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Oh snap, missed that memo. lol
Well it SUCKS and I feel like my hard work, time and money all these years work has been for NOTHING.
I can put up with all kinds of nonsense if I’m making money, but to have an income I have tenderly built up over many years be kicked out from under me is a slap in the face.
Yes, it’s a really strange business model not to care if you drive away long time successful hosts who guests leave great reviews for, in order to encourage ever more people to sign up as hosts, spreading the bookings so thin that it stops being a viable business for their best hosts.
Exactly.
And giving us the dregs. We have had so many guests in the past few months who are absolute garbage can people that my faith in humanity has been shattered.
This is coming from me…if yu remember when I joined this forum, I was the advocate for “forget the negative details, just get PAID!”
But now I’m not getting paid, have ten times the headaches…so wth is the point??
As I have said before, Airbnb is heavily advertising for new hosts. My area has increased by 50% and I am watching the new hosts with interest as I can’t see them lasting the distance.
Over the last 2 years I have been working hard to build a direct booking clientele and I spoil those who repeat.
So I could accept a longer booking, one of my repeat guests altered her dates at my request, so I could pick up another booking.
To the end of March I have a total of 18 nights available across 4 listings, out of 140 nights
No Airbnb bookings until June and only one b.c booking.
I now have a website that I am being found on, as I am over the amount of control the OTA’s want to have over my business!
You can build a direct booking business!
I’m sorry you’ve been getting crappy guests. I have been very lucky- I’ve never had a bad guest. They’re not all perfect, but nothing that would make me decline another booking from them.
Holy cow, you are very fortunate. I have had peeople do the most heinous disgusting things in my listing and then turn around and filet us in a review. You name it, we’ve seen it. Just absolute degenerate behavior. But we are also in a city and have a small unit that attracts overnight stays.
I have been thinking that making a great website is a really good start! Thanks so much for the encouragement on building a direct booking business! 
I meet and greet.
I ask if they have repeat visits to my area.
I have a conversation about direct booking and them saving money.
I take credit card payments.
I assess them after their first stay and see if we are a comfortable fit and they look after the listing.
If they aren’t good guests….no offer of a repeat stay.p - so sad too bad those dates are unavailable.
I currently have 2 guests who make up 50% of the bookings for one unit.
They find their preferred breakfast supplies in the fridge, easy access keys and one set tells me they use me as an example to their other bookings in other places.
Love this. Going to work on a website…and other booking sites now. Never had to go to back to VRBO/Homeaway since starting with Airbnb.
Yeah, I don’t do one nighters. I’m in a touristy beach town, so my minimum is 3 nights and an average stay is a week-10 days. Also only host one guest at a time in a private room. And I’m on the outskirts of noisy town in a quiet countryside area, so it attracts a certain type of guest.
Had 2 guests in the past month who moved out here from places they were staying in town to escape the noise and commotion. And my most recent guest told me “You do know you could charge more for this- it’s really nice compared to other places I’ve stayed that charge twice as much.”
That sounds wonderful! The people who come to popular cities are a very different market. I’m thinking of selling this property and moving to a more rural area, or onto a boat. May keep this place but rent to single family long-term. This is how bad the past six months have been. In fact, would say that we’ve had more problematic guests in six months than we have in over a dozen years of running short-term rentals. C’est la vie!
One thing that has changed for me is that guests used to book further out, like at least a month or 6 weeks ahead, but are booking with less lead time now. And I never used to get cancellations except very occasionally, and those were usually cancelled well ahead of check-in date, so I had time to rebook.
But I’ve had 2 cancellations in the past 3 weeks. The first just said she had decided to go to another town, but cancelled after my moderate policy kicked in so I got paid accordingly.
The second pissed me off because she booked a month before, blocking my calendar, then cancelled a day before my policy kicked in. And her excuse was that she had to help her mom move, but I thought that surely she could have anticipated that sooner than 6 days before.
If they have rented the space, it’s only polite to ask them if you can enter.
I’ve been lucky with very good guests, but I have noticed the guests are certainly pickier and more forward about reporting anything that didn’t suit them … everyone seems to be a review critic, thinking it’s their job to write a detailed review of all the good/bad about their stay.
The Airbnb platform has worked very well for me over the last 10 years (using it exclusively for my bookings), but I’m now considering listing on VRBO as well.
You mean polite as in knock on the door and ask them? I give at least 24 hours’ notice unless it’s an emergency.
For every stay of more than 8 or 9 days, I go into the rentals to change bedding, change towels, do a quick clean and so on.
I give the guests 24 hours’ notice and I give them the choice of the day. “Would you like me to clean for you on Wednesday or Thursday?” This closed question avoids any “oh don’t worry about it, we’re fine” response.
I also give them the choice as to whether they prefer me to go in when they are there, or when they are out.
I can’t really blame people for that. Everything they buy, every service they use these days asks for a review.
And the review culture is, of course, a perfect venue for people who love to nitpick and think their opinion is of great import.
It’s literally part of how people decide to or not to pay money to stay at our STR’s though.
Never been that busy.Have been hosting since 2015.
Year 2023 is fully booked. Never had this high price.
So I guess it varies
Can I ask why you’re assuming the slow down in bookings is purely down to a change in Airbnb’s algorithm - - rather than external factors such as a major recession, over saturated markets etc
What are bookings like on the other listing channels you list on and for your direct bookings @LetsShareThoughts