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A few months ago I was very enthusiastic about AirBnB. We setup a small house (separate from our residence) with furniture, linens, full kitchen, lots of amenities and extras. Our first few guests were great. But then we started to learn why hotels are so expensive. It’s because guests are thoughtless and wreck stuff all the time. It’s expensive to replace linens and towels because they are stained with makeup, blood, and who knows what else! It’s expensive to replace broken dishes and stolen utensils. It’s expensive to clean up after kids (people with kids are the worst!). Guests steal our towels, rolls of toilet paper, kitchen utensils, some moron stole the aerator from the kitchen sink!
So that’s enough of this for me. We are going to rent the house to a real tenant. AirBnB just isn’t worth it.
I’ve been doing this about ten months and haven’t had the same experiences with damages. Do you host people who have never used the site before? I made it my policy early on to only take repeat AirBNB users with good reviews. I make the occasional RARE exception if someone communicates in a very thoughtful way about their needs.
The worst I’ve had is a German guy who clogged the toilet on his last day here and took off early and then gave me a 2* review due to “cleanliness.” Otherwise no damages or very messy guests with about 50 or so stays so far.
We also started a few months ago and haven’t experienced anything close to what you have. For the most part, its been very positive for us.
We are on guest group 16 or 17 right now since late May and the only “damage” was a small blood spot on white bed sheets which came out with spot treatment and bleach.
I will say, we don’t allow children. Most kids will have good parents and behave, but all it takes is one group to ruin everything so we just don’t allow them. We also don’t allow instant book, and we have house rules everyone must agree to.
Why don’t you try removing the option for people to bring kids? Turn off instant book if you are using it. Also, make sure you have good house rules. CHARGE A SECURITY deposit if you are worried about damage and you watch how quickly the thefts and damages stop.
So, you joined this group an hour ago…this being a space for airbnb hosts…to write that you aren’t doing this any more? That’s it? If you’re not wanting to be an airbnb host, why join a group for hosts to tell us you’re not going to be a host? Just a bit puzzled…
I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad time of it. Yes, there can be some annoying guests, and granted, some horrors, but (so far and fingers crossed) it’s not been my experience. With just a couple of exceptions and around 60 guests, over two years or so, I’ve not had to replace anything more than the odd teaspoon, and had a bit of extra wear and tear on the stairway and walls ( from suitcases). I’ve met some terrific people, and attracted people to stay in in our city for longer than they otherwise would. It’s hard work vetting potential guests, organising stays, cleaning, laundering, meeting, greeting, painting and mending, and keeping everything top quality. But people generally love our place and I get great pleasure from them loving our city too. But no, it’s not for everyone and if longer term letting is your thing, that’s great. And you won’t need the support of a forum like this which really is a great place to help with those less-than-ideal visitors and could have helped you through your darker times .
Can you limit your guests to just two maximum? You say it is a small house.
I rent out a two bedroom and get plenty of couples willing to pay for it. They leave the place nice and tidy, etc. It looks completely different than a couple with small kids. So much less stress.
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Post your listing for us to look at. There may be something in the wording that is attracting/encouraging people who are “not so nice”.
As others have said, a damage deposit is a good idea, especially I think if – as you have – it’s an entire house with large numbers of guests. Couple that with published house rules which the booking person must sign in person, and you may cut down significantly on pilferage and whatever.
I agree its a bit strange that you joined this group just to tell us you want to quit AirBnb. We’re a “shoulder to cry on”, surely, but there’s no one here who is going to tell AirBnB that you’re dissatisfied and want to quit.
I get the frustration for sure, but maybe a couple of tweaks to your listing, policies or rules will help weed out the riff raff. You can limit it to couples. That’s what I do. Even though my place could theoretically sleep more, I don’t want the noise, traffic or expense of hosting any more than two when I can’t raise my rates beyond what it is now.
The linens are one thing that does get replaced a lot. I have dark colored sheets and that seems to help. No way am I doing white. You can always switch to cornelle ware for plates and tumblers for glasses. I don’t know… I feel your frustration but it sure does seem to be a lot of damage and bad guests in a short period of time.
There are pros and cons for both STR and having ‘proper’ long term renters. And there are some hosts/landlords who prefer one and some who prefer the other. I’ve done both and know which I prefer.
So it seems to me that if @GrantJ is fed up with Airbnb after just a few months, then it’s not right for him and his setup. Not his fault, not Airbnb’s fault. Just human nature.
I think, a reason of getting such kind of guests, might be in a location where your airbnb is. Big cities or world famous destinations are different and attract different people. A middle of nowhere will attract more serious guests.
But, in my middle of nowhere, someone last week took along a big bag of toilet paper. I cannot believe that someone took it. But it is gone…
I put one or two spare rolls of TP. I check after every guest to see if any of the amenities are missing but I don’t put a lot of extra where guests can get it.
A police officer once told me never make people work too hard at being honest and to keep temptations out of sight. It was a discussion about locking up my bike, but there’s a lot of truth in this no matter the situation.
I have better valuables in my Airbnb then toilet paper. I have arts and unique things from around the world. To take toilet paper along - very very very low level of a guest. Also, I have my wine collection there.
I am worried a little bit, but my husband says, that if someone takes something valuable, that he will make people to be arrested.
Value is in the eye of the beholder. If you need TP all the art in the world won’t help you. LOL. I was burglarized once and they took several items of jewelry, none of which were valuable. They left a Gold Panda coin in a bezel for wearing as jewelry (popular in the 1980’s) that was worth more than any other single thing they took. I could only speculate that since it was Chinese they thought it lacked value. I would be nervous about the wine collection if I were you. How would you prove someone took one? It would be easy for them to drink the evidence and dispose of the bottle.
Hello GrantJ and am disappointed AirBnB or more specifically, short term rental has not worked out for you. I would consider some of the above advice first before delisting. Been in the short term rental game a long time and your experiences are not normal I assure you. Maybe you have been having a bad run or something. Yes, put up your listing for us to peruse and hopefully offer advice. Also, accepting children? If this is a primary cause of your problems, don’t accept them. And the toilet paper. We actually use a charity toilet paper and specifically leave some out for guests to take as this may encourage them to purchase. The name is - seriously - “Who Gives a Crap” - https://au.whogivesacrap.org/
This is one thing we’ve decided over our first season as well. We do have a sofabed in the living space of the apartment, but we’ve changed our listing from 3 to 2 guests. That extra guest costs far more than the 10 euros we charge.
Also, we’ve worked out that when three friends come together they’re looking for a fun time … yes, how terrible of them! They’re going to want to push each other off the lilo in the pool, have hilarious sangria-fuelled laughs on the terrace till 2 am, not get up till mid-day so we can’t do the garden tidying … give me a nice, quiet couple anytime who if they want to have fun just go off to bed!
Also, EVERY time we’ve had three people, without fail the request has come “we have another friend who’d also like to come with us - would that be ok?” Apart from those who forget that they have a child, couples tend not to do this.
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