One-unit owners vs. owners of many Airbnbs

I will also and that I don’t think the high volume folks hang out here too much. I suspect they sign-up but don’t participate because the topics here are deeply in the weeds of the host experience. The high volume folks don’t care. Also, I don’t think we have any way of calculating this, but we may be dominated by home sharing hosts and not whole house/apartment rentals.

Not only do I not like the high-volume hosts, I don’t even much care for the Airbnb hosts who - and I don’t quite have a word for it, but who don’t have a vision of what it is they are offering other than a roof, a bed and a coffee maker. I will freely admit my prejudice on this topic, but as soon as I see a post that says, essentially, ‘we just bought our first Airbnb and I want to know how cheaply we can furnish it?’ I scroll on. I’m just not into the folks who aren’t passionate about providing a unique home stay experience.

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I like the “one host, one home” label although as you say there are some great hosts with more than one property. There have been two homes for sale on my block since I started Airbnb and I considered buying one of them thinking maybe I’d Airbnb it. So I almost went to the dark side. LOL.

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Lol! I don’t think you need to ONLY own one property to be the kind of host I like. I just want the guest to have a vision of the kind home stay they are offering and the kind of host they want to be. Volume hosting is a hotel. YouTube Dude is running an illegal hotel operation.

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We don’t like high listing hosts, but Air would because of the money. Post IPO they will like them even more. Volume affords a certain level of protection from the dress of having to achieve certain metrics, whereas the rest of us are the standard bearers.

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I don’t mind the roof-bed-coffee pot hosts so much, I think there is a traveler niche that is served by them, maybe allowing folks who don’t have the big bucks to enjoy travel experiences.

It’s the illegal ones that I have no respect for. I also avoid staying in any Airbnb where the host has multiple whole space properties, legal or not. I just don’t have enough data to know whether they are cannibalizing long term rental availability. (I also assume that any multi-property hosts with apartment STRs are violating lease agreements.)

I have read blogs and such where hosts imply that skirting a lease contract is a type of positive “disruption” of the status quo, I guess something of a admired concept in emerging and platform businesses, as in “move fast and break things.” In my generation, the phrase was “fight the Man” haha, also used to justify a lot of bad behavior.

So they are kind of painting their law- and/or contract-breaking as something noble. But I don’t believe these folks are Robin Hoods, I think threat of eviction or fines is just a risk probability factor in their business decision to STR. Ergo, violating a civil contract (lease) is a business strategy based on profit and loss projections, not a resistance movement against freedom-stifling rules.

And, as demonstrated by the recent NYC case, even a management or realty company that owns the properties can be violating the zoning or other legal restrictions on property use by doing STR instead of LTR.

Can regulations be overboard and hurt the little guy? Of course. I do sympathize with one-property hosts who are so restricted by local regulations that they cannot benefit from STR use of their property.

Side note: The most recent Airbnb magazine I got has a section on “Endangered Destinations” and how to have a smaller impact while traveling. In addition to listing locales affected by rising climate change and pollution, it lists Venice and several other destinations as “endangered due to overtourism.” They are careful to say “especially day-trippers, who contribute little to the economy.”

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I give this post 10 :heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart:s.

This is a conundrum for me personally. How do I reconcile my desire to travel with my purported love of the environment? How do I tell Don Burns with a straight face that I don’t use disposable coffee cups while I hop on a plane to go 400 miles? What about my love of the road trip or just “going for a drive?” Can I go an African safari (photo not hunting)? Eco-tourism is an oxymoron.

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KKC: I forgive you!

Later, I can teach you how to walk on water and turn water into wine, like I do.

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It’s a deal!..

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??? Doesn’t this apply to everywhere exc. the sides of peaks in the Karakoram? And maybe there, too.

I feel I cannot go back to any of the cherished places I’ve visited backpacking the world because where there were empty Buddhist temples and Greek ruins, now there are amusement trains, touts and 6 gorillion ppl.

Due in part to this factor:

The Lonely Planet Effect: Are Travel Writers Ruining the World?

Hi, my house is near Atlanta, and prior to The Superbowl 2019 the number of Airbnb homes increased tremendously. There are people who want to get on “the gravy train” of the latest money-making scheme, and these multi-unit rentals sound like that. If people want to rent an apartment then so be it. Personally, I prefer to do it the old-fashioned way and either rent a room or a home. A thought- people who use wheelchairs ( like myself) may be able to travel more if there are accessible Airbnb apartments available as most homes are not wheelchair accessible. My “1-cents worth”.

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I agree with you about this being more than just supplying a roof over someone’s head. It’s about providing great hospitality and a great experience. I worked in Hotels before and it comes down to the guest experience which is more than just providing a room. My brother in Utah has rented Airbnb places in “touristy” locations like ski areas where they don’t even provide coffee! They do nothing for the guests, and he said that they are even rude/abrupt because they know that they will always be rented out.
It all comes down to attitude and one’s desire to provide a truly delightful experience for the guest. These are the people who are hospitable and who Airbnb want to represent the brand. The Hosts who are passionate about the “Airbnb experience” are in it for the long haul, and they will be there long after other people fold and move on to another money-making scheme.

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Hi, I told my neighbors about going with Airbnb because they didn’t understand why so many different license plates kept showing up in my driveway. I needed their support for my endeavor, too, as they could make things awkward for me/my guests. They didn’t know anything about the STR industry because all the homes nearby rent out yearly.
Re: picture of exterior home- a guest said that they want to see the exterior because they are concerned about the area and the general state of the home. I want to see the exterior area, too, when I rent to make sure that it looks nice.

Thank you for writing this so well. My feelings about being a host are as yours. I’ve been a bit amazed reading this forum, where on-site hosts are grumbling about having to do this or do that for their guests and wanting to charge extra. I keep thinking, why are they in the hospitality business? They would be better suited temperamentally to find another way to provide income. Some appear downright hostile to the guests intruding into their space.

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You wrote that quite well yourself :slight_smile:

I think the problem with many hosts is that they don’t actually see themselves as service providers of any description. They don’t grasp the fact that by letting a room/flat/house to the public, in return for remuneration, you are part of the service industry, more specifically the hospitality sector.

We often discuss the “entitled guests” on here, but in my humble opinion we could just as easily discuss the “entitled hosts”, of which there seems to be plenty.

JF

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Agree wholeheartedly.

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@TheRock - I agree - hosts with multiple properties have to be super-organised, that’s for sure, otherwise they could put guests off renting in the future!

Multi-owners have to juggle bookings and reservations (sometimes from numerous platforms), and ensure each guests has a fab experience to boot! If they can’t manage that, effectively they run the risk of giving multi-property hosts a bad name! At least there’s software available to help manage listings and keep everything on track.

Providing they respect those living in the locality of their rentals, manage their properties well and look after their guests, then multi-owners shouldn’t cause hassle for one-unit rental owners.

And obey regulations, and the terms of their leases or condo agreements, as applicable!!!

I have up to 5 listings in 1 small house. It’s a blend of STRs and LTRs, and availability varies with the seasons. I do it because I love the company and I love my home, though I sometimes feel like an air traffic controller. Month ends are always hairy.

You sound very busy, but it’s nice that you enjoy the company of your renters. Hope it’s all going well for you.