Please let us know where they are moving to when you find out. As a host with just a small room attached to my home I’ve yet to find an adequate place to move to.
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Oh, I have no idea really. Maybe getting out of the STR business and finding long term tenants or switching to VRBO. I know Airbnb has been totally upended and have let go of 2000 employees - understandable. However, in my few experiences since Covid-19 hit, they haven’t been able manage the business they DO have, non-responsive to me as a host and one of my guests who tried to reach customer service and held for hours and never got assistance.
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What KKC is saying is that VRBO and other booking platforms do not allow private room or private suite listings- we don’t have those options. And many of us with private room listings went into the STR business because we did not want to do long term- we don’t want permanent roommates.
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Exactly. And while that’s how Airbnb started, that’s not the path to riches and we are now a small part of their model.
What I’ve longed for is a platform that goes back to their roots. What I’d really like is a platform for hosts with only one room. It could be attached or separate, a suite or just a room in a home. Shared spaces or not but one host, one listing and nothing larger than one bedroom. Very modest, very niche and perfect for me. A name like “OneRoom,” “ALittleRoom” “RoamerRoom” “JustEnoughRoom” that illustrated the room concept and which left no room (see what I did there) for anyone to argue we must offer breakfast because B n B stands for bed and breakfast.
Ah, dreams sustain me these days.
The reality is I may have to go to a roommate model to have an steady source of income at a lower risk. I have a friend with whom I’ve discussed a possiblity for her to live here part of the year and during the parts when she goes home to spend time with family (mostly in summer and the winter holidays) I could offer the room on Airbnb. Though it would be less income for me it could provide a good balance and I could travel while she’s here to watch my home and even sit dogs. But first she has to retire from teaching and that could be years yet.
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Yes, a platform like that would be delightful. I wouldn’t even be opposed to a host having more than one listing on such a site, as long as it was on their property- i.e maybe they rent out 2 or 3 bedrooms, but they are still very much doing home-sharing, they live there full time. Or hosts who have made a separate dwelling on their property to house guests- could be a tiny house, a tumble-down garage that they renovated, something like that. Or maybe the host has moved into a cabin on their property because their kids have grown up and moved on and they just don’t need that much space themselves, and rent out the big house instead. On-site hosts would be the criteria that would sit okay with me.
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The last guest I had before COVID hit was not only a lovely person and a great guest (who has used Airbnb as a guest a lot), she left a wonderful review, and her last line was the perfect quote that could be used to promote a site which only had on-site host listings.
"This Airbnb is the real deal: a real host, a real house share, a local experience. "
Airbnb has for too long put forth the notion that the vast majority of guests want a private place, self-check-in, instant book, never have to interact with the host, type experience. Maybe the majority do, I don’t know, but there are certainly lots who are looking for the kind of thing Airbnb used to be known for.
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I’m not sure if it’s new or not because I’ve just started poking around on VRBO, but there are lots of listings on there just like yours (separate entrance, coffee pot and microwave but no kitchen). I’ve also run across “private room/private bath” and “spacious master bedroom” listings. I’m not suggesting that you “move” or anything but I was under the impression that it wasn’t an option for some reason. ?
I believe a majority want privacy. This is based on my experience of having done it both ways and I easily doubled the number of bookings I had comparing similar situations. For example I doubled my summer of 2016 and 2017 bookings compared to 2014 and 2015. Did Airbnb also grow during that time? Of course, but doubling in one year with no change other than private entrance and ensuite bathroom convinced me.
I’ll look into putting my room on VRBO when I re-open based on Airbnb’s dismal treatment of hosts. But the #1 reason I wasn’t on another platform was I didn’t need to be. I was booked as much as I wanted to be. I’ve been aware that BDC and VRBO and others allowed listings like mine. What I’m picturing is shutting down Airbnb and listing on another platform and getting booked 85% of available nights. I don’t think anyone compares to Airbnb for my kind of listing. But I had no reason to test the hypothesis.
Oh, ok. It seems like there’s an idea that there’s only Airbnb floating around. I have noticed a few folks in my area who were previously listed as a “private room” listing with kitchen accesss, etc are now on VRBO as a “studio” with private bathroom (and no kitchen access anymore). That seems like a way that some private room hosts could go (they have added a coffee maker in the room now as well).
I don’t have anything to compare it to. My guest room has always had a private entrance and private bathroom- the only thing guests share with me is the kitchen and outside dining area. And quite a few of my guests haven’t really cooked- they eat out and may only avail themselves of the fridge to store some cold drinks. And the kitchen is accessable without having to walk through any hallways, my living room, etc, it opens directly off the outside terrace.
I have definitely had guests tell me that they have no issue with a private room in a host’s home, but that having a private bathroom is crucial to them when looking at listings. This seems to especially hold true for middle-aged and older folks.
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It looks like you could add a coffee maker to the room and be able to list on VRBO as a studio, from what I can tell. Some “private room” hosts in my area have done just that. fwiw.
I haven’t considered it because there really isn’t anywhere to put it, and I wouldn’t want guests to have milk or sugar up there- it would attract a trail of ants, cockroaches, etc, where I live, if they didn’t clean it up well right away. And there’s definitely no space for a mini-fridge, even. I’ve looked at the space on the balcony outside their room, where I could create a very mini-kitchenette, but it would take major renos I don’t have the money for and I’d have to jackhammer out the walls and floor to get any plumbing out there for a little sink.
And I do get guests who love to cook and make good use of my kitchen.