You might be a bad host if

We just got back from renting an Airbnb. It was a 2 BR, roommate-style apartment with space for 3 queen beds – split one and two. The kicker is it had one (1!) bedside table with a puny little lamp. Which was the ONLY lamp in the whole place.

For dining there were two bar stool chairs for eating. That’s it. Once I got back I began a wishlist looking for something else in the area, and I’ll be damn if nearly every listing had pictures of beds with no bedside tables/lamps. I get the feeling all these arbitrage airbnb hosts are doing just the minimum in terms of furnishings.

Is it just me? Shouldn’t every bed have a table beside it? And enough seating for the number of people allowed to book to eat a meal – if you offer a kitchen/kitchenette?

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People keep renting the places and (I assume) giving them adequate reviews. If a savvy guest like yourself is renting them, what are chances that the average guest will pass them by? So, in the interest of maximizing profit I would say no. Why should they invest more than necessary?

On a Facebook Airbnb VRBO group just this morning, a young man announced he had $5000 to spend on starting an Airbnb & was seeking to start arbitrage in NYC area. You can’t furnish much with $5k in NYC.

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Yeah, well not so savvy…I won’t make this mistake again, or I’ll stay in a hotel. I did provide feedback to the host privately and told her I wouldn’t rent again for those reasons. Maybe she’ll take the feedback, maybe not, but she won’t be taking my money again.

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I’ve seen those hosts, too…selling their classes to teach others how to do it cheap. Race to the bottom.

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But you get what I’m saying? If I’ve rented dozens of times and no one has complained about the tables or lamps then I’m probably not going to buy any added ones.

When I see hosts here renting not that great Airbnbs I think there must be a lot of really not that great Airbnbs. LOL.

BTW, I really don’t see myself staying in any hotels as long as there is a pandemic.

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@Atlnative I’ve been noticing that lately a lot. There are a ton of new hosts askiing for critiques of their listings over on the Airbnb forum.

I would say 80% of them either have no bedside tables or lamps, or only have one on one side of a bed for 2 people. Or the table and lamp are too low to give any adequate light for reading.

All I can think is that none of these people ever read in bed at night. Nor do they understand the concept that 2 people sharing a bed may not have the same bedtime habits- one may read for awhile, the other may like to go right to sleep. And what happens when someone needs to get up to go to the bathroom at night? They’re expected to stumble around in the dark?

Half these places can’t fit a bedside table on both sides because they’ve crammed a too-big bed in the space.

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I’m thinking I’m not going to help my competition any longer. LOL. If they want help they should get it from paid Ambassadors like @Annet3176.

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Yeah I get what you are saying. And I think there are lots of poorly equipped airbnbs — I had a hard time finding alternatives. Doesn’t help the overall reputation for hosts.

My risk choices are less stringent. I have stayed in a hotel several times and will be traveling internationally in March. That trip was booked in March 2020 and we had to cut it home as the world shut down that week.

I’m cautious (vaxxed, masked) but have had recent exposures nonetheless. Just think it’s a matter of when, not if.

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With Omnicron I agree. It is so contagious.

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I agree. I have jury duty this Friday and if not canceled, I will go. It’s the first time I’ll have been out of the house since 23 Dec. On 27 Dec I socialized outside, masked with someone who had covid. I knew she’d been exposed, and she had one negative test when she came over but I also knew I was taking a risk. As a consequence, I didn’t socialize with friends this past weekend. She flew home to Portland, became symptomatic, tested positive. Meanwhile, I’m still covid free.

I have an opportunity to buy a vacation concert package in Mexico for the beginning of Feb. Bunches of folks are bailing and trying to get whatever they can. It’s a bargain. I’d be traveling alone so only risking myself. It’s sooooo tempting. Problem for me is, it’s still not “cheap.” If I do get covid can I afford to stay in MX an extra week? Not at that resort, that’s for sure.

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Just had one not listen. Oh well. On a Local STR Facebook group, a fellow asked to talk about STRs in the area. We chatted. I also told him about the ambassador program hoping to get a potential new host.

He asked me about a property. It was a great price, close to beach BUT one of the few areas zoned STR not allowed by the city. I told him LTR he could make some money but STR wasn’t an option because of city zoning.

He told me his Realtor said the city allowed STR & left it up to HOAs. Which is true for 95% of the city.

This one area is different. Of course the HOA didn’t restrict STR, the city zoning did.

I think he purchased it.
Not my problem.

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People don’t think they will be the ones to get caught. And if one looks around at all the listings of people doing what they shouldn’t, it’s no wonder they think that way.

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Don’t believe anything a realtor or listing says about STR potential/income.

I’ve seen many listings that says “Used as an Airbnb bringing in $x,xxx per month” for properties that were obviously not legal or had not gotten a zoning variance to STR in that location.

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I’d go and justify the savings on the package as the extra time there, if needed.

Since October I’ve gone to NYC, been to an outdoor wedding, an inside concert, some restaurants, and thanksgiving with four 20 year olds, yet haven’t tested positive (yet). Still I did two zoom funerals in the past two weeks rather than go because it seemed everyone around me was positive or knew someone.

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Between Sept 8 and Nov 8 I went to two outdoor concerts that I drove to and two that were indoors that I flew to. But they both had fully vaxxed requirements. One was NYC with strict protocol and I stayed in an Airbnb separated from the host. The other was Nashville where no one outside of the Ryman Auditorium gave a flip about covid. I stayed in a shared home Airbnb. However, it was pre omicron.

Ohhhh, you are a bad influence! :rofl:

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The realtor I worked with told me at the beginning, it was difficult for realtors to know what community HOAs allowed because Realtors usually didn’t have access to the neighborhood covenants & the covenants are subject to change. But she would do her best to find out.

She recommended asking the property management company and/or seller for a copy of the covenants to make sure There was not a rule I could not live with.

Real Estate is selling quickly so there’s many new agents. Some of which just want to sell, regardless of client needs. I wouldn’t trust just anyone.

Isn’t this your own due diligence?
Locally, our beach side towns and villages are being limited to 180 nights a year unless they are a proper tourist development. This started on the first of November last year. This has been coming for the last 3 years.
A recent buyer of a residential home was going off her tiny tree that nobody told her and her potential STR was now unviable. Even a simple google search would have shown this was coming in……

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That is just sad, for the honest brokers out there.

But true, you do have to do your own research. I was just telling an agent who works for me do not give legal advice, you can send links and show them what you find but do not give legal advice it is outside of your/my licence.

I tell buyers my experiences, but with the caveat that I am local and self manage and therefore will have higher returns as a result. No I will not manage your new STR…

I recently helped craft a local disclosure that has been adopted by the MLS. If only people would read…

RR

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Many hosts consider needed basics the things that THEY would want. We have received many compliments from people saying that we anticipated needs or thought of everything. We didn’t. When we started we asked people what they needed and noticed what was missing when we traveled. Simple things like luggage racks and a choice of pillows are not very pricey and make a difference. When traveling and staying at Airbnbs that were otherwise great, I have bought inexpensive clip on reading lights, or some small thing like a corkscrew and just left it for the next guest.

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