The review is in. It wasn’t that bad. 3/5 stars which I deserved. They said there were issues with accessing and locking the unit, but that I took steps to resolve them. I’m glad I left an honest, impartial review rather than blasting them.
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Thanks for updating us. Also thank you for being a thoughtful and responsible host who doesn’t just stubbornly insist that nothing is ever their fault.
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Tip of the hat for honesty, echo the above.
JF
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And I’ve already had my new handyman come fix the door, replace the 15 amp breaker with a 20 amp breaker, and add a GFI outlet to the outlet with the microwave!
And I have a list of stuff for him to fix next time that guests haven’t complained about, YET!
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Uhm, this could be dangerous. If the wire is 14 gauge then all it can handle is 15 amps. It needs to be 12 gauge wire for a 20 amp circuit. If the wire is undersized and the breaker does not trip it could be a fire hazard. I would want to have this checked by an actual electrician unless you are certain the wire is 12 gauge
RR
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Yes, this is the modern version of sticking a penny in your fusebox. Or “over-fusing”, where you put a glass fuse with a higher rating than the circuit in the fusebox to stop it tripping.
The entire point of a breaker is that it flips before anything bad happens.
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There’s almost zero chance of the wire being larger than 14ga if it had a 15A breaker. No contractor would do that, and if that’s the case, installing a 20A breaker is very bad.
Is this a way for guests to be able to reset the circuit themselves? That would work if all of the other outlets on the circuit are downstream of the microwave outlet.
I’m now wondering if the handyman installed a 20A breaker and a 15A GFI so that the GFI would always trip first. That still leaves insufficient protection for the wiring between the breaker and the GFI, if the wiring is 14ga.
Yikes, I will check with him tomorrow and ask! I don’t have any guests until Thursday. The guests can reset the GFI themselves if the microwave trips it, but there is a second outlet on that circuit, which was why the guests tripped it.
I still have a lot to learn. I just said “here’s the problems I’m having” and he went to work.
ETA: texted the handyman and he is confident the wire is 12 gauge due to the yellow Romex insulation on the wire.
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Well that is a relief, yes yellow should be 12G
I feel better you checked.
RR
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I got the email today that I made Superhost. I’m surprised. After my 3-star review, the app has been scolding me for failing to maintain an 4.8 average over the past year. (My all-time average is 4.82.)
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Well done.
20202020
JF
I have done a lot of electric work. Please have your handyman trace the entire run from the panel, and double-check that the entire circuit is actually 12 gauge.
It is pretty common for junction boxes to be used for electric in residential housing. A section or leg of the circuit could actually be 14 gauge. It happens more often than one would expect.
It is prudent - electrical issues are a serious cause of house fires.
Based on the listings I’ve seen I would completely ignore all scoldings. Until you get a message that says your account is suspended, don’t waste your time thinking about their warnings. LOL
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There are some 3.5 star listings in my city that somehow stay up. There is one host with multiple reviews saying “DON’T BOOK, THIS IS A SCAM” and somehow he’s still listed. The guests either showed up and he wouldn’t let them in, or were given the address/door code for another apartment in a different neighborhood. I really don’t understand why this guy is allowed to continue hosting. He’s gotten registered with the city, too.
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How does one trace the entire run?
He was very confident this was safe (he’s a host himself and more prudent than I am about safety matters) but I want to be extra careful in this case.
The same way grifters get elected head of state and the same way religious leaders move from one place they can abuse children to another and the same way the war criminals get pardoned and the same…well, you know.
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That explains one host, who just deletes and reposts her listings when the stars get too low. And she appears to just nickel-and-dimes guests in a run-down building, not an actual scammer. The “DON’T STAY HERE” guy has apparently been pulling scams on the same account and same listings apparently for a few years is pretty shocking. But you’re right, when sex offenders get elected to public office, a scammer’s AirBnB account staying up isn’t too shocking.
Moving on: I think my next task is to reflect further on why my ratings have dropped. During my first few years of hosting, I averaged 4.9. I had second-hand furniture, charged $45 a night with a $10 cleaning fee, and listing as a private room. I didn’t use IB and chatted with guests before accepting or declining.
I’ve upgraded the space significantly, moved to IB, list as a separate space, and can at times charge 2x-3x times what I used to with a similar occupancy, and the overall quality of guests has gone up despite some exceptions. Guests are happy to pay more and generally leave the same written feedback, ranging from “one of my best AirBnB stays ever” to “cute place but it’s in a basement so you’ll hear the family overhead.”
If getting a 4.8 average instead of a 4.9 average is the cost of making more money, I can live with it, especially if overall I’m attracting better guests overall. However, I do wonder if the quality of what I offer has gone down somehow as well. I ponder this as I decide what my next renovation is. I’m debating between landscaping or a bathroom remodel. I don’t think either would result directly in profit, but might ward off some of those 4-star reviews.
I don’t doubt that the demographics of AirBnB guests has changed over the past 4 years as the platform became mainstream and my own market became saturated.
I think it might be a combo. You are busier now with the kids and the passing of your dad. (BTW, rule of thumb is 2 years to recover from that). Expectations have obviously increased. Airbnb is not the airmattress in a bachelor pad. It’s barely homeshare.
For the airbnb room I’d say bathroom. You know about my reviews. I attribute some of that to the new remodel. I live in a very modest neighborhood and so the exterior could hurt my ratings but almost never does. Also for the value of the home a remodeled 2nd or 3rd bathroom is way ahead of “landscaping.” But again, maybe you can do some of each. It depends on the nature of the projects. Everything in my bathroom is builder’s grade/homedepot level but it’s new and mostly shiny and clean looking.
Lots of great free advice here, post pics and questions. Or PM some of us.
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I did too but it shows up nowhere on any of my listings or profile…
I’ll need the advice since I don’t have an eye for design.
I was thinking landscaping because my next door neighbor has a bunch of broken down cars in his yard and you can see them from the window and I’d like a fence or hedge to block the view. However only one guest ever said “there isn’t much of a view from the unit” so maybe it isn’t an issue. I’m tired of looking at the cars but maybe the guests aren’t!
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