Things I've learned

Wow! How do you automate your welcome board? That’s something I’d really like to do.

There’s a new feature Airbnb added about 8 months ago. It allows you to put images next to your check-in instructions. That way guests can see step by step where everything is and how it works. It helped a lot when I set that up.

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I don’t use a welcome board (too much time to fiddle with letters) or whiteboard (one more thing to keep clean). I just print a batch of welcome letters every 7-10 days with my upcoming guests’ names inserted. I use bright neon yellow paper, so it’s something they see right when they walk in. My co-host/cleaner puts them out at each turnover.

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I sort of do the same thing, although I don’t print ahead of time as I should, but it’s really humid here and the papers go floppy. I have a backlit LED board that does in the window next to the front door so they know they’ve got the right place if I’m not there to greet them (or am inside but don’t know they’ve arrived).

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This is certainly true, and in 99 per cent of guest arrivals; I totally agree with you.

However, there are a few guests (I guess about 1 per cent of them) who will abuse this strategy, and those are the ones you read about in the newspapers. “I rented out my apartment on Airbnb, and at 3 am, the neighbours called the police because there were 50 young people having a noisy party in our quiet area”. This is the kind of thing which causes Airbnb to be rejected by society as a whole.

Agree with all of your points. I’ve been buying fabulous sheets from VR SUPPLIES. Top notch customer service and nice quality hospitality linens. Just thought I’d let you know because they’ve saved us a lot of time, plus decent prices for what you get.

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@NE10 Ok but 1) Had they simply provided an outside pix from left rear of unit, the split level deck would have been seen beforehand so should have been part of listing.
2) Host knew well in advance that we were arriving after dark so leaving a inside light or two on would’ve helped greatly and should have been done, IMO That’s what I do here at my cottages even for people who’ve rented that cottage yearly and know layout well.

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Please, I’m sorry, that is ridiculous. There are as many ways to successfully host as there are, well, hosts!

When I started 4 years ago, I didn’t work outside the home (though Air wasn’t my only job). Fast forward 4 years and I have 60 hour work weeks with an ever changing, never predictable schedule, both in and out of the house. I rent 2 separate suites inside my own home.

In the beginning I could arrange to greet all my guests when they arrived. These days, I’m lucky to greet a third of them, and some of them I never even meet! Despite this, I still get great reviews and people often mention the great hospitality they received. Go figure.

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Your original statement was:

“If you cannot be there to personally welcome guests, or have a friend or employee do the welcoming in person, forget it.”

There are plenty of hosts who greet their guests and later have the neighbors call the cops. Checking in your guests in person doesn’t magically prevent those situations.

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Thanks! I appreciate the tip for VR supplies. I’ll give them a try!

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Hi there, I provide cosmetic face wash wipes, and black face cloths. Its been wonderful. You can order them on amazon and they are embroidered with Make up on them! So awesome!

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I just bought some last week off Amazon that have “Makeup” written on them. I’m not sure if they’re the ones you sell but I got them on Saturday and so far so good.

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Well I guess this might be true. And it is my firm belief that it is impossible to avoid each and every risk in life, all the time.

Still, there are precautions that need to be taken. Greeting guests personally is a very important one. Having a friend check the premises, every now and then if you cannot be there yourself is another one. Installing CC or internet-connected video cameras inside your home is yet another one, although this last one is prohibited in many countries.

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Not to mention it is prohibited by Airbnb (at least in entire home rentals, and in bedrooms/bathrooms of shared home rentals).

I’m still not sure why you think hosts who aren’t checking in guests personally can’t/won’t do those other things you mentioned. I have a tenant (also my co-host/cleaner) on-site who keeps an eye on things, and I’m there several times a week myself. There are neighbors who know how to reach me if they have any concerns. I monitor my Ring video feed. I’m in contact throughout the guest’s stay. If I were any more present or involved, I’d probably be creeping my guests out.

Your original point was that hosts who provide self-check in or otherwise automate their listings don’t belong in this business and aren’t passionate hosts. Since then, you’ve implied that these hosts are irresponsible and the ones giving Airbnb a bad name. You’re wrong on both counts.

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The way I read the policy, you can have them in public areas of any rental, and are not allowed them in bedrooms/bathrooms of any rental, and they must be disclosed.

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I don’t think any interior spaces of an entire home rental would be considered “public”, though. Maybe what you could observe looking in from outside, but beyond that…? I have a hard time picturing an acceptable use of cameras in the unit.

I see what you are saying, “in certain private spaces,” you interpret as the whole home being private, and I get that, but to me you could have a disclosed camera outside of a bedroom or bathroom, even in a whole home rental. Say near the liquor cabinet or tools in garage or etc.

It IS sufficiently ambiguous that Airbnb should clarify this.

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Not true. They can be inside entire homes as long as disclosed and they cannot be in guest bedrooms or bathrooms regardless of shared or entire home.

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EXACTLY!!! You are correct. 202020202020

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That’s true…very few guests are bad or really bad but …Airbnb uniqueness is that there is a stranger in your house and it doesnt matter how well you prescreen them or ask questions to make a decision …that stranger can turn into someone very unpleasant and even dangerous.
Over 4.5 years of hosting i had:

  1. 2 occasion of theft , one from me and one from other guest …large amounts over 1k
  2. 2 occasion of heavy drug uses which involved police and ambulances
  3. 2 times I had two different people entering the house without booking trying to get free nights
  4. Once serious complain from neighbor who claimed that one of my guests went I to her backyard and took hose to add water into our pool. Same night same already checked out guest came back to the house and landed on a backyard very drunk and wouldn’t leave and made us call police again.
  5. Mentally disturbed Guest who spent standing on our driveway for 9 hours after checking out . Police told us we shouldn’t let strangers in our house and did nothing
  6. One brought hooker to our house at night giving her our door code. We only found out when other guests complained .
  7. One guest booked and brought 6 other people and were partying on a kitchen obviously y high on drugs . At that time my husband was out of country and I don’t know what would happen if another guest didn’t get involved as all of these Intruders were in their 20s very tall males.
  8. Once our cable was stallen. Apparently you can take something like SIM card out of the box.
  9. One couple had their friend over and then suddenly I see 6 police cars . They burged into my house and started searching for …a gun.
    Wife called police and said their guest threatened her with gun demanding money .

In my case these situations happen on average every 4 months but I host Airbnb guests less than 20% of a very high occupancy rate

These are just that stand out . There were others when guests were just scandalous, crazy and were kicked out . There were multiple guests who were trying to make up stories and get refunds .

So yes it’s only small percentage is very bad but we as regular people are not really equipped with knowledge or resources to handle these situation and police is not much help lately and don’t want to deal with Airbnb guests.