Air BnB Management for my whole house? (vs traditional letting) UK

Hi, I’m also in Bristol and I’ve been letting out 3 rooms of a 4 bed house on airbnb since August. 12% does sound very cheap as I spend about 20 hours per week cleaning, changing sheets, showing guests around etc. I’d say that was a good deal if they know what they’re doing and you can trust them to disclose the real money they’re making (is this 12% of the gross income? You’ll be liable tax wise for the gross income which is the total of what they’re making including the cleaning fee plus airbnb’s cut from the host). Owing to my location close to a lot of major businesses and with a shortage of hotels I make more than I would for letting out the whole house but it’s a lot more work and hassle. There are also quiet periods some months. If you want to come up to Filton to discuss the details over a cuppa then feel free, the kettle is always on.
Dylan

Does each room has a bathroom or is it a common bathroom?

Regarding whether you should let out individual rooms or the whole house, I’d have thought that you would leave that decision to the management company as they would be trying to maximise their income rather than having to worry about the decision yourself.
There is definitely a lot of demand currently in Bristol but this could tail off at any time due to increased competition, I see more new properties listed on airbnb and prices dropping all the time. The conventional rental market is more stable but I believe you’ll earn more from airbnb at least in the short term.

It’s a lot more risky though, say for instance airbnb decide to close down the accounts for this management company (which they have been known to do without having to specify a reason). You are then down to making no money at all unless they have other sites they market it through.

There are companies offering airbnb insurance but they’re hard to find

Hi @etmpaar

Good to see a fellow Bristolian here.

Glad to hear that you have a good market in Filton.

Hi Helsi, :wave:
I didn’t realise there were Brizzle locals on here. There is definitely the demand in Bristol but managing to keep high up in the airbnb search rankings seems beyond me (even as an instant book superhost with mainly 5 star reviews). Some months I’m up there, other months I’m on page 24 :rage:

That’s super strange. That only seems to happen to me if I have lots of dates blocked out.

Maybe that 6 week holiday to Cambodia back in February wasn’t such a good idea, I’ve been struggling ever since even though my calendar has mostly been wide open from mid March. I had no bookings for the first 12 days. I probably need a management company looking after things :slight_smile:

A six week holiday in Cambodia sounds amazing but could be responsible for the drop in your listing. Feel free to send me a PM if you like with a link to your listing and I’d be happy to have a look and see if there is anything I suggest?

I’ve been really busy for the last couple of months but I have one room in my shared home and am in Easton so a bit closer in.

Do you manage your place remotely or do you share your space?

I’ve noticed in the last year the market has got quite saturated.

One thing to mention in December the same thing happened to me and I had to get onto Airbnb and really push for some help. At first they said nothing was wrong and then admitted there was a technical glitch. It took them six weeks to resolve !!!

It’s my home so I live there (if I get a guest I don’t especially like I can go and stay at my girlfriend’s place but so far all of the guests have been lovely). In December my bookings dried up but I’m guessing that was because everybody goes back to stay with their families over Christmas. It picked up in January and was fine until the holiday. I’m hoping that my guesswork that Bristol is busier in the summer will prove to be true. I’m interested in how you knew there was a problem, I will PM you the details and see if you can spot something.

Ms. Negative here :slight_smile:
But if she couldn’t make a meeting with a prospective client then she is hardly doing a good job in demonstrating the company’s commitment in the event of guests having a loud party in the middle of the night.

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I couldn’t agree more @jaquo if she can’t make a meeting with a prospective client which could generate new business for her, what care would the company take in responding to emergencies with your guests or managing check in and check out.

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Hi @etmpaar

Because my bookings views and bookings dried up completely and I wasn’t coming up in the listings search at all or way down in the listings.

Well dot be fair to her, I cancelled on our first meeting as I was ill, but she was helpful on the phone. She proposed two days later but I was going back to Devon, so she said she would move some meetings around so we could meet. Then she got back to me last minute and said she wasnt able to .

It was a bit annoying, but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt for this one!

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Hi @Helsi,

I myself have 4 properties, but they are not individual rooms in one house. Although I have friends that do rent out house and rooms separately. As far as I know some of their tenants are indeed cautious to rent a house with some strangers. But, hey, people sometimes even ready to rent a mattress. So, the clients are always there. You’ve gotta be careful with the guests though, need to screen them first.

It is very possible to have two identical houses with one being fully booked and the other having no bookings.
I always explain to people, Airbnb is not like ordinary rental, and much of the success of a listing goes beyond just the location and type of house but so much more:
Quality of pictures and staging, pricing intelligence, marketing outside of Airbnb, quality of the guest experience and likelihood of repeat guests, sensitivity to seasonal changes, investment, host personality and guest interaction, how long they have been at it (yes sometimes those that have been in the game longer have had time to build networks that feed into their business), etc.
So yes, in our market I’ve seen identical listings in the same area with one doing roaring business, and the other not.
There’s so much more to hosting then simply putting up the listing! When people don’t realize this, they are often disappointed at the results.

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That said,
The listing you posted looks inactive having been last updated a year ago.
The calendar dates have been blocked out by the host not by guest stays.
Some people also only host while away on holiday.
So not, that’s not a 100% occupancy listing!

2 of the rooms have their own en-suites, the third is a common bathroom, plus there is a downstairs toilet to clean too.