My first reservation in my new place did not go that well. We happened to cross paths when she first got here and we talked. She seemed very upset to find out her husband had died quickly from Covid in Jan. and she was in this new place looking to buy a house. I asked after she got settled would she want to sit on the porch and have a glass of wine, which we did to hear one horror story after another.
Sent her an email yesterday asking if all was ok, no response.
Today, she left and left a lengthy note telling me all the things I needed to change down to providing individual packaged soaps and shampoos which goes against my grain. Also pointed out I had to get a tv and even telling me I could get one for x amount of money.
My 3 year Airbnb rental in AZ was exactly how I’m doing this one.
This is not the way one wants to start off and I never got anything like this from my place before. I’ll get over it and write it off to her grief.
This is a good policy.
This may not fit the vibe you are going for but you might take this one to heart (as well as blackouts for the windows). With people staying in more because lots of places are still closed, this might be a good investment. OTOH, if you are getting all the bookings you want, you can continue to do things your way.
In the last month, while I was closed, I made a change to my Airbnb room with involved improving my food heating/coffee bar area and adding a little dining nook. Previously there was no place inside the room for a couple to sit and eat together. There was a desk for one in one part of the room and a second person could sit on the bed, or they could both sit on the bed. They could also eat out on the front porch where there’s a small table and chairs.
That worked fine for me, I have over 600 5 star reviews going back to 2014. I didn’t want to encourage people to hang out in the room and the added mess that comes with eating. But the pandemic has changed things. A lot of new Airbnbs have opened in my town and are offering bigger studios with real kitchenettes. I felt that if I wanted to be competitive and encourage safe behavior that was a change I should make.
I already have misgivings as I got two two night bookings straight away. I’m one of the few that prefer one night bookings as two nighters spend all day in the room.
A couple of her tips including the blackout shades is something I will do. Told her since I set this up over the winter I didn’t realize how bright it would be.
I have a separate room in their suite with table, chairs, mini-fridge, microwave and coffee pour over. At my last place I had a small but full kitchen and it definitely was more work.
This is my bias, but I haven’t had a tv in probably 45 years except for 2 years. In my rental in AZ I never had anyone ask about a tv, lots of people like me travel with lap tops, so I’ll see how it goes this summer.
I have never had a TV in my home in my adult life. I can’t stand them. If a guest needs a TV, they are quite welcome to book elsewhere. There’s no need to cater to every guest’s desires.
We’re on the same page on that one.
There’s a difference between the casual or hobbyist host and the one that needs bookings to make a living or pay for the investment. There are hosts who are host centric (like home sharing hosts) and there are guest centric hosts.
I know I’ve just realized how much it bugs me to have guests here during the day so I changed my listing to one night only. I don’t care how much business I lose…for now.
My idea to host came about before I moved to AZ as a way to make some money to support my small social security. I’m a gardener, a birder and I love interaction with people, so I thought it was a good fit for what I needed to do. I transformed a naked garden into something really nice and since I was in a hot spot for birds guests birded in the yard. Turns out I really like doing it.
So, new location and I still need to add to my meager income. Have transformed the yard, digging out all grass in front to add plants and make it a welcoming site. Hoping to attract outdoorsy types. I post bird photos on my page so people will get the idea. IMO they’re the best.
And, unlike you, a one night booking is definitely something I’m not interested in. The house is set up so unless I’m in my living room I don’t hear the upstairs. It’s really pretty good, now just need the right guests.
Two-three days is probably ideal and I will do a week, but not more at this point.
I don’t agree that hosts who need to earn a living off strs won’t get sufficient bookings unless they set their places up to meet as many guest wishes as possible. I know plenty of hosts who don’t have TVs in their listings who have steady bookings.
It depends somewhat on location, I think. The expectation of a TV seems to be very American. Not one host I know here in my Mexican town has a TV in their listing, even though Mexicans themselves pretty much all have TVs (and are addicted to those telenovelas).
Guests come here to enjoy the beach, the pool, and the plethora of restaurants, they don’t sit around watching TV.
@zillacop My property was an empty lot full of weeds when I bought it. Now its a densely planted tropical jungle.
I host a private room/bath with full use of my kitchen and outdoor spaces. Although I’ve been closed since last March due to COVID and shared spaces, I hosted since late 2016. I market towards the type of guests who will be a good fit here (nature lovers, outdoorsy types, the artistic, the yoga practitioners, etc) and have always gotten wonderful guests.
Bookings actually started out slow, but once I got a bunch of great reviews, it really picked up and the season before I had to close to bookings, I was pretty much steadily booked.
I started in AZ in spring of 2015 for 3+ years until I decided to move yet again, back to the state where I grew up but hadn’t lived in for over 40 years. My first place didn’t work out, so moved again to the Shenandoah Valley and think this is a much better fit. Lots of art, great restaurants, a beautiful historic town, hiking in a couple ranges of mountains and what seems a progressive vibe.
This small city has more Superhosts than I would care to count, so it will take awhile to rise to the top.
@zillacop I’ll probably open back up in the fall. You should come sometime- the bird life here is awesone.
Thank you. I’ve birded quite a few places south of the border and I do love the tropical birds. I lived in the Pacific NW for almost 40 years, moved 6 years ago and haven’t been back, am hoping to maybe do that some time late summer/fall.
@muddy How far down are you in Mexico? Up high or lower elevation. Only been in Mexico once to the Yucatan long ago.
Yes and zilla hosts in America. But of course if a host is aiming for a niche guest then adverting that one does not have a TV can be a plus. I couldn’t even tell you if the three listings I stay in last year had TVs or not. I’m pretty sure the one in Dunedin, NZ did not.
I’m on the west coast of mainland Mexico, in Sayulita, just north of Puerto Vallarta. So I’m at sea level, but I live in the countryside on the outskirts of town. I’m not a birder myself, so don’t recognize all of them, but we have chachalacas, which are these huge birds like a cross between a wild turkey and a pheasant which make the most godawful loud squalking racket, long-tailed jays, big red-headed woodpeckers, crows, and orioles. Parrots show up at certain times of the year. There are also ibis down on the arroyo by my house and occasionally giant egrets. And of course pelicans and other ocean birds down at the beach.
There is a kind of scrappy tree in the middle of my yard that has a lot of dead limbs up high. But it’s right out front of my guest room door on the second floor, and fully visible from the bed when the door is open. Birds often perch on those dead limbs, and my guests enjoy that, so I haven’t cut them.
You know a bunch of years ago I was looking into coming to that area. Don’t remember why I didn’t or where I went instead. Have you seen huge growth since you’ve lived there?
I could see a listing like yours, where it seems you get a lot of one-nighters passing through on road trips, benefiting from having a TV. Sometimes all people really want to do when they’ve been on the road all day is veg in front of a TV. Even though I’m not normally a TV watcher, I’ve done that myself in motels after driving all day.
Because I’m not a tv watcher, any time there is one where I stay I usually ignore it because they’ve gotten much to complicated as one sits with 2 remotes trying to figure out which to use.
Dunedin, eh? Was in NZ years ago for a bit of a long stay. Loved that country.
Oh yeah. I’ve been here about 18 years, although the first few years just part time. Used to be the summers were great because even though it was hot and humid, there were virtually no tourists- town was quiet. Now the place is packed with tourists year-round, there must be about 300 restaurants in this tiny town, and big hotels have gone up everywhere.
I avoid downtown and the main beach like the plague.
I have friends who immigrated in 2008. I’ve been 3 times for a total of about 2 months but all on the South Island. Now my friend has a new job with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council so she’s on the North Island. But she hates her boss so may not last long. I’d like to see the North though.
I stayed in the Airbnb in town, they live about 10 miles out of town because I was going to be going to the Queen concert in town. One night, lovely room in an older home.
I got to go to both islands, but most of the time was on the South. They are quite different, the North being more tropical. It was long ago and I haven’t been back. I know tourism really exploded there but don’t know if it’s still a big thing.