I heartily suggest everyone read this fantastic post…
Let’s Share REALLY summed it up well… could not say it better!
LetsShareThoughts3h
Absolutely agree, that guests who made a mistake with booking (that can happen to anyone!) and immediately let me know, shuold of course be refunded. This has happened a couple of times with us, with little fanfare or inconvenience.
On the subject of Air taking out money from future bookings, OMG, have I got some STORIES!
We used to live in a very popular touristy location, and had been hosting since the advent of Air, with mostly stellar interactions…in the beginning. After the site’s popularity grew (as well as the market saturated with other hosts-inevitable), we noticed a sharp decline in both Customer Service for hosts, as well as caliber of guests.
One guest booked our home over Christmas fro nearly the entire month. We made our own holday plans accordingly, as this was our main residence and rented it out whilst traveling.
After this guest had checked in, the troubles began. (We have all had “high-maintenance guests” so we thought after a decade of hosting we could handle any issues that may arise). First the guests said the house was too cold. We asked if the heater was not functioning properly and the guest had turned it off! She said she was not sure how it worked (it has a thermostat-lol). It turned out after some queries, that she was unaccustomed to natural gas and was frightened to use it. Ok. After assuring her that the gas was safe, she then tells us (two days later) that our house is “too hot.” I kid you not. Too cold, then too hot.
She then says that she wants to leave…but wants a 100% refund. Yes, you read that corrcetly. We gently tried to reel her in (mind you, she is staying in our home already and we are out of town), and told her that we would have our property manager bring her electric space heaters (that the manager would need to purchase). Nope. She wants to leave, but she insists on the FULL REFUND—BEFORE SHE WILL CHECK-OUT!
We tell her that this is not how the service works, and unless there is something catastrophically wrong with a listing, there are no refunds after a guest checks in at all, and that we were making a special concession for her, but she would of course need to pay for the days she has already stayed and also needs to handle the cancellation from her end to free up the calendar days for re-booking. Once that happened, we’d be happy to discuss a refund. She does not budge, nor does she leave our home or cancel.
She continued to stay in our home…FOR FIVE DAYS! At Christmastime!! This “awful hot/cold place that is so inhabitable that she must leave.”
Do I even need to tell you what happened? AIRBNB GAVE HER A 100% REFUND!!! ----AND TOOK THE MONEY FROM OUR FUTURE BOOKINGS. $2500. Not exactly chump change. It tooka. week to open the dates again, but we were only able to rebook about 1/5 of the days, still having to pay for the cleaners (again) AND she left a holy freaking hell of a mess to boot.
We stopped hosting that home very soon after this.
This was the THIRD TIME Air refunded guests 100% AFTER they had already checked in and stayed a while, (using everything-eating and sleeping there). Honestly if someone walked in, didn’t like something and left, we would work with them. It was the audacity that they would not only stay, but stay for days, cooking, eating, sleeping, bathing, snooping into our private stuff, etc. and then balk and say they want a free vacation. We learned that scam artists had found out how to buck Airbnb’s system, and that as a business partner, Airbnb could not give a shite if we, the hosts, were left holding the crap bag.
But we did eventually return to hosting (on a different property), and we have learned a few things about Air that may help you, especially if you are new to hosting:
Airbnb is not on the side of hosts at all. (Etch this into your brain…and then let it go).
Air has proved time and again that hosts are (now), simply a numbers game for them. Guests on the other hand, have quite a few benefits and if they bitch hard enough, will be granted almost anything.
Air went from being an amazing small home-sharing site, to being a billion dollar operation, with hosts now assuming nearly all of the risks. At least with regard to their own properties.
As Airbnb’s popularity has grown, so has its userbase. That brings with it the good and bad. ALL guests used to be stellar in the beginning. Now, you have to take the problems with the benefits. Faster bookings, greater reach, but also more creeps now. We still consider 99% of guests to be stellar. Sadly, it is the “problem child” guests whom we remember the most.
Airbnb’s reviews are totally skewed towards the guests. (Also etch this into your brain). Guests couldn’t care less about their own reviews. They can just pack up and make a new profile if they get a bad review. Hosts on the other hand, work hard for every one of their five stars, and take deep hits on negativity. We also are viewed poorly if we “tattle on” or react to, problem guests. It’s almost like a flashing neon sign on your listing, so react with caution. Guests do peruse your reviews and responses. A better tack is to just ignore any negativity and let it fade into obsucurity, drowned out by the other great reviews. Hoping that this part of the site is changed soon. One fab idea would be secret reviews (only seen and shared by other hosts).
Airbnb does NOT have a $1m insurance guarantee. Just look up the truly horrific stories. They abound. Do not ever think that they will cover anything and everything, or you could lose your shirt. Cover yourself and know the risks.
But most importantly:
6. AIRBNB IS STILL AN AMAZING SITE and you can make money, supplement your income, create a business, improve your home with the funds, take holidays, etc. You just need to be savvy, always know the risks, and plan accordingly.
We now do a few things very differently from our original hosting home-sharing days:
-we limit the number of days guests can stay (no more eating thousands $$). If a guest cancels, not a big deal anymore because it’s just a few days-maximum.
-we only host “on-site.” i.e. we also live here but have guest quarters. No more leaving our home in the hands of (sometimes) unscrupulous strangers with no one there to keep a watchful eye.
-WE HAVE SURVEILLANCE (outside). Just this alone we think keeps people on good behavior, cuts down on creeps like smokers and partiers and degenerates.
-we carry extra insurance, have a property manager, have watchful neighbors, and keep in constant contact with guests. We don’t intrude, but we always greet people, get a gander, take down their license plates (this is a law in many cities) and are just…present. This has cut our headaches down to almost nil. Yes, it is a bit more work, but who cares? We’re still making money. Things change. We learned to be adaptable.
Understandably not everyone is retired or can be onsite and do all of these things, but you can definiytely keep abreast of what is happening with your property in numerous ways, and just knowing the benefits and limitations of Air, feel much better and confident as a result.
So yes, our original easygoing gravy train had ended, but a new chapter began. One that is honest, direct and less simple, but still a lot of fun and ultimately beneficial to our livelihood. In fact, I think we enjoy hosting now much more than before. It feels like when we very first started but witha helluva lot more control. As a result, we are able to be more flexible than in the past. We have so many guests and high volume that we happily grant the odd request here and there. Hosting feels like less of a burden and we experince less burn-out. There are also new things that never existed before, like meeting other hosts, trading ideas and having co-hosts, etc. That part is awesome! We cover our asses more now for certain, but still make money, have fun and try not to sweat the small stuff. Still learning every day how best to navigate this.
In short, be cautious yes, but don’t be frightened!! You still control your property. You can still partner with Air, just be aware of the risks and know exactly what you’re doing and why. Then you will never feel like a victim. When you know that this is a “brass ring” type of deal, you can just grab it while it’s there. Maybe your city will change, maybe the service will change, but taking control of what and how you run your business wherever and however you can, will have you feeling much better about it all…and feeling grateful. Like the first time you saw the money show up in your bank. Cha-Ching!
We are still incredibly grateful to have discovered Airbnb. It is hands down the top site for bookings. The glory days of Airbnb are over. Take the good with the bad and GET PAID! $$$$$$
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