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Hello, we are a brand new host, active in airbnb just for a couple of days. There are many experienced veterans in the forum and we have learned a lot from them. We keep on reading and we want to say THANK YOU to all of you!
We are a couple from Sofia, Bulgaria. I am a professional psychotherapist and my partner is a musician. We are hosts of a 3 bdrm apartment in the top center of the city, just next to the main pedestrian street. Our hope is to become good hosts. We try to make our profile attractive, so every opinion will be useful and feedback from other hosts is more than welcome!
My first impression is good. I like the theme and ways you incorporate it with lockbock and arrows and decor. However the price seems low and a discount on top of that?
Is that the market in your city? The set up with beds says you will get a large group or family paying a few dollars per day. Edit: I guess that is the typical price. Time to book a trip to Bulgaria. Lol.
Just my two cents on price. I read a whole lot of advice about cutting prices to get new bookings. Yes my prices were a little lower those first few bookings once I got 3 reviews I raised it up and when I did, I noticed a few listings around me followed suit and also bumped their price a little. So while this hostâs pricing may be on point (I havenât looked), we shouldnât be afraid to price fairly, rising tide/all boats as they say.
Attractive, I would book. Suggestions are minor: Get rid of the candle in the dining photo, open flames in Airbnb = not a great idea. I would say âComplementary beverageâ instead of promising champagne. Lower expectations for you to meet.
You say it comes with two bikes free. I would reword that to say free use of the bike, or âtwo loaner bikesâ to be very precise. Owner: âYou stole my bikes.â Guest: âStole them? You said they were free, like the champagne!â
You can do a lot of things during your stay in Zebra apartment.
For search engine optimization, what specific âthingsâ can you list? If you can, try to include keywords a visitor to your area would search for.
I switched over to glass water bottles so I wasnât putting more plastics in the environment. I started out with bottles I purchased for about $2 each. After a short while one was missing. I wrote the guest and asked about it but in a way of âdid you accidentally throw it away?â She wrote back and said âthe guest guide says complementary water bottles.â And she wasnât wrong; I hadnât changed the wording from when I put plastics in there. Now my guest guide says âplease donât take or throw away cups or bottles, I wash and reuse them.â Someone had also tossed my ârecycled from Wrigley Fieldâ souvenir cups.
Is everything okay with the liability thing? I wanted to offer guests bikes at one time but our attorney went crazy telling me not to because of liability issues. Plus, here anyway, itâs up to the host to make sure that they are properly maintained and secure.
It was just as well because our STR insurance wouldnât cover them.
I was wondering why two bikes though. A couple travelling are unlikely to book a place that sleeps 6 and a place that sleeps six means guests would want more than two bikes.
You are definitely thinking like a lawyer. As litigious as American society is, I would be uninclined to offer a bike. However, I would be uninclined to offer a pool and there are plenty of hosts doing that, too, so I am more risk averse than many (because I have been trained to be by lawyers).
Super reasonable rate! Something that caught my eye was the loose bricks in first photo. That area looks like something Iâd trip over. Liability and all that.
I rode a motorcycle for years with no helmet so Iâm less risk averse than many. LOL.
Itâs just crazy to me that Americans can buy dangerous guns easily. They can rent cars, even peer to peer easily. But talk about kayaks, bicycles or pools and people get nervous and insurance agents wonât cover.
Thanks to all forum members! You bring us good luck and since our first post yesterday we got first reservations. TWO!
It seams that airhostforum and its community magicaly works
Keep on posting and reading. Good luck to all of you!
Yes, we are a bit lower then average price at the moment with the idea to be more atractive as new host. Hope it will be appropriate and we will share the progress.
A couple of nights ago I was reading a post from 15 months ago from a brand new host soliciting feedback. I clicked the listing and theyâre now a superhost with dozens of five-star reviews. And that is why I keep coming back here.
Thanks jaquo, weâve started to understand that it has to be balance between things we offer as host and safety of the quests. But we wonder- from one side the host should ensure the safety of guest, from the other side everything might be risky- electricity, mirrors, stairs, bunk beds, knives etc. the one can become crazy. It is really a big subject.
For now we think to get helmets and will include in the listing that guests use bikes on their own responsibility. What do you think about?
âI would say âComplementary beverageâ instead of promising champagneâ
We automatically offer guests tea, coffee or wine when they arrive, as we do when friends arrive - itâs just being hospitable. It seems a bit sad that people have to make a feature of it.
Hi Zebra, I really love your apartment. I would really LOVE to stay in it. I bookmarked it to renovate my apartment in Bucharest like yours. Pricewise I know that in Bucharest the market is like in Sofia so, yeah the prices sound a bit low (given your location) but also, in Bucharest people rent individual bedrooms in large, very large apartments for 25$/night.
PS. Iâm originally from Bucharest but living in the US for the past 25 years and have become an US citizen. My listings are here but I still do have my old apartment in Bucharest that is currently rented (long time, to a relative) and the money goes to my parents. You know how things areâŚ
