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Firstly, thankyou to @cabinhost for posting on a separate thread about the tone of some debates on here. I think it probably needed raising.
In that spirit, I would be interested in people’s view of remote airbnb hosting. We are currently Airbnb hosts for camping pods and one cottage. For the remaining four properties we use a mix of booking. com and other listings. However, we live on site and are very aware of the gazillion dumb questions visitors ask, or very simple issues they need us to resolve for them, as they come and ring on our door! We are considering airbnbing a property in France (we are in England). But have some concerns about remote hosting, primarily:
Loss of quality control with third party cleaners etc
Ability to resolve problems in a timely fashion.
Also, are there benefits - in terms of expectations - to using Airbnb for remote hosting, rather than booking . com etc? Or do you think people’s expectations of Airbnb are no longer any different to more traditional booking platforms?
From reading threads here, clearly lots of people host remotely, and I would be interested to hear their advice on how you need to do it differently from on-site hosting. Clear and thorough instruction manuals probably being front and centre! TIA
@Jess1 We have the property already, and someone in mind to clean it - if they’re prepared to take on the work. But, yes, you’re absolutely right. If you don’t have the right person to look after the place properly, you’ll be stuffed!
@jess1 Yes, we would definitely need a handy person (we do have someone local we know in mind), but a genuine question: what would they need to develop and design - is there something I haven’t thought of? It’s not a high end property, is already furnished, and we would go and set it all up in terms of making sure all the linen, utensils etc were there (we already rent cottages, so we have an idea of what we need to provide).
not sure you need a designer. But may need someone to go buy supplies when the break or go missing: towels, toasters, blender, wine glasses, cork screw ect… so they may need to have some knowledge of what you want in the rental. With online shopping it can be a little easier. I get stuff shipped directly to my property manager or have it shipped to stores for her to pick up.
@Brandt As yes, good point. There is so much we do here without thinking about it, as we’re onsite all the time. I guess an idea would be to start off with at least a double set of everything and keep it in a locked room and then restock when necessary (we intend to visit a couple of times a year ourselves). I’m nervous about this remote idea, and probably for good reason!
Depending on your property, but have you thought having someone like a Workaway/volunteer on- site (Free stay against a room). Many hostels do it and it can be nice win- win.
Our success is due in large part to a very good professional cleaning company. Additionally I have a person I hired off care.com to address one time items, like mailing back forgotten items, fixing the tv, accepting packages. I have a list of trusted repair people (electrician, plumber) who fix things as needed. Also we travel to the property about once every other month.
