight_smile:

Of course your experience is different; I host in my own home; you host remotely, so some of the criteria I put in place to ensure there is a good fit aren’t relevant for you. I really enjoy hosting for the most part the people I meet and sharing my home.

From your initial post you see kindness in hosting as a weakness, you struggled to get reviews
You “cut all non-essential (above and beyond) stuff, implemented strict check-in, check-out policy, and have 2poker/cold face – no smiles, no jokes, no emotions, no nothing)”. And don’t enjoy communication with your guests.

I don’t think less is more. I think the small things count. I think a smile and kindness from a host goes a long way to making hosting a happy experience for both the host and the guest.

It doesn’t matter whether people have different experiences of hosting. There isn’t a right or wrong answer here. But it is sad that after a relatively short hosting experience you have felt the need to take such a regimented approach.

I do hope things improve for you.

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I didn’t know you host in your own home. I can’t imagine doing that. It’s a totally different ball game.
I stayed with people who host in their own homes in different parts of the world. Of course I learned a lot about them and the countries through those stays. Although, quite frankly, I didnt find it super fun experience neither for them nor for me. Even though I’m very clean, courteous, and polite. ( I can’t say I’m very nice though).
I found those people had infinite patience. It’s extremely tough, in my view. Those hosts deserve to be superhosts by definition. Quite a few of them I would gladly host for free today.

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Thank you, I was beginning to think I was doing it all wrong until I saw your post!

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Wtf that’s really out there. I mean offering all that stuff on Airbnb price tips?! And what if the door isn’t being opened because the guest is an hour early, or hasn’t communicated at all? Sounds like comment from someone who has never hosted.

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Your experience is different than mine as to age.

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Please don’t be offended with “age” thing.

I do rooms with shared bathroom. For most younger folks it’s non-issue. For older guests it’s an issue. Yet, they book anyways because of the amenities and price (which is lower than “entire place”) and then complain in reviews about the shared bathroom. Doing entire place makes zero financial sense to me. I would loose half of my revenue.

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My experience? Sorry, I’m not understanding this comment. I didn’t say anything about what I thought about guests ages, just about my own, LOL

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Nah, I’m not offended. I was mostly joking because I’m (well over) 30. Everyone’s experiences with guests are different because of all of our different circumstances. No one should be upset and reflect it in reviews b/c of shared bathroom when they know what they are getting into! Sheesh.

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Two way in this case might be impossible. I traveled for 7 weeks in Europe and I made one host in Krakov very angry by being late by half hour. I told her we are arriving by train and will be at the property as soon as UBER bring us there. Not sure if she read it or not, but if it was me and I knew that my house is only 5 minutes.walk from train station I would definitely mentioned it. We were waiting for Uber for half hour . What can we do in this circumstances?. She kept texting me complaining she will be late for her next guest at other property.
Some of my guests can’t find me, some planes arrive late and my foreign guests have no internet and no local service to even send me message. For these cases I installed key pad and they can self checking. But if I want to meet them in person I must be there on time.

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I think it’s all about communication. Usually guests know well in advance they’re going to be late. For example they get on a later train, or the traffic is so bad their sat nav tells them they will be 2 hours late. However I find guests often don’t tell me until the time they should be checking in! Too bloody late then, I’ve already rearranged my day and wasted my time waiting, when they could have told me not to wait.

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The whole check-in time is a huge issue for me as an AirBnB user, and why hotels are frequently more attractive. If you are travelling in an area you are not familiar with (as most tourists are), it’s almost impossible to be there exactly at check-in time. Planes are late, trains are late, traffic is horrible (or light - and heaven forbid you show up an hour early because there wasn’t any traffic!)

Self check-in for me! I don’t want the pressure of worrying about a bad review because we are late for check-in due to a massive traffic jam that I can’t control, or pissing off Jess1 because I don’t have a satnav telling me about traffic.

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There are so many Airbnb’s with self check in. Even the ones I’ve stayed in that are rooms in someone’s house have been very flexible. Granted, I’ve not used Airbnb overseas where I might have trouble with phone service/data usage.

In NYC this summer we waited several times for a Lyft, up to 20 minutes. Then there was the guy who picked up our ride and then called and cancelled 10 mintues later, then we had an additional wait.

I’m willing to pay more whether it’s a hotel or a self check in Airbnb to not have to worry about the host’s needs, I’m doing well if I can take care of my own needs.

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With or without a sat nav people know they’re going to be 2 hours late. All I am saying is: spend 20 seconds texting to save me 2 hours.
Yes travelling can be tricky. I have had success with guests doing a hotel or backpackers for the first night, especially for late flights.
Then again as I keep saying as a budget listing I am not paid enough to wait hours or lose sleep. If I were paid more I might feel differently.

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Mine too. Especially when I am abroad. Sometimes I am in country where noone speaks any of the languages I know.
Not only this issue that make hotels more attractive. I met quite a few unpleasant hosts this time . Times changed. Hosts in past were much more relaxed and to be honest much nicer than now. I am sure there is a reason for it but after my experience this time I went over my budget and stayed a lot in hotels.

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And the reason is: hard cold cash $$$ - I am sure for most of those hosts, Yana, it is purely a business. Nothing more.
The thing they are missing is that they are in the hospitality business.

On a recent trip I looked at the Airbnb’s in that area and in the end decided against staying at an Airbnb. We were not sure about when we even get there, rooms were tiny, check in times silly and hotels cheaper incl breakfast and plenty avaible …

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