You are absolutely right! You have to think about what type of market and price point you’re after. If you want to look like a college dorm room that is probably the type of guest you’ll get. While I wouldn’t sink my life savings into furniture/decorating when just starting out, but a few nice pieces, and gradually upgrading to your target price/market seems a reasonable way to go. The only thing I probably wouldn’t do is put family heirlooms or anything I would be devastated over if it was damaged.
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Thank you all - my house definitely not decorated off EBAY - but what Airbnb attracted for very first client was a rogue looking for a deal - who KNEW - then FB didn’r respond to my first timer crises - then despite all my evidence of “he loved my house” his review could print - NO THANKS - doing better on my own
Sorry to hear that, maybe it will not work for everyone. Try other things to earn additional income.
Just curious, I intend to switch to room hosting where I will be living onsite. I surmise this will remove some of the problems associated with full house hosting, since I’ll be there to police the house rules. I don’t know for sure of course since I’ve never done it before. Anyone care to share whether this hypothesis is correct.
Edit: replaced “80%” with “some”, and “imagine” with “surmise”
Where did you come up with the 80% figure. And which problems do you feel it will remove and which ones do you feel will stay @Daniel_Lin ?
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It’s an arbitrary figure, to be honest. I think it will remove problems associated with reckless behaviour (e.g. slamming the doors) , drawing on walls (children), wastage (Aircon not turned off) and dirtiness (spilled stuff in non visible areas going unnoticed).
I think the ones that will stay are spills, poor hygiene, water wastage (long baths).
Of course, looking for people to weigh in. As I’ve said, I’ve not done it before.
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I’m a live in host, so I’m confident the guests won’t have parties without me knowing
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Being a live-in host won’t remove guests who slam doors, are messy or are wasteful. Just look at some of @Jess1’s posts and other hosts, who host at home.
It won’t remove those who book for one but turn up with two, or those who check in late or abuse your house rules.
As always it is down to how well you manage your listing, having the right house rules in place to help you manage your place effectively and how well you are able enforce your rules.
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If living in won’t prevent guests who are messy or reckless, why would house rules be effective in this case? As a guest, I would certainly be more careful around the host.
But I agree that it won’t completely remove those who turn up with two or check in late.
The biggest change from remote hosting to on-site hosting is that guests know they are less likely to be “caught in the act” if the host isn’t there.
We technically host remotely, but we have staff almost around-the-clock at our property, so we generally have very few issues with guests breaking rules. Our housekeeper is a lioness when it comes to protecting our home!
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Hi @Daniel_Lin
I’ve already addressed this in my earlier post to you -It will be down to how well you, as the live-in host, enforce your house rules and vet your guests.
You can’t judge guests on how you would behave in a given situation. You are not them.
As you have only hosted remotely for a couple of months, and that was being done remotely through a third party in a whole listing situation, you haven’t really had the opportunity to build up your knowledge on what guests will or won’t do in a shared home situation.
Rather than making assumptions on how they will behave and what they will and won’t do, why not spend some time reading posts around issues that affect hosts in shared home situations to help build up your understanding.
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I couldn’t agree more, we are nothing without our cleaners! And you definitely need someone to spot check as people get slack. We even employ one cleaner who is immediate family and although she started off fabulously now 4 years down the track she is cutting corners and getting slack. I never let the cleaners know when we are going in to check and try to do it as often as possible, they all start ok and then start to deteriorate.
Another way I have to get around it is to make them rotate to another property every 6 weeks or so. This is under the guise that everyone needs to know how every place works but really it’s because they all like to think that they are better at their job than the others. So they like going in and complaining, for example: I was shocked at the state of…, but it’s ok now I fixed it. It’s not a popular decision but it does keep the standard up and everyone has a different eye and strengths and weaknesses.
One of my cleaners is at the point of leaving and has told me on the side that she has appointed herself an unpaid role; “villa inspector” and that whenever she is in the area she is going to drop in and check on them because she is nosy! I trust her, her work has always been to a high standard.
I have been burnt by many cleaners, I started off employing professional companies thinking that would mean I wouldn’t have staff issues. They were three times the cost of what I now pay and were shocking.
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Some of the most memorable Airbnbs I have stayed in have been decked out head to toe in Ikea, right down to the bathmat. They are memorable for being clean, modern, smart and functional. While I don’t have Ikea in my own places I think it is excellent for a lot of rental properties.
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It would be a terrible thing if they told you they were having a party but you weren’t invited so could you clear off for the evening.
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Thanks @helsi. I agree it’s also about ability to enforce house rules in the face of someone breaking them.
some time ago but I don’t need additional income thank you - I do like to think this fantabulous Airbnb actually cares as much for owners as for rogue guests. Apparently not - just in it for the fees - I get it -
I agree that being onsite should mitigate many of the challenges you’ve encountered with remote hosting. It will however change the target market for your listings, as there will be some who would never want to book a shared space.
My listing is a separate 1 bed/bath guest house, so while it’s not a shared space, I’m onsite next door, which allows me to play onsite concierge for those who want the assistance and onsite maintenance should something go wrong. This provides assurances to some and may be an impediment to others. I like to think it weeds out those that are looking for parties, partying, etc, or as @PitonView aptly noted the “caught in the act” guests.
In my situation while guests can have much privacy as they seek (just short of renting a whole property) they understand that it would be difficult to get around most of the house rules.
I’ll note that there have been occasions where some rules were tested and I’ve elected to be flexible, when the guests demonstrated honesty, respect, and had been forthcoming. Two examples:
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Despite my “no firearms” policy, I did have a guest (former Army Lawyer, current Public Defender), who informed me he had a concealed weapon, albeit only after he and his wife had checked in.
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I have some return guests, who come into town several times a year to visit family. I’m good with them having their family members come by and hang out in the guest house or sit by the pool.
It doesn’t mean that I’m removing those rules, but being on site means you’re able to assess the specific situation. And so far it has earned me good reviews, return clients, and some warm acquaintances. The latter is something that is difficult to get hosting remotely, and a reward of being on site.
My translation of the heated discussion earlier on is: We’re all hosts but our listing variables are all different so while we learn from one another we make choices that work for us individually.
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Some people don’t care and still behave like pigs even when the host is around because they think since they’re paying for a place to stay they can do whatever they want.
…or inviting you!
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From what I gather it’s easier to get compliance as a live-in. But it’s anything but passive. When you are home, you’re on duty.
The 5 percenters are downright horrid, and they tend to come in clusters of bang head here types. But the last 6 months have been super.