Am I just very lucky?

Hello all!
I really appreciate the many posts here and I really respect the community and its many users who help out fellow hosts in all kinds of weird, horrifying, funny, appalling, crazy, shocking and the occasional postive situation(s).

I must admit that I consider myself lucky when I browse the topics here, 'cause I haven’t really had that many bad guests or situations in my time renting out to 200 ppl or so. Only 3 somewhat bad ones.

I, as many others, depend on the earnings in order for me to live my life the way I do, and it just struck me that I’m probably lucky I haven’t had any major issues during my tenure as a host.
I get that posts in here are nearly de facto about problems or troubling issues where hosts can get advice in tricky situations, so of course the “bad” ones a dominantly described here but I just realized that after all the hard work and sometimes stressful times hosting, I’m really appreciative and thankful and perhaps I’ve been very lucky with the types of guests coming in?

well, people only write about their disasters, the every day triumphs are not always worth putting on a forum.

Having said that how lucky you are, you’ve gone and tempted fate, by announcing your lack of calamity - stand by for Mr and Mrs Dreadful of Ohio!

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HAHAHA @Barns Can’t wait! :lying_face:

I did actually have a couple from Ohio and as I always (used to) do with Americans on this continent, I made an apathetic joke about Trump that resulted in a 3* review!
They did, however, leave the place tidy, clean and in stellar condition and they were really nice although not the typical “libtard” traveling to the socialistic Kingdom of Denmark :joy:

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You’re right @Barns . I’ve only had one guest in several hundred that was a complete disaster.

So in answer to your question @Christian I don’t think you are ‘lucky’ or unusual. The vast majority of hosts are just like you.

It tends to be newbies who don’t bother to read up on how Airbnb before letting their listings go live who encounter most problems. Or hosts who host remotely but don’t use CCTV and/or local co-hosts to manage things on the ground. There are of course experienced hosts on here who do everything the right way and still have nightmare guests.

Glad to hear things are going so well for you. Long may it continue :slight_smile:

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have a drink on me, :japanese_goblin:

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I think your experience as a host in Europe could be drastically different from host in America. Around 50 guest for me and I’ve had some weird ones mostly other Americans. I prefers European guest, they always bring wine and chocolate, insanely nice as well. I’m just grateful to not have had my home trashed, so I feel lucky as well

I need another trip to Europe

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Back in the day when I could afford it a sailing trip on the Med was my idea of heaven. Corsica. Croatia. Greece. Them were the days.

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Is libtard a Scandi name for a neo liberal? If so I like it, also has a suggestion of retard lol.

Mostly guests are great but then they’re getting a good deal. A teeny tiny percentage are nasty. However there’s also a fair handful of clueless nuisances. In fact I just got a call from Airbnb to say they were paying for a new keyring for me. The idiot guest not only managed to walk off with my keys, but also detached the keyring and ‘lost’ it, wouldn’t communicate either. Obviously thought she knew better with my property. Makes me smile to think Airbnb are billing her. Worryingly she’s a shrink, hope she doesn’t get any secure patients.

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I have also been “lucky” as you say. I’m now close to 500 guests, no truly bad ones. I’ve had ones I prefer not to have again, ones who left some stains, ones who showed up early or checked out late, in other words, average guests. As has been pointed out, good guests aren’t worthy of posting about.

I also think I’m really lucky to have the set up that I do. When I bought this house in 1990 I didn’t think “I need a house close to the major highway, with the guest room in the front of the house so I can add a private entrance later. Oh and a modest neighborhood without snooty neighbors who will object to Airbnb.”

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Libtard is an insult widely beloved in the US by the right wing. It is in fact a amalgam of liberal and retard. Some of us find the word retard to be highly offensive when used as an insult. It’s like the equivalent of the N word except demeaning to people with developmental disabilities. Blame my years as an educator together with my own politcally correct (read: one trying to value kindness and respect over “truth saying”) sensiblities together with knowing families with children with such disablities for my distate for the R word.

Did she agree to pay for it? If so, they are billing her. If not they are paying for it.

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They just said they were collecting the money from her, does that mean she agreed? Anyway whole scenario was ridiculous and a waste of everyone’s time.

Retard - yes when I was at school the insult of choice was spastic, very unpleasant, for a lack of generosity jewbag. It’s unthinkable anyone would use those now. I don’t seriously like the word retard, I never let my boys say it, but would be interested in a Trumpite insult perhaps.

Oh no, the term libtard is meant as an insult from the Trumpsters. All who is a bit educated and/or left leaning can be deemed as such by conservatives in the US.

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Luck is also partly a function of prior screening, at least for me. If people are difficult or argumentative or demanding before they arrive, it’s a red flag, as we all have discussed a million times.

It’s funny how the good guests kind of run together in my memory as somewhat unmemorable! The bad ones? Of course I remember those!

I learned a good lesson not too long ago when I had a couple arrive who seemed. . .REALLY unhappy. I wondered if maybe it was something about the property, and after a couple of unsettling encounters with them, I finally just came out and said, “Is everything okay with the cottage? I am concerned that maybe you’re not having a good time.” They opened up – it was the one year anniversary of their son’s death in a car accident, and they wanted to be somewhere other than home when the day arrived. Savannah was/is a place of happy memories with him. Here I was thinking it was a “disaster” in the making because they were so miserable, but it turned out they were grateful for a pretty and peaceful place to be, and just not in a good place emotionally. Lesson learned, sometimes it’s the circumstances, and as hosts we can be of help just by letting them be. Had a glass of wine with them the last night, and they were fine – relieved to have the day behind them.

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Retard (short for retarded) is also used as a demeaning word against people with learning disabilities in the UK so not something most of us would use, even in ‘jest’.

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There is a lot to be said for communication. How many posts do we see where the host is posting here and asking us instead of talking to the guest…as if they were actually hosting a fellow human.

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Oh wow, glad you reached out to them and hopefully made a wretched day at least bearable. How dreadful that must have been for them.

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dont worry you are not alone - over 4000 people stayed with me over 8 years and only had 4 people that I would call terrible - airbnb is an exercise in trust, faith and people wanting to please - both ways -

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Wow. How many rooms to you rent out?