Isn’t it weird that people still have listings up regardless of the HUGE penalties that the city has put in place? I have to wonder if they would actually accept the booking if you submitted it… I shut my listing down until the ban lifts, which is supposed to be June at the moment but they keep extending it.
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You can have a listing up, you just can’t rent it. Do their calendars show availablity? Try to book one for a night or two in the prohibited window to check. They may have rule sets. Or maybe they are just lowlifes.
They have some blocked dates and some available. I put in the first week of May to see what came up and I was surprised to see how many were available to book. Some even had images of disinfectant spray in some of the images… Really classy.
With a 1000 a night fine, I am surprised the city doesn’t go after them. I would if i were them.
I’m sure the city depends on neighbors reporting them. The guest should bear some responsibility to check local laws. I’d hate to roll up to my Airbnb and then get kicked out a day later after a complaint. Some days I wish Airbnb would just completely shut down for a month but I know that’s impossible.
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It would be nice if the city could report the policy to them and they could block all listings in the city/county. I am sure there are some desperate people who will do anything to keep their rental going regardless.
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I don’t know why Airnb don’t just do in the UK and block calendars of hosts in your area.
That is what they have done in the UK both for whole listings and shared listings now.
If you want to rent to key workers you have to sign up for their UK key worker programme. @hostess1
In my small town there is a vocal group of people on FB sharing the county phone number to turn in STR’s that are not abiding by the rules. I did a search for this weekend and 99 places available, out of about 300 total listings. Mine is the only one I saw that specifically says 1st responders only.
RR
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My state has a ban, but we’re still booking two regulars we normally host who stay 7-10 days at a time. We’re no longer taking random bookings.
The state statute is so poorly written that it won’t hold any authority.
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My area has restrictions too. The first line of my description is 4/1-5/1 rentals to Covid -19 Medical & Military support only. If some one searches for a rental, mine will appear however if I don’t rent to anyone in violation of the rules, they can’t fine me.
I didn’t block days because I wanted to be available for the allowed rentals. I did not enroll in the Airbnb Covid listings. I may have made a mistake…
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I haven’t blocked my calendar, but I haven’t gotten any inquiries or requests, and I would decline anyway, as I have a shared-home listing. The reason I haven’t actually blocked is because anytime I have blocked a significant amount of days in the past (I usually block a month in the summer, when I seldom get bookings anyway, because that’s when I go to Canada to visit family and friends) my search ranking plummets. It seems Airbnb should not take that into account for this pandemic time, but I don’t trust them to alter their search ranking algorithms.
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I changed my description to 1st responders only
I am working on a email blast now to send through my real estate website to all my contacts offering my places for 3-4 month summer rentals, which I have always said no to before. I am targeting people who are/were looking to buy second homes. Will see how it shakes out. I could weather no guests for a year, but I would rather not.
RR
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Maybe you all are right and it’s people leaving the calendar open but not accepting bookings. The person with the disinfectant spray picture has to be up to something though.
Whoever is willing to stay with them probably doesn’t believe in the virus anyway.
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They might still have their listing active in order to get future bookings. Some guests book six months in advance.
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Yeah you’re right. They should allow you to keep it open but block a period. That would make sense at the moment.
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@muddy - That is the same reason I have not blocked or removed my listing either. I’ve always felt a distinct lull when I have blocked time off. This situation doesn’t need to be made more painful, if it can be helped.
I left my listing up, but I have rule sets so I can only get inquiries, not immediate bookings. I actually got a request to book tonight but explained that my county has a ban and we are unable to book now. He and I have since been messaging about a Fall stay instead, fingers crossed!
I left my listing up as well and blocked all of April. I’ll be moving to blocking May soon. I do want the 6 month window of bookings just in case and set up rules for inquiries.
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Hello. I signed up to specifically contribute to this question. There are short term rental compliance companies who work with cities and county governments to address properties who are operating out of the bounds of their regulations. These companies hire people like myself who use photos from Airbnb listings and identify the specific listing address and its owners. That data is then submitted to the relevant governing body, along with all the photographic evidence.
Since the Covid-19 epidemic, I have ceased this type of work as it seems pointless and not contributing to anything of value. It’s also creepy and invasive, IMO. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of such short term rental, address identification freelancers working 24/7, around the world.
It’s important to be careful about how you photograph your listings and what information you include. I have seen listings where hosts carefully detail their work hours and when they are and aren’t at home. They include things like their wifi password and even some include the access code to the self-check in keylock. For the public to view. For anyone with nefarious intentions to view.
If you have questions about the kinds of interior and exterior photographs are easiest to identify, AMA.
Who pays these companies to research and report? And, who created them?
Who hires you? Do you track listings to see what happens to a listing after you have submitted a report?