Alternative hosting sites like homeaway

Have you guys started to use any other services for hosting ? Such as homeaway or hometogo and if so can you co-ordinate or merge your calendars somehow ?

Ive had x4 bad guests in a row and no support from airbnb from a problem guest, I am starting to look at other options what is your experience with other services ?

I have a private room and understand vrbo is NOT an option…

Thanks

Homeaway IS VBRO…not aware of any other sites that offer private rooms

Sorry you have had four problem guests in a row. What sort of issues did you have and what help were you looking for from Airbnb that they didn’t provide?

In answer to your question it depends on where you are located and the type of property you have @hosterposter

Easiest way to find out is just to google your type of place and see which companies come up i’e. ‘Home share boats in Amsterdam‘.

Hey Helsi,

Im in a metropolitan city. It will take me all night to type out the details but to answer your question in brief each of the four guests I had were either upto no good, either scamming or trying to use house for a party were disrespectful broke the house rules damaged items or were attempting to scam me and airbnb by exploiting the weakness inherent in the platform and one had ID verification issues. I’ve read other posts of unverified guests being an issue for some guests atm, the point being things have changed with covid and the type of guests requesting accommodation.

I am now checking ID at the door, raising my nightly rate and tightening my house rules.

I found airbnb customer service to be inadequate in dealing with suspected fraudulent guest with verification issues, I tried warning them so other hosts did not have to have the same issues that I did and found they couldnt care less. Its just about the $$$ for them. Once I started researching I found I was not the only host that encountered these issues and felt airbnb did not have our back. airbnb own community notice board is rife with massively pissed hosts who have been let down. You cant please everyone, and its not all but there is an issue here of hosts not getting support from airbnb whether through choice or incompetence. There is a ground swell of discontent.

Im looking to other platforms that will back the host in the event things take a turn for the worse…

I know which other platforms are available in my area but just wondered if any other hosts are using them and how they merge their calendars. thanks again for your reply.

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is it ? maybe its a subsidiary as you can list a private room with them (homeaway) whereas vrbo you cannot.

Sorry to hear about your problem guests. Unbelievable that your guests would attempt to have a party in a shared home situation @hosterposter :frowning:

In terms of ID I only accept guests who have photo ID and a clear photo of themselves. I also vet all guests before accepting a booking to ensure they are a good fit for my listing. If a guest doesn’t meet your ID requirements you don’t have to accept the booking.

I haven’t found any difference in guests post Covid then I have before.

Fortunately for me I have been hosting for five years and have not had any problem guests (apart from my very first guest) or guest damage with hundreds of guests. I haven’t had to contact Airbnb since way before Covid so can’t comment on their current customer services but understand that for those who have there are many issues with trying to get through to them and have their issues resolved.

As I have mentioned before forums do tend to attract hosts who have problems with bookings.

What sort of platforms are you using for home-share?

I’ve got a pretty thick skin and i know things happen sometimes with people that are younger and those that were never taught respect by their parents. Im vry tolerant as I know most people are good.

But this was different like you I only accept verified ID with photo but the person who turned up at my house was not the person on the ID. It was late and was a woman who booked at the last minute so I made a judgement call and showed them to their room , it was a mistake that I learnt from. What really got me was when I informed airbnb they could not care less, because the ID was verified on their end it didnt matter me telling them it wasnt the same person because the computer said it was verified.

I also found out there is no way to report a guest on the website, all the report user tabs are designed via pull down menus to report hosts! Its unbelievable !!
I asked 8 times how to report guest fraud and finally they put me through to resolutions as they didnt know or have the facility to report guests.

I’ve been hosting for many years and never had any real problems a few guests that broke the rules broke a few things but no major issues.

In the cities with the current covid situation there are alot of people drifting around and at a loose end, Ive also noticed an increase in bogus requests, from Russia for example, my boss is send ing me to your city for business and I need blah blah kind of email that then asks you to discuss on another app or something. Other hosts also reporting this uptick in attempted fraud.

Be careful out there!

I am going to try homeaway and hometogo I think and see how it works out. Hopefully they will support the hosts and realise they dont have a business without us opening up our homes to guests.

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Oh dear, you are more tolerant than me. If someone turned up who was not the person on the booking, I wouldn’t have let them check in, no matter how late it was.

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I recently stayed at one of the big chain hotels, ended up showing ID 3 times, always amazes me that many people do not require it. No ID and I would not have been staying. They also ran my card to make sure they had a means of charging me for any extras, damages, missing items.

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yes I’ve just been checking out booking.com what is interesting is their are no verification checks whatsoever. I made a request for phone email and address, then I made a booking myself with fake info and it went straight through. Bookings. com Absolutely totally unchecked guest and totally unaccountable. Its only a matter of time before there are some serious implications because of this. Just as bad as airbnb.

You cannot vet your guests on booking.con

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Yep, thats a problem.