Covered by what? We all need to have our own STR insurance you cannot rely on Airbnb
RR
Why do you need a system?
Some kind of calendar is enough.
In the old days everything went by mail, telephone and bookings were kept in huge paper agendaās.
Now you make an excel sheet and send them an email.
Trust is not an issue, the risk of being scammed is even greater using an OTA than when booking direct.
Also a waste of time for someone like me who just doesnāt like wine. Although I guess I would sort of feel bad leaving it there so Iād take it to regift.
this is awesome! but just wondering how you would send guests the linkā¦wouldnāt airbnb obscure the email address?
Only after you accept the booking request through ABB and booking is confirmed, are you able to ask the guest to provide you an email, or you can message them your email and ask them to email you directly.
The blocking of emails is before you have accepted the booking request. Keep in mind though that if you are only asking for their email in order to share other booking options with them after they leave, then itās probably best to just text the info with a link to your Houfy listing.
Many ABB hosts automatically ask for the guest email address in order to send a rental agreement, other info in attachments, ask for a copy of their ID, etc. Itās just simpler for many to send those items outside of ABB.
I purchased business cards and leave them in the rentals. Hopefully repeat guests will contact me directly. it is more of a savings to them then me. So they should be more motivated to book direct.
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Iāve just ordered two sided business cards for my dog boarding business. The deluxe side has my name, address and all my contact info and website for the dog business. The other side in plain text says āwe board humans tooā with my Airbnb listing. So a clever Airbnb guest might take one and contact me directly. If I prefer not to book direct with that particular guest I can certainly still direct them to Airbnb if I choose. Iām also hoping to spread word of my Airbnb via my dog guests. So far my cross pollination of the two businesses has been limited but I donāt see any reason why I canāt increase it.
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I have gained dog clients through Airbnb but no Airbnb guests through dog clients. I suppose it is possible to get the latter but most of my dog clients have me care for their dogs so they can go away. I suppose though for the word of mouth to their friends of someone they already know and trust (I conduct full service Meet & Greets with all my dog clients so have already spent at least an hour of quality time where they trusted me to care for their pets) so maybe that cross pollination could work. Thanx for your business card suggestion.
Before trying to think about saving a few Ā£Ā£ ($$) booking outside Airbnb, consider the value that each returning guest adds to your reviews.
- These are guests that know your property and how it works
- They are likely to be the ones that boost your business with word of mouth
- They are likely to give you another 5-star review
In my opinion, a good reviews far outweigh the few pounds you get from booking outside Airbnb.
If I have guests that give 5-Stars previously I am prepared to reward them by paying the booking fee.
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If you are listed on a āfeeā free site such as Houfy, your guest can leave you a review there.
Booking the guest outside of an OTA is not really saving the owner much money if they accept credit cards. Itās saving the guest money. If the guest is going to save $25 or maybe $500 extra by booking directly, isnāt that rewarding the guest with money they could spend on their vacation, etc.? Not quite following what you mean by being prepared to reward the guest by paying the booking fee. Booking them directly is a win-win for both.
The only downside to that is for the guest not having the option of calling in sick on the booking last minute. But the upside for you is not being at the mercy of losing income due to a guestās personal issues.
You mentioned that the repeat guest is likely to boost your business by word of mouth. So why not have them spread the word of booking directly with you?
I recently read of an ABB host who had his listing removed because ABB associated his account with someone elseās account. It was his employer. Conversation was shut down and was told decision was irreversible. Not sure what happened in the end. But putting all your eggs in one basket isnāt wise.
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A good review on AirBnB has very limited value.
Get them to book direct and have them leave a review on Google and TripAdvisor, that is where the value is.
Google reviews are worth a lot for your business. Because Google is the first thing potential guest will use when hearing of your business.
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A key thing that is so often overlooked is what kind of property you have. If you have an inn like Chris you have a business with a name and a identity before and outside of Airbnb. People are going to google your business name and book direct. Itās much the same with a vacation rental. But if you have more traditional Airbnb type listing like a guest room, basement suite, etc with lots of one night stopovers like I do Airbnb is the best platform by far. 90% of my guests are not going to be googling a place to stay, they are going straight to Airbnb. Before Airbnb to find an apartment instead of a hotel I searched the internet and found places. It was a pain but I did it in Berlin, Krakow and New York. Now Airbnb is a one stop shop to find places in communities large and small.
Thatās a consideration. I booked direct most of this past fall to a single repeat guest and got a fraction of the reviews I usually would. But then again, whatās the difference between 400 and 500. However if you are starting out and trying to get those review numbers up thatās more of a consideration.
@KKC I made the mistake of booking a guest for the entire month of January this year. I say this was a mistake as I earned less because of the discount and he gave me 3 stars. In the same period the house I rent next door earned slightly more cash and had 7 great reviews.
By focusing on the one platform, I think I build a social capital that pays when it is slow.
For example, February has been my best month ever. This is really a slow month in this area. I truly believe that my reviews have driven this.
Wow! Thatās terrible. What prompted that?
That is an interesting concept. Some people want to be booked all the time but maybe instead of being on different platforms they could have done it on Airbnb had they just focused their efforts there? I also believe in the power of reviews. Iām not the cheapest ensuite room in town but I do have the most reviews.
It also works very well for me that I take last minute bookings. Hereās a look at my Feb calendar as of today
I have 5 days open for the rest of the month and based on past experience Iād expect to get 2 or 3 of those booked. Iād like to block the 22nd to take a break but since itās on a weekend Iām thinking maybe itās best not to. I also have it blocked for the first week in March while I travel so Iād best not block any more days.
I generally donāt lower my price at the last minute, maybe a dollar or two. There are still a dozen nice places cheaper than I am available Friday but none have close to the reviews I have.
If you want the break this weekend how about raising your prices MUCH higher? Then either you will get the break without blocking or you will get a better payout for not getting the break.
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I think this is a good idea. Thereās a B&B is often stay at in another city when I visit and they never offer me a discount off what the posted rate. Sometimes the rate is higher or lower depending on the time of year, but I pay what the posted rate is.
Here in the UK youād need a drinks licence even if youāre giving it away for free. The licencing authorities assume youāve allowed for it in your pricing and consider it a sale. Just one to watch
Thanks Mark. Interesting.