Landlords return to long-term rentals as Airbnb loses its shine

The short answer is because I want to.

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Dalai Lama books and Ted shows up; River Rock says “so what?” Brainwashed much?

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The lack of profile pic annoyed me initially, but after thinking about it realised that all it did was make the booking process not that dissimilar to BDC, where no images are available. So really no impact for us.

To those suggesting guests may be able to use fake ID or carry out third party bookings because of the lack of profile pic, I think it’s worth pointing out that the profile pic becomes visible once the booking is made.

Airbnb isn’t perfect, and some of its policy decisions are indicating a definite shift towards a BDC model, but as it stands its the best platform for many hosts. That said, now might be the time to look at other platforms if currently you are totally reliant on Airbnb.

JF

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Just re-reading this thread and splurging my thoughts…

As I mentioned above, short term rentals are about service and Long term rentals are about product. This means that the businesses have different mindsets to one another.

I was a traditional landlord presenting clean and tidy properties to tenants that in some cases abused them, and to be fair, sometimes didn’t. My lack of access to the houses meant that every year or so I would have to take a deep breath before taking back possession. The scale of the fit out restoring the properties to a state that would be attractive to the next tenants was VERY variable.

Of course, short term rental has similar issues. The “unshiny” aspects of hosting such as the negative feedback and awkward guests can be depressing. But part of my studies in behavioural science showed me that as a species we tend to overplay the negative compared to the positive aspects of hosting. Its what makes us adapt and change.

Taking this into consideration, I have adapted my thinking over my time as a host from production to a service mindset. In doing so I found the Airbnb experience economy adds more than just money to my life.

This lifestyle bonus is difficult to value fiscally but easier to understand when you add it to the life side of of the work/life balance.

This sounds all very hippy, but I assure you I believe it. I can understand without framing the investment like this it would not be as “shiny”.

For what it is worth, I use smartbnb.io as my automation platform. I guess it’s an oversight, but Airbnb have not made the change with pre-booked photographs to their API.

To translate from geek… this has consequence I see the image of guest who are wishing to book prior to booking when I use the smartbnb client. So if you really wanted to see your guests images before booking here’s a way.

As it happens I don’t see this as an advantage as it is immaterial to me what guests look like.

To complete the hippy vibe here’s some Sly and the Family Stone

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I agree. I couldnt care less about photos. Photos or not you don’t know these people from a bar of soap. Calculated risk like everything in life.

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Good point. Let me better explain part of the problem in my view.

I once had a single male guest coming. His fuzzy profile picture showed 2 guys tubing in a river from a good distance away. Could have been anyone.

I did not receive replies to my messages saying he HAD to put a clear head-and-shoulders shot as his profile picture to come in the door. (requirement noted in my listing)

Here’s the deal –

I called AirBNB when I got no reply to note that he MUST do something, even if it is just a selfie at the airport baggage claim, to update that photo.

The CSX said, “It’s OK, we have all his verifications here in case of any problem.”

“That does me no good at all,” I replied, “I need to know that what YOU have matches what I SEE. Meaning, that he has the SAME head and shoulders picture facing you as the company and me as the host. Otherwise, the fraud opportunities are rampant.”

He took the selfie at the car rental line, all worked out.

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Fraud is rampant in this world, my good friend. Best not to learn this the hard way.

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The fraud would be on Airbnb. As long as I get paid I’m OK with it.

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There’s the rub.

  • Guests commits fraud or criminal mayhem
  • AirBNB shrugs, says, “call the popo” or “your documents are not in order for reimbursement”
  • You don’t get paid/reimbursed.
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What a bunch of nonsense. Someone using fake ID would provide the same fake ID to Air.

RR

Maybe, maybe not. If Air has a real ID, and you see the fake, and you as host have no access to the Air guest records, tag! You’re it! You’re screwed.

Logic 101.

Edit: You have to be able to see into the mind of a scammer. And here’s how they think:

AirBNB has ways to investigate me. I’ll give them a real ID. Then a fake for the host. Then I will wreak mayhem.

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Yes, that is the short answer, looks more like a non answer, or a read between the lines answer like when you put ‘preventing racism.’ in quotations. Since you will not answer I will assume what I will.

RR

Ok you are right, you always are. I do not know how any of us managed before.

RR

Yeah don’t listen to me; just follow your corporate Masters since they know best and are happy to shiv you (as they put some extra their money in their pocket) in the name of saving the world from itself.

As someone else said above (maybe it was you?) why ever show the photo–before, during, or even after a booking–since it isn’t needed at all? Of course, make sure you don’t ask yourself why they DID show it the first 10 years of their existence–you look like you are good at that.

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I’m happy I don’t need or care about the photo. As Airbnb moves towards the hotel model (BDC model?) some hosts who are dependent on the income may want to look at modifying their homes to separate themselves from the guests and give the guests a private entrance. Do it as soon as you can afford to; the competitive advantage is still there to be had.

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I will never go back to LTR, after I had to evict and sue in court my last tenants for 16k USD in damage and leaving pets behind. It was a nightmare. No matter how “good” the tenants are you will never get back the house you rented to them.

So to me it’s yes, you don;t do any work for a year or so but after they leave, God, forbid! To me, STR it’s more doable because the guests don’t have time to do any major damage and I’m a hands on manager. I’m in the house, I know what’s going on.

I much rather sell the house when I’m done with STR.

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Airbnb’s policies dovetail perfectly with municipal laws designed to force a host out of the hotel business and back into long term rentals (L.A. for example is about to pass a very strict 120 day per year limit on STRs).

The hotels love it (and hey why not–they paid for it in most cases) and to them there’s no need for a guest photo. They have things like a check in desk to vette arrivals, house security and self insurance; they have 250 or 500 rooms so if someone is going to get ripped off or defrauded it may just be the poor schlub one room over. But a host renting their own room or home? Not so much.

Naturally Airbnb knows all this and has decided to become essentially a hotel booking site serving either the genuine article or large management companies that run condos, resorts or multiple unit properties where costs can be amortized and regulatory restrictions “played with.” The era of an individual host with one or two units is getting squeezed at both ends and, I believe, will one day be little more than a niche business like a one chair barbershop or a corner store.

What irritates me is people–usually newer hosts that have made a few bucks and think they are on to something BIG–who can’t see what is happening on a macro level and are therefore blind to, and defensive about, the small but very significant changes in the way Airbnb does business. As I said in a post six months or so ago the writing is on the wall. And honestly I’m fine with it; capitalism involves inherent change as does the nature of life itself. It was never going to stay the way it was. But see the change for what it is.

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Do you have a rebuttal to my points? My guess is, nope.

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Move to Texas where the rights of individual property owners trumps (ugh that word) the will of municipalities. At least for now the TX Supreme court is siding with Airbnb hosts.

I don’t think you are including me in this reference but if you are let me make clear I’m not blind to what Airbnb is doing. But I don’t think it will change. Airbnb doesn’t care about the host with a room down the hall and if a host wants to continue on Airbnb they will have to adapt to that model.

I thought it was always a niche business and that’s what was expected at first it seems. But then it took off. Hosts in my town who 5 years ago had one guest room in their house now have 5 properties because it’s so profitable.

The same is happening in the Catskills to some degree. The market is so over saturated that the prices are often too low for people just starting out. Especially for those who bought an investment property. They can’t make their nut and the demand for long term rentals in our area is HUGE.

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