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Not necessarily, it could be done with surface conduit. A licensed electrician should be able to add a breaker without requiring a whole new inspection. Some places may be stricter but surely not this place or it wouldn’t have passed inspection with insufficient breakers to begin with. Either way, it clearly isn’t enough electricity for the unit. It’s not particularly expensive and is definitely a tax write-off in this situation. Or…just disclose it in the listing. But I would be peeved to not be able to run a heater, a blowdryer and a microwave at the same time if I wasn’t expecting that.
Edit to add: Electricity problems and breakers tripping are a pretty common guest complaint. I just clicked over to that other more coarse forum (reddit lol) to see if I could find one and this was the most recent post on there:
If this is just a bedroom and bathroom setup like a hotel room where somebody would be using the microwave, hair dryer, and heater all in the same room, then it definitely would’ve passed inspection. The bathroom should have an independent GFI circuit, but it’s not clear the hair dryer is being used there. Anyway, not enough information.
I got a 120 year old house with plaster walls. I have surface conduit all over the place. It’s no big deal. And it’s most definitely preferable to not having enough breakers.
Yeah, like a hotel room where you most certainly would have enough heat and still be able to run a blowdryer and a microwave.
I don’t know if you finished reading the thread yet, but I checked the issues the guest complained about this morning. The door latches if closed firmly and they left the door latched. I should have caught this. I’ve since repaired the door so it latches when it is not closed firmly. I do list “pet birds” under the potential for noise but can clarify this includes chickens (the chickens are disclosed at several points in the listing including the photos). However I mostly emphasize throughout the listing that there is potential for noise due to footsteps and a pet parrot (the noise issues guests usually complain about). I do disclose the electrical issues in the listing as well. These appliances may be run at the same time but not on the two outlets that share a breaker, but I figure this is too complicated to explain so I just say “don’t run them at the same time.” About two guests per year blow a fuse. The garage door battery dying is on me. While I ask guests to “observe common sense” as my first house rule I may need to add, “ring the doorbell for after house assistance” to the house manual. I already added “close the doors and windows when not home” because these aren’t the first guests who have left either open. I agree that even if guests don’t read, I should still disclose everything because in that case AirBnB will be more likely to side with me.
I am able to as well, but need to clarify with guests they should ring the doorbell after hours, as I do not want to leave my sound on my phone all night.
Is this relevant information to include in the review? We might complain here that rock bottom prices attract needy guests, but I’ve never included this information in a review before.
That is correct. This is a finished daylight basement. The breaker box is in the basement. There are two outlets on one breaker switch, but one of these has the microwave and the other is in a location guests often plug in the heater and sometimes the hair dryer. The bathroom has its own GFI circuit but the issue is when the guests have used the hair dryer in the bedroom next to the full-length mirror.
“No guests have complained about this before” is not an adequate defense for the issues the guests had during this stay, though I would like to emphasize that I have worked very hard at setting clear expectations of my listing’s limitations and as a result most guests are happy with their stay. I explain that this is a daylight basement in a few different ways in my listing (pictures, captions on pictures, listing summary, longer listing description, and many reviews note this as well). I try to anticipate everything that is a limitation of my listing and disclose it to guests. I strive to price competitively and market as a budget accommodation. My unit is a 1-bedroom priced similarly in winter to what others in my neighborhood charge for a guest bedroom.
I see your point. But as a host, I also read the reviews that a prospective guest leaves for other hosts. If I read a review where the guest mentions lots of problems, and the host just indicates, in a super brief manner, that they were problematic guests, I might not know who to really believe. But if I saw in the host’s review of the guests that the host was admitting responsibility for some of the issues, I would then believe the host’s version.
But I guess if the guests mention all these issues in their review, the host could just leave a response where they apologize for the inconvenience of what fell on the host, while still making it clear that the rest of the issues were due to the guest’s inattention to instructions and inability to figure anything out for themselves.
I can’t imagine ringing a host’s doorbell without being explicitly invited to do so. Even then, I might not want to do it but certainly don’t think it is common sense.
If anything, guests are encouraged as hosts are to “keep communication on the platform”. I don’t like it when my guests start contacting me off platform and would be surprised (and annoyed) if a host asked me to communicate off-platform exclusively (which is what it would be if you turn your phone off and I have to ring your doorbell). I don’t think CS would support this either, in case of a complaint, so it seems a bit risky to me. If it wasn’t disclosed to me prior to booking I would probably mention it in the review. I’m a host so not so paranoid but a lot of guests are worried about scams and such and they are also sold the “security” of communicating only on platform by Airbnb. I also still believe it is in your best interest to have the commmunication on platform and not at your front door, especially “after hours” as it will most likely be a problem of some sort that they are contacting you about.
I’m sorry, I haven’t seen your listing and that wasn’t clear to me from the posts. I think it’s all fair if it is disclosed! I don’t think our listings have to be perfect but we do have to perfectly disclose their “eccentricities”, whether or not we think they are going to read it.
I do think some of these things will unnecessarily cause you grief but it sounds like they generally haven’t so that’s good
I’m not arguing that a guest should be able to use the amenities simultaneously, and I wouldn’t like it either. The point is that it would certainly pass inspection where there would either be a single 15A breaker powering both the bedroom and bathroom or a 15A breaker powering the bedroom and another powering the bathroom. Any two of the offending appliances could overload a 15A circuit and the room would still be up to code.
I understand. I drafted a short dispassionate review indicating the guests had a difficult stay, that some of the issues raised daily were the host’s job to resolve (noise from chickens, access to the unit) and others were caused by a lack of common sense/reading of the house manual (leaving the garage door open, use of appliances). It will go live in 2 weeks and then we’ll see what they’ve said in return.
I would be annoyed if asked to communicate off the platform as well. However, we may have to disagree about what is the best way to reach an on-site host after hours. Either way, I should make the expectations clear and guests may decide to stay elsewhere.
I’ve thankful to have had some of the experienced hosts give me feedback on my listing a few times over the years I’ve posted here. I haven’t posted my link publicly for privacy reasons but am happy to PM it to anyone interested in providing additional private feedback. I think I need a few days to recuperate before getting a fresh round of listing feedback, however, and get through the rest of my holiday reservations.
No, it’s not in the listing. It never has been and it never will be. I live directly next door to one rental and directly opposite the other. I always tell guests where my apartment is and tell them to knock if they need me.
I also tell them that I switch off my phone at 6 pm.
In an emergency (such as not being able to get in) then they would certainly knock on my door. In the case of illness, fire, accident, theft etc., they are better off calling the emergency services anyway.
The batteries in the keypads we use last for at least one year. When they are changed, a note to change them again in 11 months goes straight into the diary. Both apartments’ keypads are done at the same time.
If batteries in keypads of this type begin to get low, they show a red light and beep when they are used. When this happens, you need to change the batteries within about a month. If that happened, I would be immediately aware at turnover time.
They are simple keypads and not dependent of the guests using their phones - simply buttons to press. One of our neighbours used a lock that was compatible with the guests’ phones and relied on them to work - they had constant trouble with it. We’ve never had any trouble at all with guests not being able to use the keypads and of course, the batteries never run out.
Note that I’ve found that it’s best to use a known brand name battery - cheap ones can be unreliable.
Well two of the same breed count as one, and then there may be some roosters for the stew pot, and in the end it’s like 6 chickens right? chicken math…
Issues on both sides here. Yeah they weren’t the best guests but there are a few legit issues:
Inner door should close properly - no question.
Get the electrical work done so guests do not blow fuses. It is basic and not expensive. Worst case, it can be done with surface wire molding.
They should have some kind of supplemental heater that does not take “5 min to heat up”. Many people do not have experience with oil heaters - so this works against you.
Electric oil radiator heaters are relatively safe. I’ve mentioned here before the first guests I ever had used the oil space heater to “cook” their food, hung clothes over it, and left it against the wall on HIGH while they went out. I’m thankful I didn’t have a combustion heater or they may have burned the house down.
Regardless, the heat and electrical situation is disclosed in my listing, and the instructions for both are in the house manual. I think many hosts here can empathize when guests complain about disclosed features of the listing they chose to book.
Well, the guest left a review today. I’m sure it will be my first 1-star review but I suppose in nearly 170 reviews I was bound to get a bad one eventually. A 1-star review will drop my average from 4.83 to 4.81 so I won’t lost SuperHo. I realize the consensus here is that I deserve the bad review. Hey, in my defense, it took 4 years and 300 stays to really screw up as a host. Excusing the typical newbie mistakes I made in the beginning.
My own review of the guest won’t go live until early January when the 2-week window closes, thanks to SmartBnB holding my review until the end of the review window. I basically wrote that the guest had a difficult stay, some of it my responsibility (maintenance and access issues), some of it theirs (garage door repeatedly left open, issues with the features of the space that would have been clarified by reading of listing/house manual), and that I would not choose to host this guest again.
Meanwhile, my latest guests were lovely and left today. They already left a glowing 5-star review, the norm for my listing. I have three more bookings before the review window closes, so hopefully I’ll have several more good reviews above the bad one when it appears. I don’t plan to reply since I’d rather it just scroll off the front page and disappear among the positive reviews.
A few weeks ago, I had just come back from a break from hosting due to having a new baby and losing my father. However, I’m already getting burnt out on hosting again due to this stressful experience, what’s going on in my personal life, and overall feeling worn down by student/customer reviews at both my day job and side-gig. I sometimes feel like I’m living in that Black Mirror episode about reviews, “Nose Dive.” I may take off the rest of the slow winter season (January and February) to recuperate.
Thank you those who have reached out privately with advice, especially with the handyman issues. I now have the contact info for four handymen and have someone coming to repair the door (I did a temporary fix but my handyperson skills are mediocre). I was able to temporarily fix it to get through the next few weeks of almost back-to-back bookings.
ETA: I remembered the SuperHost score is just over the last year, so I may lose it after all. I can calculate my reviews over time, but am not sure how to figure out reviews from just the past year without manually rereading each one.
I hope I can say as much when I’m up to 300 stays.
I would advise you to rethink having back-to-back bookings. With a new baby and how busy it sounds like you are with other things, and feeling burnt out, why not try leaving a day or even 2 prep time between bookings? It can make all the difference to have a breather between guests. especially when the guests turn out to be needy and clueless.
This really does sound like a good idea. You have a new baby, a day job and are in the midst of bereavement following your father’s death. It’s not surprising that you are feeling burnt out, and the only strand of your life that you can relinquish at the moment is your STR.
Make the most of your quiet season and snooze your calendar after your current booking dates.
You have a lot on your plate, both physically and emotionally, with post natal hormones all over the place (ex Midwife…) and a grieving process to work through.
Please put all of these needs first, and take care of Number 1!
I like this thought and have a possible twist you could try maybe. Double your rates for the time frame rather than closing completely. First it will prevent you from falling in the algorithm from being blocked and second IF you do get any bookings you will feel more positive about them for doubling profit (or more) and learn something about pricing in your area for the future. You will likely get many fewer bookings (if any) but if not, you will not only be compensated better than now, you may get reinvigorated to increase your on season prices more too!
