Thoughts about vetting potential guests and available tools for doing so

Research
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Too many pics of the same thing. I got bored after about twenty and I suspect I wouldn’t be the only one.

Typo under Guest Access (or maybe it’s US English :wink: )

Personally, I wouldn’t state that a) You’ll be mostly out of town and b) how long it’d take you to get to the listing.

available to both 1st and 2nd floor tenants.

You haven’t mentioned if any spaces are shared, so a bit confusing. Is your property only one floor within the building, it does look like it?

So, is it an apartment as opposed to a house? Not sure what property definitions you have in US, but EU Airbnb would classify it as a flat or an apartment if it is only one floor within a building, not a whole house, or maybe I’m simply being pedantic :slight_smile:

It looks nice, I’m sure if you get the pricing right you’ll do well.

JF

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Thank you. That’s the key part I was missing: not signing in. Otherwise the URL includes a bunch of identifiers that only work for the signed-in owner, and not for someone else to whom I am sending the link. Thanks

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Thanks for your critique JF. Much appreciated! I’ll go back and try to find what you suggested.

Regarding too many photos: I read an article called something like “10 common mistakes that owners make when listing their homes…”. One of the “mistakes” was something like not maxing out the number of photos available to be uploaded. This is obviously a matter of opinion, and we now now yours. Is it your opinion that I shouldn’t include multiple photos of the same room from different angles. or just to reduce what I have from 4 angles to, say, 2 angles? My approach was to put a single photo of each room first in the order, and then add the additional angles after all rooms have been covered (for those that want more detail). Your thoughts are again appreciated.

Shared areas: There are two rinsing showers for use when returning from the beach. These are shared between the first- and second-floor occupants. I’ll try to clarify this.

Type of building: The building is technically (by New Jersey law) a condo in which there are 2 units, a first floor and a second floor. Each has separate independent entrances and owners. I chose the closest of the limited/fixed options that AirBnB allows.

Regarding those limited/fixed options, I would like to use the Rooms and Spaces section to more accurately list things like a storage area, outdoor decks (rather than “porch,” which is the closest I could find), and so on. Is there a way to add customized spaces (i.e., I get to take up the name of the space or room) in the listing?
Thanks.

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Actually thats not true. If you go into preview listing on your listing you can pick up the URL from there.

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Would you all please let me know your thoughts on the subject of condiments. Here is what I now have in my listing:

“Condiments are tricky things. Here’s what we do. We leave condiments that have not expired (mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, salad dressings, etc.) in the refrigerator for your potential use. Some guests love this, and some guests are grossed out by it. If you wish to use these condiments, like you would in a restaurant, please do so and save yourself the trip to the grocery store. If you can’t stand the thought of ketchup used by someone else in your refrigerator, then by all means throw them out and buy your own new stuff. If you are in the first category, feel free to leave your unexpired unused condiments in the fridge for the next people. We won’t judge you either way.”

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It’s just (for me) to many pics of the same stuff. They’re renting it for a week or so, they don’t need five views of each bedroom.

The folks that write these article are rarely genuine hosts. Ninety nine percent of them are click bait.

JF

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I don’t have a condiment section in my listing. Not enough time in the day.

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I thought Houfy was an international platform? - if so, please make sure you update your article to say that your advice only relates to those in the U.S.

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I agree with your points @JohnF

And yes there are quite a lot of typo’s so @tpbeebejr I would suggest you proof read the copy and then cut and paste an edited, proofed version into your listing.

Also your photos are very dark with the result that when you look at the listing - on my laptop anyway - all you can see is a dark blur on the home page of your listing. Then when you open the images they are very small and dark. I agree with @JohnF that you should go for a quality over quantity approach once you have retaken the photos.

I also notice you want to charge $300 to hire sheets and pillowcases - that sounds very expensive to me. Are you planning to charge extra to hire duvets and towels?

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Well, people have asked about it, so there you have it. So @Brandt, you have no opinion about the matter?

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My opinion would be to not have a section on condiments in your listing.

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It is an international platform. But I wasn’t writing on behalf of Houfy necessarily. I was writing because a lot of hosts are joining Houfy and are scared of “book direct” - even my “advice” doesn’t address everything possible. And it’s just that…advice. Some would disagree with all of it.

Having said that…I’d love to hear your input on international procedures. don’t those change per country too? I would be happy to write about any of that. Or you could write about it on Houfy and I would link to your Story about that info…and then share with any international followers I may have…

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I think the majority of Airbnb users expect to find bed linens and towels available in the properties. But beyond that, that fee is so crazy high IMO that even if people were willing to bring their linens, it might put them off your listing (I’d be thinking, “Geez, what am I going to be upsold/overcharged for next?”).

I think that charging for linens and towels has more downside than upside, but that’s just my opinion.

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Yeah, just pay your cleaner to handle the linens and pass it through in the cleaning fee. Doubt any cleaner would charge that high.

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I know the linen thing must sound strange to those unfamiliar with the Jersey Shore beach rental culture, but it’s all about context. I just booked my first VRBO guest (woo hoo - and thanks for all the help everyone). They opted for my $300 bed linen service. I asked them about it (I did my first in-person check in) and they said they were delighted to pay for it. Remember, their usual expectation is that they have to schlep the correct size and number of clean sheets and pillowcases down in the family car, and then spend an hour making the beds while the kids whine about not going to the beach yet!

Next I’ll pass on my unscientific poll about the same question for bath linens.

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I am having a terrible experience with a current guest. I couldn’t believe how rude the guy was on the phone. I did a background check (around $20) through a common phone lookup site . The report showed that he had three police arrests . I am certain that the site didn’t do any vetting at all. This guy has access to a rather costly cabin in the mountains (4 bed / 3 bath) … so paranoia is sometimes needed helpful. I immediately contacted Airbnb with the results… finally, I felt that I was listened to as an owner. Why do things have to be so dramatic for the site to believe us?