Insider Questions and Answers

[RiverRock]

@KKC

Are you relying on AirReview for this information or did you check the old fashioned way?

Air review, which is working for me.

RR

[KKC]

I’d double check the old fashioned way if this were really important to me. It doesn’t sound like it matters but thought I’d mention it. Even before the latest glitches with AirReview I’ve seen that “didn’t leave a review” notice in the past and it was inaccurate.

[PuppyLover]

What I also find with that browser extension is that a lot of times it will populate some of the second and onward stays by the guest incorrectly with the same text of the first review.

[KKC]

@PuppyLover

second and onward stays by the guest incorrectly with the same text of the first review.

Ah! I noticed that a couple of times and just thought the lazy guest was writing the same thing over. I noticed with a recent guest because there was a typo. LOL.

[Joan]

@TheInsider

No, the guest can not leave a reply, public or private to you, after 14 days.

You are right, but they can try, with outstanding consequences! This may have been a one off but after leaving a PITA a last minute review, who had not yet left one of her own, she tried to retaliate in truly mad, vile fashion. This is now splendidly attached to her profile, and I doubt that any host reading it would accept her as a guest.

[TheInsider]

@RiverRock

She snuck in an extra guest

How’d you confirm this? If so, did you open an RC claim and try to request more money from guest then once they say no, Air can step in and reimburse you for the extra guest as long as you had the fee listed at time of booking.

[Annet3176]

@RiverRock

She snuck in an extra guest

Did you see the extra guest? If Yes review appropriately. She knew it was wrong

@RiverRock

oaded the dishwasher without bothering to scrape off a ton of food, it was just gross.

Maybe they didn’t know to pre-clean dishes? Some dishwashers have macerators and don’t require precleaning.

[Annet3176]

@Magwitch

I recently noticed that they are promoting “Recommended professional management companies” to “take the stress out of hosting”. Has anyone else seen this?

Since no one answered you, you may wish to start a thread.

[Xena]

@GardenGnome

It sounds like you live in the suburbs of some city and occasionally book a place in town so you and your wife can enjoy city life for a weekend. To me that’s different than what I’m talking about.

I’m with you on the issue of hosting locals, @GardenGnome. I’m happy to host those from the suburbs who want a place to stay in the city for a concert or night on the town. I’ve had a bad experience hosting locals who live in my own neighborhood.

@Annet3176

A surprising number of my rentals have been locals:

1. Family coming in for holidays
2. Home under renovation
3. Moving from Home A to Home B & home B isn’t ready
4. Graduation

In my experience, these locals are booking for their visiting relatives. An AirBnB agent told me third-party bookings aren’t covered on the host guarantee, so I don’t host third-party bookings anymore. It’s sometimes a pain calling up to get them canceled because the agent will urge me to make an exception.

@Chris

I wish this would come into the media, because this would immediately stop AirBnB’s “We help poor people to make ends meet” lie.

The AirBnB narrative is true in my case. My husband is a social worker and I’m a part-time college professor. AirBnB allows us to afford to stay in our gentrified neighborhood, which has been populated by high-income tech workers and doctors.

A few years ago, when Seattle was beginning to talk regulating AirBnBs, the company called me up and asked me to come speak to City Council about how regulating AirBnBs would hurt hosts like me. Except it wouldn’t because the STR buildings are what’s driving the prices down for traditional mom-and-pop hosts like myself. This year, City Council capped the number of rentals per host to 2, though I haven’t seen any of the STR buildings shut down yet; they seem to be ignoring the regulations.

[RiverRock]

@TheInsider

How’d you confirm this?

Video cameras outside.

RR

[RiverRock]

@Annet3176

Maybe they didn’t know to pre-clean dishes?

Uhm, no it was worse than you can imagine food came out in the sink and was covering the bottom of dishwasher. I put a label on the DW asking people to pre rinse after this, I never would have thought I would have to do that. Also while I had the label maker out I put one on the microwave showing where the vent fan switch is.

RR

[jaquo]

@RiverRock

I put one on the microwave showing where the vent fan switch is.

I once had [sigh] a guest knock on my door before eight in the morning to ask me how to switch the microwave light off.

You have to laugh - the switch is right there on the front with a lightbulb icon on it…

[RiverRock]

@jaquo

how to switch the microwave light off.

Mine is the same way, fan and light icons. After about 3 greasy messy guests in a row I put on the label, clearly people are missing it.

RR

[RiverRock]

UPDATE on the review timing… I had a review period ending today at 1:11 if the 14 days from 1st email holds true, at 11 (my checkout time) I checked and my review wss not showing. I just checked at 1:41 and my review not showing, but when I click on the email it says my review can no longer be edited, yet it is not showing up yet.

Weird, it should post by now I will keep checking.

RR

[RiverRock]

@RiverRock

Weird, it should post by now I will keep checking.

Ok it showed up an hour after the review period ended. Here it is, she will be surprised having 7 previous good reviews…

I would not recommend Mary and her group., She booked for my maximum of 6 guests and brought in a 7th undeclared guest. Kitchen was left a mess. The dishwasher was run without scraping the food off the plates, food backed up in the sink as a result and I had to scrape it out of the dishwasher and re-wash everything. The stove was greasy and it took days to get the food smell out of the house.

RR

[GardenFairy]

I’m facing the same issue as you in a couple of days. The initial email for the review came at 1:35 pm (check-out time is 11). I got the “last chance” 48 hours left email today at 2:35. I need to make sure that posting my review won’t give the guest enough time to do one, and I’m wondering if I should post it at 1:34 or 2:34. Based on your experiment, it sounds like the review period is locked 14 days after the first email is sent but maybe it takes an hour after that to process and post.

[RiverRock]

I am sticking to 14 days from the exact time the first email prompting for review. @iGMS is the member I heard about this from and it has worked for me.

RR

[TheInsider]

Just make sure cameras are disclosed in listing prior to opening RC claim if thats what you decide to do. Not saying you don’t have them disclosed already, but if you don’t have them listed and you use the pictures from camera in claim, your claim will be denied and your reservations will be blocked. Just FYI.

[Helsi]

I’m really glad that Airbnb has helped your family @Xena.

However the reality is that the people who have benefitted most from the development of STRs are not the poor, but middle class people like ourselves who are able to afford our own homes and in some cases a second or third home.

Most people who are truly poor will not have their own housing that enables them to offer STR as they wouldn’t have a spare room or a house that they own.

[Xena]

I had thought @Chris was using “poor” to mean “unfortunate.” Is AirBnB claiming to literally help impoverished people? I’m certainly not. Their marketing here in Seattle has been along the lines of, “we help poor (unfortunate) grandma rent her spare bedroom so she doesn’t get priced out of her home.” I’m in this camp. I don’t think anyone is deluding themselves that the working poor have access to homeownership in desirable tourist locations.