Tickled pink - told my listing comes up as sought after

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Got a request from a guest today. She said my listing comes up as being sought after. Woohoo. I’m not a super host, thank god. But that’s pretty cool.

Some of may remember me having a lot of issues. I got a few bad apples and was pretty uptight about reviews.

But I came on here and got some good advice. The best piece of advice I got was to write my ad for the kind of guest that I want to have. Once I did that things became so much easier and my guests were far more relaxed. That is exactly how I like them. Since then hosting has been a breeze even if I have some dishes in the sink. It says right in my ad that that might happen and my guests don’t care. I’ve met some cool people and it’s actually become something way more fun.

In other news I got my first person who clearly didn’t read the ad. She wanted to check in at 9 a.m. and also didn’t realize that I have dogs even though their pictures are in the ad. Now that I’m more relaxed I didn’t try to accommodate something that I can’t accommodate. I just told her that check out is at 12 p.m. and check in starts at 4 but I could probably squeeze her in at 2 p.m. This board helped me realize that hosting has to be on my terms or it won’t work. Thanks!!!

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Great news !

As someone stung recently by shoddy reviews from people who couldn’t be bothered to read the listing, I know how frustrating and disappointing it is. I personally have lost a considerable amount of faith in Airbnb as they do nothing to protect hosts in these situations; reviews from guests who complain about things clearly disclosed in the listing and house rules still count.

For me it’s got to the point where my attitude is…since I have to put up with reviews that do not reflect what I offer, I will start to remove all those extras I used to include.

So gone from bookings in May onwards is the breakfast and the towelling robes I provided for use in the pool. Gone too are the little chocolates and snacks I left in the room. Robes were both a pain to launder and breakfast/snacks hit my profit margins (which are small anyway as I price my listing very reasonably at the low end of the market.) I offered both because I wanted it to be a nice experience but I guess it’s not something that guests put value on.

The good thing about having a super basic listing is no-one can get confused about what you’re offering.

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I read the listing every so often and change it. Usually I’m looking for a way to make it shorter and still say everything.

I feel you. I provide nothing extra. Hence ibget guests who stay, many times, just one night, which is cool with me. Thinking of taking hot tub access out. Real pain in the butt. We’ll see.

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Indeed. Laundering bath robes would be tedious and the guests are probably not appreciative anyway.
Glad you’ve taken control!

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Thanks for taking the time to share this! Your post is both positive and informative. Congratulations on finding a great way to host YOUR way.

Wow! The nerve! Regardless of whether or not they read your ad, nobody should expect that you can say goodbye to one guest and get the house ready for a new guest by 9 a.m. I hope you mentioned that in your review of her.