Question/Scenario-

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So, I have a question for all you co-host (that do it all) your opinion is being requested.

I am a co-host for a few places here in my area. I do a really great job, ( if I may say so myself :slight_smile: )

I’ve just helped to make 2 of my hosts SUPER HOSTS and I take great pride in what I do.

Here is the scenario…

Recently 1 of my hosts, went on vacation, and naturally there was an issue. This host, by the way, lives in another state (no big deal, this is true for all my owners) A few days prior to owners departs, they let me know when they were leaving & how to contact them, etc. I made sure to ask, if there would be any issues with paying me via Zelle, which is how I get paid every month, once I provide my spreadsheet etc., They informed me no problem. The reason I asked, was because they were going overseas, so, I just wanted to make sure there would be no banking issues. You never know.

I had sent my spreadsheet a few days later via google, no problem, and the hosts texted me & said they would pay the next day.( this is normal pymnt procedure) Great! next day, no payment. I contacted the following day, since they are on vacation, I didn’t want to over burden them, but I wanted to know when I could expect payment. They would send by the end of the day. So, this is day 2.

Day 3 I have a plumbing issue at their house which need resolved right away, whilst my guests are still in house.

I text the owner & let them know. I advised, this will need to be paid, right away, as this plumber does not take credit cards or any app payments. Cash or checks. I also, explained how difficult it is to get a plumber, especially an honest one & same day.

Owner texted me back, stating that they were trying to make payment to me & feeling pressured by my text. ( Pressured by my text?) WTF

They were having banking issues & couldn’t send Zelle for some reason. Because I hadn’t been paid, I was getting nervous, so I had to write check, not really an issue, but I was a bit put off by this payment issue and only telling me now & the fact that I ask about this prior to their departure. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Being that I’m a co-host, and handle everything, I have my go to professionals handy, so when I call they come. I’m fortunate that way. So, I got a plumber within 1 hour and they resolved the issue. Of Course, we all know that this sort of resource and convenience, doesn’t come cheap. Plumbers are expensive no matter what. My plumber charged & I texted the bill to my host and no problem.

I do so much more, than expected for these places & hosts, and don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it & again, take pride in it. I just didn’t like their response to me. I did text them back to say that I didn’t mean to pressure anyone, that I was simply telling them the situation.

Anyway, this sort of thing really puts me off!

ANY SUGGESTIONS, please be kind :slight_smile:

Thanking you in advance.

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Did you finally get paid? If so, let it go. Perhaps they really did have banking issues and were stressed about it. Give them a second chance but if it happens again, then tell them you can’t co-host any longer.

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IMO co-hosts, managers, whatever you call yourself, should be given a float to pay for things that may come up, not have to pay the bill themselves and then get reimbursed. When I managed a small place for some people I knew, they always made sure I had several hundred dollars on hand. If the homeowner doesn’t trust you with that arrangement, I wouldn’t work for them.
Yes, there can be issues when trying to send money when people are travelling or out of the country. They may have just been busy on their vacation or travelling, but you don’t know either way. If you got paid, then let this one go- I probably wouldn’t have bugged them about it 3 days in a row. But in the future, they should let you know as soon as they send it, and then you can confirm that it came through.

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@KVL - We don’t have a co-host defined on AirBnB, but we have staff at our home that includes a lady that is the housekeeper, cook and property manager, so it sounds like she does what you do. As @muddy suggests, we have a “float” for her. Actually, it’s a dedicated bank account that she has access to via check and ATM machine. It has enough to take care of most routine maintenance issues.

I suggest you talk to the owners and suggest they pay you before they leave the country in the future and leave you some money for repairs. They are trusting you with a large asset (their property); trusting you with some money should not be a problem.

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Yeah, I agree there should definitely be some sort of acct we open for incidentals-

Thank you-

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