It has EVERYTHING to do with guests booking on airbnb. Our business is like all the others that are affected by a presidency voted into office by grievance and hate.
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It seems you have missed the entire point of this thread.
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The fact remains that the rest of the world doesnāt have the positive opinion of the USA that existed in its heyday of post-war times, the 1950s. Over the years, various activities (and people) in the USA have destroyed what was once a positive attitude.
This year has accelerated the situation hugely and small US businesses - such as Airbnb hosts - are affected.
Hosts are rightly venting. Itās without doubt a problem for those who have hospitality businesses in this country.
And hosts will vent.
Once the venting is slowing down, the hosts in this forum will come together, as we very much tend to, to discuss ways to support each other and ways to fill the gaps caused by the foreign visitors who are staying away from the USA.
Political, yes. But itās politics thatās caused the situation for us all in the US.
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Foreign travellers to the USA spend ā on average ā two or three times more per day than domestic travellers. The largest single source of foreign travellers to the United States is Canada ā Canadians tourists spend (or used to spend) $20 billion annually in the U.S.
After Donald Trump insulted Canadians by tearing up tariff agreements and suggesting that Canada wasnāt a ārealā country and should just become Americaās 51st state, Canadians reacted with a grassroots boycott of American tourism ā supported by the Prime Minister and regional leaders.
Border crossings by car have dropped by almost half. Airlines are reporting a 70% drop in reservations to American destinations ā and have actually abandoned a number of U.S. - Canada routes.
Many Canadian school districts ā in some cases entire province-wide school systems ā have banned student field trips tom the United States. Canadian organizations and businesses planning international conferences in New York and Los Vegas and Orlando have moved to Mexico or Canada.
Economists are already predicting tens of thousands of U.S. job losses. Regional economies (South Florida, Palm Springs, Maine) that count on Canadian tourists or snowbirds are taking a big hit. Right here in this forum Airbnb hosts have described damage to their own revenue.
And why? Because a snarling, belligerent American politician decided to insult and humiliate an ally/trading partner so loyal to the United States that in December 1941 that same ally responded to the raid on Pearl Harbor by declaring war on the Empire of Japan a day before the American government made a similar declaration.
Dots now connected for ya?
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Andā¦coming from Australiaā¦there is no way i will be visiting the USA until there is a complete change of government! I would not feel safe or welcome.
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Australia, Europe, Japanā¦ itās not just Canada
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When I posted the origional question, I had no idea this thread was going to take off. As an update:
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I have had my first Canadian Guests with ovious Middle Eastern Names. They allowed extra time to cross the border but they said that both coming into the US and going back home were a breeze. (Probably because there was so much less border crossings.
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I have gotten some new bookings but Iām usually full by now through October. Iām listing my STR with my Winter Rates. Iām down about $1500 a month right now.
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I am very distressed about not only our current administration but that about 1/3 of the people in the US still support him. Not only is he cruel and vindictive heās also destroy everything that was good in the USA. For the first time, I am starting to look outside the US for where I want to retire. My decision will be made after the 11/26 election to see if we have free and fair elections and if we can limit this administrationās power. Iām not even sure what Iāll be able to afford in retirement if he tanks the market, gets rid of Social Security and Medicare. Itās very scary and tense right now.
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I keep a close eye on the competition and honestly, in my area it was pretty saturated years ago. Not seeing a huge increase in inventory.
Just Who is Penquin?
I liked the warning about walking in thin ice as it was very appropriate!!
On another note- while i truly concur with the remarks on this forum, i really really want to know why the hell so many in the US like the orange guy? I notice those who do think heās great, quickly pull out of the discussions here.
Speak up- tell me your ātruthā, I want to understand.
Rather than try to explain the phenomenon myself, this article is excellent in explaining the psychological profile of Trump supporters and those in other places who cheer on authoritarian despots. The mentality is quite chilling.
As for Penquin, that was a troll that Jacquo gave just enough rope to to hang himself and get booted off.
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If it was a public execution, I missed it. Darn!
(or was he just quietly ādisappeared?ā)
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Wow, thanks for the article link. That is so interesting. What I see from the UK is frightening but was also baffling - until I read this!
Yes, there are many of us who have been baffled by it. Like why canāt these people see that these policies will end up hurting them, why canāt they see that T. is insane?
Itās too facile to think itās just a matter of stupidity, or racism, or being uninformed, because some of his supporters are not objectively stupid, nor racist (there are POC who are MAGAs), and even when you present them with facts, they reject them, so it isnāt just ignorance.
But the deep psychological underpinnings that unite them makes it make sense.
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Iām pretty active in helping to organize protest events and I find it really important to try to understand why we arenāt getting the younger folks so I randomly talk to strangers in line. Iāve been getting a lot of āboth side are corruptā and the Democrats do nothing. When I try to explain that regardless of how they feel about a specific candidate, the choice are to remain a democracy or become rules by a dictator. I sometimes see a light go off in their eyes but often, they just donāt seem to understand how critical it is.
Now on to the bright side - since I started this post. I had my first Canadians who were obviously a male couple, with middle eastern names and they told me that it was a breeze to clear customs both ways. Now if we can get the word out.
My airbnb is picking up but Iām running promotional rates close to my winter rates.
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Many younger Americans are pretty ignorant regarding history and politics. āTheyāre all corruptā is true to some extent, as those who make it to the top of the political arena often tend to be rich and self-serving. Your response to them is a good one.
Iāve seen interviews with European youth who are so much more informed about history and world politics than the average adult American. There are no German teenagers who arenāt aware of the atrocities of the Holocaust, and how Hitler was able to rise to power, but there are plenty of American teenagers who only have a vague idea about it, and think of it as ancient history, with no relation to the things Trump and his cronies are doing to destroy democracy.
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We have been hosting on airbnb for 9 years. We only get bookings in the summer and fall, predominantly on the weekends for 2 or 3 day stays (weāre in upstate NY). So while our bookings have risen slightly, but steadily, (we average 10-15 stays a year) the part of our house dedicated to the guests (added separate entrance and bathroom to the suite 2 years ago) is only booked a small percentage of the year. That said, we are down, so far, 90-95% in bookings, which is to say, we have 1 (yes, one!) booking scheduled so far, for the entire season, and thatās it. We didnāt even get guests for Cornell graduation weekend. Unheard of. Just registering our experience here, thatās all. Please comment, however, if so moved.
Did you previously get quite a few bookings from Canadians and other international guests? (Seems like hosts affected by the big downturn in Canadian border crossing are in the northern states and typical international tourist destinations, like Florida for snowbirds. )
There are many reasons why bookings can plummet, from increased competition to your fellow Americans holding onto their $ in such economically uncertain times to your search ranking being low.
One thing you can try is to make some minor changes or additions to your listing desciption or photos. The search algorithm sees that as your listing being more active and can possibly help your ranking.
I am in the same booking window situation as you, but vice-versa. I live in tropical Mexico, where the climate is super hot and humid in the summer and it can pour rain almost every day from late June to early November. So I rarely get bookings from late May until late October. Also I get many guests who book at least a week, up to 2 weeks (my max stay length), so I also can get only about 10-15 bookings a season.
Search ranking also is determined by booking activity, so itās sort of a vicious circle- if you arenāt getting bookings, your search ranking drops, which makes it harder to get bookings. Not much we can do about that.
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Hi Muddy,
I play around with my site often and go into private mode to search. As long as someone uses the price filter while search Boston, it comes up.
I do keep an eye on the market and whoās entered or leaves in my area.
Iām usually total booked for the summer and most of the fall.
In regards to Canadians - I would say in the winter they are my prime market along with my regulars and in the Summer and Fall, I used to get quite a few but I also got a lot of international travel.
I just hope I make enough to cover my mortgage and utilities. My full-time job (self-employed) has also seen a decrease in revenue.
Iām within 3 years of paying off the house and collecting Social Security. If I can hold out then Iāll be ok.
Lynn
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One of my guests years ago told me she had to keep upping the price parameter until it was twice what I charge before my listing came up. That makes me think that Airbnb tries to get guests to book more expensive properties (more service fees for them).
Which is ironic, because they kept giving me āprice tipsā that are half what my guests seem happy to pay. (And some have told me āYou could charge more for this, you know.ā)
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