What questions do you ask guests when they request a booking?

I always say after they book and we have already send them a copy of the ‘Notes’…:

“Now that you have read the Other Details to Note, if you have any questions, do not hesitates to asks us.”

Radio silence.

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“Notes” is this a section in our template we can send?

In “Post-booking details” there is a space to put your address,
directions and then guest manual."
-I’m assuming this isn’t given out until the guest is a confirmed booking…

And unfortunately due to the age of the tub- we haven’t found any
things that fit the clawfoot- so it is what it is for now…

I can fully understand not wanting to try to come up with a shower option, but just so you understand, the faucet I was referring to should have nothing to do with the age of the tub- you just unscrew the existing faucet and screw on the new one. The fittings are universal.

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Under Listing Description, a section (Other Details to Note) where to put instructions or information.

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thanks will look into it- I did originally and apparently it is an odd vintage shape and doesn’t seem to fit the tub- new faucets- but will check again.

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Check this out:

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This looks great thanks… will print and give to my handiman…

I rented an old Victorian w/ only a claw foot tub, but there was a pipe that ran from the faucet up to a shower head. There was circular pipe (oblong) that a liner & curtain were hung on, totally enclosing the tub (no water leaked out). It’s not uncommon & relatively inexpensive.

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I’m going to chime in on the no bathtub part of this discussion. That would be a dealbreaker for my husband and we would look for other places to stay. I think most people these days expect no tub, not the reverse, if one was going to be missing, so it will be very important for you to either find a solution to get a shower working, or to ensure your potential guests know there isn’t one available.

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I’m a bit confused. You expect a tub or you expect a shower?

I’ve stayed in several rentals with a clawfoot tub but they all had some shower function as well. One only had a handheld and no curtain so it had to be used sitting in the tub but there were two other bathrooms with showers in the home that could be used.

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Ugh, shower was the correct word. I fixed it.

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I would like to contribute two observations: Firstly, I address three items in my initial response to inquiring guests that have come up over and over again as having been missed even though clearly indicated several places in the listing. I now even tell them WHY I’m addressing these items (“because they are regularly missed by guests who don’t read the listing carefully and I want to make sure our place is a ‘good fit’”). These items are not minor. People think we are in VA Beach, and we are not. People need to know we are owner occupied and they are in denial about what it means. And people need to understand that we require them to sign a Rental Agreement and provide their government ID when/if requested. None of our booking guests has ever objected to my asking if they are aware of these points. Secondly, the reason I (sometimes) ask people to share a little bit about their visit is usually because they have a blank profile, they are new to Airbnb, and I have a gut feeling they are teenagers who want to engage in underage drinking on the beach. They will usually respond with something to the effect that they are going to bond with their classmates for one last time and they promise not to drink or smoke in the property, or do nasty things and will I please rent to them even though they are all 17? No. No I will not and I am so glad I was nosy. We have rented to large groups of young adults without incident, by the way, but they all responded to my questions politely and honestly and a good time was had by all.

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Thank you for these points and completely understandable. This is a
new point- you have people sign a “rental agreement”- this is
interesting- in addition to the airbnb rules?. What types of things do
you find important to add into this? Do people balk at this? Extra
protection seems like a smart thing to do. It is your home after all.
I have a super host assigned to me to answer questions and she always
seem to side with the guests, I asked about questions when booking and
she said don’t do it- they may run- I thought that was odd… I asked
about finding out about them prior to booking and she said you can’t
look at their profile… not very helpful at all… and I guess being
paid by airbnb to give suggestions. lol…

The bathroom for some of our guests has a clawfoot tub. We got a shower ring for it that runs up from the faucet. It only required one screw in the ceiling at the other end to hold a support piece. I see that you say that you can’t find anything to fit so I’m assuming there is some plumbing incompatibility. Usually there are adapters available to make any two pipe fit together. People do like having a shower.

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She said you can’t look at a guest’s profile? Of course you can, that’s one of the ways you vet them.

You do realize that “Superhost” is no guarantee that someone is particularly knowledgable or has good ideas, right? All one has to do to achieve the Superhost badge is not cancel bookings, maintain a 4.8 rating (which can have more to do with the guests one gets than anything special or fantastic the host is doing), get at least 10 bookings in the previous 365 days, and have an 88% response rate (which just means you haven’t let any inquiries or requests expire without responding.

Lots of us got Superhost after the first or second quarter of hosting, when we were basically total novices.

If this person who is advising you doesn’t understand that you would want some guests to run- not book with you because they wouldn’t be a good fit, I’d say she has a lot to learn and shouldn’t be advising anyone.

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yes it will be tricky finding someone who knows how to fix a
clawfoot… I am hiring a guy to paint it in a week- as it stained
easily- a 5 day “dry” job…! what a mess… with epoxy… have to air
out the bathroom with a fan to get rid of the smell.

the guys at the hardware said it seemed like an unusual configuration
like someone drilled a hole in it. we shall see.

thanks.
Luckily I do have the ring for the ceiling left by the former owner.

the good thing is- there is a huge rec centre 5 min walk with pool,
sauna, hot showers for a pass- if they want one badly enough they can
have a nice sauna too.

I don’t do that on AirBnB (but I think I will soon), but I do it on Vrbo. My AirBnB house rules are essentially a copy of the contract. But having a guest open a document, initial the key points, and sign it (even digitally) reinforces to them that I am serious about the rules. It’s also easier to enforce legally since AirBnB isn’t in the middle.

@momovich Is there anything in your contract about your contract being more binding than the booking site? My current contract has the clause: in the case of a conflict between this contract and a booking site, this contract shall be binding.

Heads in beds. Are you breathing? Are your credit cards usable?

If they have a bad review I ask for explanation. That happened recently, can’t remember it ever happening before, it’s been either all good reviews or no reviews.

My communications after request, before confirm include:

You will love it here!

Do you have any more questions??

Please share a little about yourself, your travel companion or your trip:)

I usually get an earful and they are happy because I sent them more info right away, and gave them a chance to reply before confirm. I do think a quick positive host response is great from the guest perspective.

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It sounds to me like you need to be talking to a plumbing specialty supplier, not the local hardware store. Someone drilled a hole in what? As to the tub refinishing being smelly & needing to be aired out, this is normal. I had a claw foot tub refinished, & this is standard. :woman_shrugging: I agree with & Muddy as far as your Superhost advisor. Just saying…
As to your comment regarding a local rec center, no way would I rent a place that I had to go to the rec center to shower. Why not just rent a room at the Y? This is the hospitality industry.

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