Superhost burnout

Im a pretty private person;I really never had guests at my house in the 20 yrs I have lived here except for family. Having hosted 100 strangers in 12 months I am starting to get a little sick of it. There is so much upkeep! (I touch up paint every 2 weeks to keep it looking new). I have an elaborate botannical garden that requires that it be kept looking awesome all the time.I also had my first bad guest that left a bloody mess for me, stole a few articles, used 13 towels and facecloths(for a one night stay) I am going to be looking into another business eventually I am getting sick of it. I dont know how all of you manage to host the guest inside your own house;at least for me they are in a separate building. I think I would kill myself if I had to host strangers inside my house!Thats my private sanctuary from the madness of the world!Anyone else burned out?

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Maybe raise your rates substantially. It will be worth it more financially and you’ll have less bookings but probably the same income.

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I have thought of that but not everyone leaves the AC on, just some people. There is a lot of competition;new hosts pop up every day;rates are trending down…at least for private rooms since there are sooo many private rooms…

oh, I was talking about the electric…se how burned out I am. Yes I plan to do that.I raised the cleaning fee from 45 to 48 today. Not sure what to raise the daily rate yet.

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Sorry you’re having a rough time. Do you block off days between bookings? Yes, the pressure can be intense. I’ve had to let some standards slip. Each of us has to host in a way that’s comfortable for them - but maybe you could put off the painting touch-up to every month? Also, micro-fiber clothes do a great job getting off scuffs and marks.

Yes, the competition is getting awful. But if you’re hosing to much, I’d take @Sarah_Warren’s advice and up your rates - unless you really need to stay solidly booked. Have you tried something like Beyond Pricing?

Hope things pick up - hopefully your next few guests will be lovely and bring presents…

Sometimes I block days but I spent quite a lot of money to make the geusthouse like a little 4 seasons hotel with a private garden. I need to pay off my credit cards!

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They should not have access to this many towels for one night. I have 120+ five star reviews and my guests get one bath towel, hand towel and washcloth per stay (not per night). If I had anyone stay more than a couple of nights I offer fresh ones. Only one couple used more than that.

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well, most dont do that but this druggie was the exception.

You cannot control other people you can only control yourself (hopefully.) Don’t leave 13 towels for one night. It will happen again.

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Understand although I’m not an SH. The dead summer in Hawaii gives me a self imposed break from guests and the winter madhouse. It’s not a bad thing to take a break from hosting.

Book some time off and do raise your rates. You’ll get a better clientele in general. If you have a separate guesthouse, raise the cleaning to $85. That also helps attract a more responsible guest, at least in theory.

Catering to the groundlings in the cheap seats is not always the best strategy!

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I have not had a break since I started 13 months ago.I have been busy year round.The weather is pretty nice here all year round. I need to raise rates but I cant take time off, I have those credit cards to pay off that I used to fix up the place.

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If you are overly booked all the time, your price is too low. Raise it and I guarantee you’ll be much happier!

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Do edge your prices up and see what happens. Hopefully you can make more money, pay off those cards, and then relax a bit.

The hosts on this forum helped me understand that the fact that I was booking-up into the future meant my prices were to low - and they were right. In addition, Beyond Pricing has been helpful for me because it keeps telling me that I should be less than 50% booked for the next 30 days. That’s hard for me to believe, and I’ve been tempted to lower prices, but I decided to listen to them. Sure enough now I’m beginning to get bookings for the fall - at my higher price. Those horrible price tips from air that I believed in from the start really got my mind in the wrong place price-wise.

You do need a break!! I’ve taken two short spontaneous trips (just a few days) since we started hosting for that very reason - I really had to get away. I know you may not feel like you can do that because of the debt, but do try to find something that you can do to give you some time to regroup. In the long run, it will pay off. The pressure of having to please so many people because that debt is riding on your back sounds miserable. You need a special “antidote” just for you.

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Wow! You must be raking in a major amount of money, though! That’s fantastic. I realize it has its cost to you personally, but at the end of the day the $ makes it worthwhile. I’m like you, though, not making what you are, but I want to take a break but I just can’t seem to do it. I want to get away just for a week but I look at the money I’d give up. I’ll hold off until fall.

Have you considered taking a break and having another person host for you? Maybe look into management companies in your city, or connect with another local host.

If you are getting burned out then the WAY you are operating YOUR BUSINESS needs to change… Since this is a guest house separate from your home I would HIGHLY recommend that you charge a cleaning fee equal or slightly above the cost of Maid Service. After a guest checks out, call the maid to prep the room, pay them the cleaning fee you collected and pocket the slight extra as cost to replace expendable items. Let the maid tell you when you need to repaint, hire a gardener to take care of the yard and if the budget does not fit expenses then raise your prices or lower the amenities that require the higher upkeep.
ONE thing most “hosts” do 100% WRONG is they work TOO much IN their business instead of working ON their business. Your title SHOULD be CEO and NOT maid, gardener, plumber, painter, etc.
You have 2 choices; either you manage your business or you let your business manage you.

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I completely empathise with you. I’m also a Superhost and have had 82 guests in 15 months. I started to feel really burnt out. And I’d started to get the occasional 4 star which I can’t really say if it’s because I was feeling so exhausted I was less than friendly or if my guests had higher expectations that I now wasn’t meeting.

So, I upped the prices a little, made a 2 night minimum, increased the weekend charge up by $20 over a mid week rate (so if I had to have people around at the weekend it was a little more worth it).

The bookings dropped off - of course they did, but not so much. I started blocking off 4 or 5 days at a time and really chilled out until I felt I was ready to resume. Then I got a last minute 3 day booking and I took it. A delightful Chinese woman who likes my place and she wants to stay for 3 weeks and pay cash up front. Normally I wouldn’t say yes, but there’s something about not needing to change sheets every 2 days and deal with constant booking enquiries. She paid me the cash, is quiet and respectful and tidy and I may change my tune now about longer stays… Hope that helps a little.

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Absolutely untrue.
Money cannot compensate personal health loss.

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I know how you feel dude. Not as many peeps but the bloom is off the rose for sure. But for me it’s not even a question- it helps pay the mortgage for now thanks to unemployment. But I have a family member moving to my area in September and she’s going to stay for a while. I’ll only make 50% of the airbnb $ but less hassle for sure. Nice break :slight_smile:

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Have you increased revenue with beyond Pricing? There is a certain point however where your guest room ceases to be a good deal when you start to equal the price of a nice hotel room!