VRBO and/or Airbnb in this forum?

We have not had any real problems with any guests through there, but have turned more people away there, also. “Can the kids ride their 4-wheelers there?” Not no but hell no. “I can’t figure out how to send my ID.” So sorry about your luck. Etc.

I have similar feelings/experiences about TripAdvisor. Although I rarely accept a booking from them, the guests are often not very pleasant to host in my home.

1 Like

Super helpful, as always PitonView! :slight_smile:

As cheesy as some may find it, I do think there is validity to Airbnb’s motto about being part of a community. Part of that is being a good guest as well a good host. I find the culture on these more traditional booking sites such as VRBO and probably TripAdvisor to be lacking in that. The majority of guests we’ve had up North have been pushy and rude. As if the idea that this is someone’s personal home does not factor into their minds at all.

2 Likes

I am on both Airbnb and HomeAway (VRBO). Majority of my bookings are Air but HomeAway after a slow startup is a steady small percentage.
I find the Homeaway interface clunkier than Airbnb, and have had 2 recent scam booking inquiries on there. (“My wife and I are visiting my mother-in-law in Turkey. My accountant will send you the money.”) But I love the detail on the competition, especially the info on the other properties the guest looked at before booking with me.
I did up a little spreadsheet to equalize the net to me taking into account the host service fees for both high and low seasons on the two different platforms. I don’t care if there is a price differential to the guest.
I am terrified of double booking because of technical issues or lags, so I set up but never pulled the trigger on iCal. I just have instant book on Air (because I am penalized in rankings if not), and HomeAway as my “filler” platform set to Inquiry, and I update the two calendars manually.

3 Likes

I do the same thing with my listings.

So was I when I first started. I laugh now at my optimism about how quickly bookings would roll in (IF ONLY!!!). With only one property it’s not really an issue unless you cannot check your apps regularly for some reason. By the time I’m done with the initial messaging after confirming one booking, and go to check the calendar to block the dates manually on the other platform, it’s already synced and I don’t have to do it manually. If one for some reason cannot check one’s apps regularly, probably someone who can is the best person to be managing (or helping to manage) the listing IMO.

1 Like

We are on vbro but airbnb seems to have the stronger community forum. So we have a guest with an 11day reservation. Day two began complaints about a/c . By day 5 we had sent maintenance 3 times (all proved to be incorrect reports - a/c was working) guest confirmed in chat a/c was working. By day 7 a/c unit was clicking on and off - we had an hvac service visit and he found the thermostat had been vandalized, wires cut and pushed into wall. He had to rewire thermostat and connecting wire to hvac a/c unit to fix the vandalism. That evening the tenant below guest complained of a leaking ceiling in the bathroom. Yup water damage from bathroom flood of some kind caused by guest. Is there any reason anyon can provide why we should not end this guest stay ? This is our first guest experience and we do not know if this is normal and to be expected generally.

This thread is 2 years old some of the posters are no longer active. @wobble

Feel free to post on more recent threads, lots of us on are multiple platforms. Welcome to the forum.

RR