You know you are an Airbnb host when

Maybe some hosts think that photographing their listing is like staging a house you are trying to sell. You make it look really nice for the photos but in fact, some of that stuff may be rented or borrowed for the staging.
But I would never tell another host what they should do or have in their Airbnb while I was staying unless they asked for my advice. And I’d hate it if someone did that to me. What’s the point- it’s not like their going to change it while I’m staying. I might send them private feedback after I left, though.

1 Like

I would never do that unless the listing said there was a workspace and pictured it.
If I needed a desk to work at I would look for that on the amenity listing. If it was listed I’d look for the space. Is it a desk? A dining table? Then as sure as heck would say where is the desk that is promised in the listing?

This is how said amenity appears in my listing. It’s not rocket science.

2 Likes

I totally agree. All amenities in the listing should be present!

3 Likes

Or if they are seasonal like a pool it should be mentioned in the listing.

2 Likes

It chould be taken in and out of the listing. Pool pictures should be removed in winter. In winter when I take the window A/C out I take the picture showing the window AC out. For a listing like mine where no one books more than 3 months out I can do that. Now if I had people looking now for their summer vacation I’d show pool in the summer pictures. We just have to try to anticipate and dummy proof our listings.

My guess is listings like ours where we get booked very close to the stay are not the usual and not the OP ‘s case.

2 Likes

We are booking as far out as June already so have to leave “Air Conditioner” in the listing amenities for sure but they are window units that are removed for the winter. However, I have under “amenity limitations” that AC is provided May - Oct and also under something else, I mention it twice.

4 Likes

I’ve decided that my life is far too uncertain to book that far out. I got one booking for March already and I don’t even like that.

2 Likes

Oh, I agree. If a host pictures and lists an amenity which in fact, is not there, I wouldn’t hesitate to voice my displeasure with that, just as any guest would. I was referring to things like suggesting the host have more hangars (assuming they already have at least some), more hooks, arrange the furniture in a different way, provide more or different thing than they do. Stuff that would fall into the “unsolicited advice” camp. I’ve read several posts from hosts over the years who either had this done to them, or did it to other hosts and couldn’t figure out why it was received coldly. What such advice comes across as is that the host/guest is acting like some expert and that their listing is so much better than the one where they are staying as a guest.

2 Likes

I had this same issue last month! You weren’t in Georgia, were you? Lol.

I picked a house that had a desk in the master bedroom because I planned on getting there a day before my friends and working. To make it even MORE of a tempting, delicious idea, the listing said they provided a complimentary bottle of wine with each reservation. I took off work a day before my friends, grabbed my laptop and work bag … I couldn’t wait!

I got there late in the evening, skipped the grocery store because it was raining buckets and was thinking “I have wine waiting, no stop needed!” Got to the house - no wine, no desk. Growl …

3 Likes

Having no desk was bad enough but being promised wine and then nor receiving it…! Mind you, me being me, I’d have had a bottle of wine (and corkscrew just in case) in my bag.

And speaking of which, there were no glasses or tumblers. The only things to drink from were two tiny espresso cups and I need a larger helping of wine than that. So that we didn’t have to drink directly from the bottle, we went out and bought plastic glasses - not a thing I would normally buy or use. Even in hotels, there are usually a couple of glasses in the bathroom.

3 Likes

If experienced hosts who know what to look for are having such bad luck finding a good place to stay, think of how the experience is of the average first time users who are probably filtering by price. And think of how many calls Airbnb is fielding from unhappy guests complaining there were no desks or glasses or whatever. Ugh.

4 Likes

Yep. And she was a “superhost” :person_facepalming:

1 Like

And that’s why fees go up. So it’s in every host’s interest to make sure that these people go. Or at least sort themselves out and offer what they promise in the listing.

Mine too. Almost 400 reviews.

1 Like

I agree! For that reason, I was tentatively hopeful when ABB mentioned that they would have listings verified, not that I think they have a good plan for how to do that (if they have a plan at all).

The superhost term has gotten so diluted, it really fails to mean anything, except a search field for ABB. And even then - as we recently experienced - you can research as much as you want and still get a booger.

I wish ABB hadn’t gotten rid of the family and work collection/search. I much preferred having that as a search than superhost, bc at least there was a benchmark in amenities, review requirements, etc.

  • Oh, and back to original post: I’m an ABB host … other rentals twist my knickers because they aren’t up to par. I want to take a vacation without comparing, but I can’t help it, haha. :wink:

So… How do you think those get washed since we never see them on the cart in the hallway? Surely they would not just rinse in the bathroom sink and use a dirty towel to dry/polish it up? I would rather drink out of my shoe than use anything in a hotel that was washed in the room.

RR

There’s a video on YouTube (or was, it might not be there any more) presumably from a hidden camera of a housekeeper wiping out the glasses with the same cloth that she’d used to clean the loo!

:scream:

I think I saw something like this on TV years ago, that’s what prompted me to post.
I am glad I do not watch TV anymore.

RR

2 Likes

You can still search for “Work Trip”. But now it’s based on a listing receiving 5-Star reviews from other guests who were on a work trip. It may even be more reliable as we can all agree that amenities don’t exist just because the box was ticked.

I agree, but I liked coming up in the family banner on the ABB page for our area. Our destination gets a variety of travelers and it seemed to help narrow and meet expectations. Heading out of neighborhood at 10pm to go to a bar is going to get ya killed on these roads, but settling in with a beverage and watching the stars at 10pm = magic

2 Likes