@KenH
“Lose the attitude towards guests”? I am above and beyond nice to guests and am telling my side here in this forum. I have never chided a potential guest for asking for a discount. In fact, I recently spent the time to write back to the “concession” girl to tell her I thought it was not a good match, suggested more affordable options, and gave the advice that she would be happier in a place she could more easily afford.
She thanked me for my time and even complimented me for my kindness. Stating that I could have just ignored her altogether.
75% of the guests or potential guests DO lie.
I have a situation right now where an employee for a company rented out my home and 4 others in the area to house employees they are bringing in to do a large construction project. I will call him Mr. B.
The unemployment rate is a VERY low 2.4% and it is cheaper for companies to bring people from other states and house them rather than hire locally. Local are all booked up for months if not years and charge what a junior assoc. at a law firm makes by the hour. There was a storm that affected the internet connection, so one of the guests/employees called me to ask for it to be remedied. He told me that there are at least 2 companies that are working together to build a large residential building in the area.
Like I stated before, Silicon Valley is pretty cut throat
There are too many postings on Quora to count on the subject
Mr. B works for company A. He reserved my home from Jan 1 to Feb 28th and paid in full to AirBnb back in Jan. With the end date rapidly approaching, he told me he wanted to extend the reservation until May. I had a reservation request for a week in the middle of the month of March. I turned down the week so that he could extend the reservation. The occupants love the home and it is working now so I am more inclined to extend the reservation as long as possible.
No sooner than I canceled the week res, he was not booking the time or responding to emails. Does he want it or not? He went totally MIA.
I had the “concession” young woman interested in booking from March 17th to May 1 and I did not want to turn down what could be a res. if the company was not going to extend. Emails can read differently depending on many factors and I wasn’t, at that point, ready to turn down her.
After a few days of emails and texts, I asked Mr. B to let me know his decision because I did not want to have loose ends and needed to know if they were going to book like they said the wanted to.
I come to find out (I really do not know what is REALLY going on) that Mr. B who reserved my home to and I was corresponding with “is no longer with the company.” I had spoken with him earlier that day!! He made NO mention that he wasnt with the company. He told me his boss at company A is the real decision maker and could give me an absolute answer.
Next, I get a call from a woman who claimed to work for company B.
The woman that called me was claiming that she is the decision maker and that Mr. B who booked has not been with the company for a while.
To say things are not adding up is an understatement!!!
Now, things have not worked out with the student and I have turned down at least a week res to accommodate someone that is lying to me. At the very least, Mr. B has strung me along.
Woman from company A wants to extend but only can commit for 2 weeks more. Wants me to hold for until may because she might want to extend until then. I do not know if I want to continue a scenario where I know I have been lied to and there have been attempts to deceive me.
I am not getting involved any deeper than I already am but I am pretty sure that guest/employee has NO idea that he and the 3 other men living in my home will be homeless in less than a week.
@Militaryhorsegal
I’m guessing it was the one who mentioned miscommunication and it was your first review?
In that situation the “miscommunication” was her reserving my home for 4 people. When I went there to clean, I saw evidence of at least 5 people. All were sitting a laptops coding. They had constructed metal shelves that had various chemicals and elements and they had a large 3d printer running. They had hung dry erase boards on my dining room walls. There was a guy sleeping on the couch even though I strictly forbid this.
I called AirBnb and could have kicked them all out that day AND kept the money but I didnt. I gave them the opportunity to just pay for the additional person. When she gives me 4 stars it is probably because she didn’t like being caught and or she really wanted me to just ignore that they turned our home into a hacker house (please refer to the article above about how this is commonplace. So much so, it is shown on the HBO show “Silicon Valley.”
@jaquo
It is a bit nasty for you to say my rental is “very ordinary.” Do ordinary properties have solar power, high tech gadgets, $6000 security system(that luckily we have never needed and half just in case). Large walk-in closets with bulletproof safe. Paved Patio with lovely garden that features herbs for cooking and prolific fruit trees, rare succulents, access to studio space and storage. The home has been remodeled from top to bottom. All brand new furniture. Gourmet kitchen with 2 dishwashers, high BTU gas stove, French door refrigerator, granite counter tops. Attributes usually found in Palo Alto proper. There are many investors in EPA and in general, they do not have such nice amenities. Just basic, cheaper finishes.
On the issue of “gentrifying,” East Palo Alto is going through HUGE changes and I want to prepare the guests that this is happening. The price of a home in EPA jumped from below a half million in 2014 to over a million in 2017.
As I stated, Palo Alto proper (EPA shares its zip code with Palo Alto proper with homes in the 5-15 million average) is AT least 3x more expensive.
On the issue of price, when I say I am priced almost half of what others charge I am comparing to other EPA properties.
The “review issue” you brought up…I hope the above story about why one guest gave me 4 stars, it was because she was caught lying and turning my house into a hacker house.
She and her colleagues really wanted me to allow them to do whatever they wanted to with my home.
If someone looks at my reviews, one can click on a link to my 44 other reviews. I have an overall rating of 4.7. My reviews are mostly glowing reviews talking about my being a great host. I can not control that people can feel it is not 5 star value. Northern California is the most expensive place in the country to live, work or visit. I once had a very angry guest through VRBO (where I have over 50 reviews but no longer do business with) that blamed me for paying $18 for a hamburger at a fancy restaurant and demanded I call the owner of the car park in front of my home in SF so that they should move their car. I had to as nicely as possible, tell him if he doesnt want to pay $18 for a hamburger, dont order it AND I have no idea who owns the car and I would never demand someone move their car that is parked on a public street.
It is a problem that most landlords have because it is so expensive. MANY people think it is too expensive and if they could just find a great place for pennies on the dollar they would be able to afford living here.
From the time they contact you about the listing to the time they go hoe, many take out frustrations of the expense and hassle of the area out on the landlord.
If I had a dollar for every time I have been told: “If I could just have someone give me a BIG break on renting a home, I could live in a nice one!”