Alternatives to Airbnb2

[Chris]

@Annet3176

Actually probably flip the computer screen the bird as they skip on by.

Guess what I am doing while typing left handed.

[JohnF]

@Debthecat

Getting pressure from b.com to become a genius member

According to their blurb Genius members cancel less and book more often.

After running with it in one apartment for six months we found, in our case, that not to be the case. I removed it from the program and haven’t noticed any difference in bookings or cancellations.

@cabinhost until recently BDC did not charge for processing payments. From the 1st June there will be a charge of 1.1%.

If I use Stripe etc, the minimum charge is 1.4% plus €0.25 rising to 2.9% for non-EU cards.

JF

[Chris]

@JohnF

Your maths, from our perspective, doesn’t appear to make sense. We get charged less by BDC than by independent payment processors, so makes total financial sense to carry on allowing them to process the payments - even after allowing for any interest gained on the funds.

It really depends on your finances.
I know lots of hosting businesses that use the advanced payment for investments.

When you are a small hosts with 1 room the difference is not that big.
But if you are larger, the difference quickly starts paying off.

Also it helps you trough the slow seasons.
This year, because of Easter being this late, May is almost dead, but we still manage to keep the cash flow positive due to the summer down payments coming in.

If BDC would process the bookings for us, this would be a negative cashflow.

[JohnF]

@Chris

@JohnF

Your maths, from our perspective, doesn’t appear to make sense. We get charged less by BDC than by independent payment processors, so makes total financial sense to carry on allowing them to process the payments - even after allowing for any interest gained on the funds.

It really depends on your finances.
I know lots of hosting businesses that use the advanced payment for investments.

When you are a small hosts with 1 room the difference is not that big.
But if you are larger, the difference quickly starts paying off.

Also it helps you trough the slow seasons.
This year, because of Easter being this late, May is almost dead, but we still manage to keep the cash flow positive due to the summer down payments coming in.

If BDC would process the bookings for us, this would be a negative cashflow.

Why is why I said “from our perspective”.

Our booking window is generally four to six weeks ahead, advance bookings several months ahead only occur for specific events in the area, it is not the norm. I’m not happy that BDC have introduced this charge, but as they are not our major provider I’m happy to suck it up and accept it as just part of the deal with them.

JF

[Flettie]

… but the upside is they pay you out every week so not all bad

[Joan]

@mypictonhouse

They make the booking request and then they message me and say that actually there are two of them.

I’ve recently had two of these. Before either declining or accepting, I sent messages asking them to book for the correct number of people. One did immediately, the other ignored me, so I asked Air to contact them. I thought they might cancel (and hoped…) but they coughed up for the extra person as soon as Air asked them to. They were also good guests. I suspect they hadn’t read the message.

[KKC]

@Joan

, I sent messages asking them to book for the correct number of people.

I got so fed up with doing this I just raised my price and removed the second person fee. I’d rather have kept the small second person fee but the ones who mis-book ruin it for everyone.

[Harbour]

Same. I wanted to give single travellers a break, but it backfired too many times, so this year there’s one rate.

[Flyboy]

@Brian_R170

Extenuating Circumstances

Also known as free host travel insurance

[Joan]

@KKC

ave kept the small second person fee but the ones who mis-book ruin it for everyone.

One of my in-house suites is 2 bedrooms/en suite Jack&Jill bathroom, for 2-4 people. If I had a set price for the whole suite, I’d lose out when 2 people book, then use both rooms, i.e. one each.

My Wheelhouse pricing collapsed recently, with a flurry of sudden bookings that left me subsidising five nights.

[Flyboy]

@Chris

15% is still lower than the 23% AirBnB charges.

I switched my AirBnB fees from the 3% to the 14% host fees yesterday (I increased my rates to compensate).
When doing a search in a private browser, I noticed it dropped my rates compared to the competition, and it moved me a lot higher in the search ranking.

Not a bad idea. I might try the same thing. But doesn’t airs fees to guests vary?

[Flyboy]

@Helsi

I think it’s rather dangerous to be over reliant on a single provider for STR, and more widely to be dependant on STRs as the main source of your income.

No less dangerous than working for a company who one day makes you redundant

[JohnF]

@Flyboy

@Chris

15% is still lower than the 23% AirBnB charges.

I switched my AirBnB fees from the 3% to the 14% host fees yesterday (I increased my rates to compensate).
When doing a search in a private browser, I noticed it dropped my rates compared to the competition, and it moved me a lot higher in the search ranking.

Not a bad idea. I might try the same thing. But doesn’t airs fees to guests vary?

Yep, anything from 12% through to 16% depending on the nightly rate charged. It appears the lower the rate, the higher the service charge.

JF

[Helsi]

Ah but you are talking about chalk and cheese @Flyboy

In the UK anyway if someone wants to make you redundant they have to go through a legal process, explain why the role is redundant, give you notice, pay you compensation.

Airbnb can close down your account with no notice or reason given leaving you high and dry.

[Flyboy]

Coming from someone who has been made redundant twice, it still felt like getting Shit on. I’d prefer airbnb TBH. At least they don’t make out you are safe.

[Flyboy]

Although they do repeatedly say we are all a big happy family Vomit!

[Joan]

@Helsi

to go through a legal process, explain why the role is redundant, give you notice, pay you compensation.

I recently heard from a friend working at a big boy bank in Canary Wharf. The fire alarms sounded and the building evacuated. About 100 employees were unable to re-enter the building; their security access passes had been cancelled during the “fire drill”. Redundancy pay, yes; gardening leave in lieu of notice, yes. Proper consultation on redundancy, no. Unfair/constructive dismissal claims? Prohibitive, given the now cost of going to an employment Tribunal. Employer regard for employee well being? No.

[Helsi]

Wow how awful @Joan . I have heard those London city firms appear to be a law onto themselves.

Never heard of the fire drill routine. They normally just change the passes at the end of the day.

[LoneStar]

@Don_Burns

Two months ago, I also registered my rental space on FlipKey,

How is this going? I’m looking at them right now.

[JohnF]

Tried it for a bit, got (a few) views but nothing concrete. They use the same review system as Tripadvisor, and actively encourage you to solicit reviews from past guests, who may already have reviewed you on other platforms.

It looks like they are moving the brand over to “Tripadvisor Rentals”, although that may simply be a European marketing thing.

The backend is nowhere as sophisticated as BDC or ABB, and given that we’re doing quite nicely just from those two platforms I put both listings offline for now. I also couldn’t be bothered, at the time, bugging past guests for reviews. I get the impression it’s no different to other OTA’s in that reviews get you bookings, or at least enquiries.

JF