House occupancy question : 1 house-2 listings

[Jamielynn1]

Hello! We are new airbnb owners and just put our first listing live this week.  The home we purchased (in Killington VT) is a 5 bedroom and with the local guidelines can occupy 12 guests.  However, we need to upgrade a few things in the home for the final permit approval for 12 (main thing being a fire alarm system).  In the meantime we can self certify for an occupancy of 8 guest and are listing it for that until the alarm system is completed in November. I would like to be able to have it listed for 12 so we can start to get bookings for end of November into the peak winter season.  Is it allowed to create a second listing for the same home with just those dates open with the increased occupancy? I don't want to risk our airbnb account breaking any rules.  

Right now we just have the listing for 8 with the calendar open for booking through mid-november. 

Thanks for any insight 🙂 

[Anonymous]

@Jamielynn1   It is possible to make a second listing with the increased occupancy, but it has its downsides. For one, it could put you in a bind if there's an unexpected delay with the alarm system.  But also, a second listing means double the hurdle of getting those first few reviews that establish your home's reputation and attract the discerning guests. It may be better to wait until you've had a few months of experience before taking larger groups.

One thing to be especially cautious about: your beautiful house is going to attract a lot of people looking for an illicit party venue. It ticks off all the boxes - lots of space, hot tub, new listing, remote owner - and just saying "no parties" does not deter these people. Considering the fire codes, I'd suggest a strict rule that no unregistered guests/visitors may enter the property at any time, and be vigilant about enforcing it.

[Jamielynn1]

Thank you Andrew.  Yes the loss of reviews was definitely a concern we've considered along with the party people.  We know that we will likely get a lot of young adult ski groups consisting of friends looking to ski then drink and party.  Luckily we do have a property manager available 24/7 and do intend to enforce the noise and have cameras at all entrance points with the plan to monitor # of guests.  We've also already reached out to our "neighbor" and given our contact information for them to text us if they are bothered by our guests being rowdy.

The difference in guest #s is  pretty significant when it comes to revenue.  I'd love to get our feet wet a bit more but also don't want to take such a loss in revenue. 

My brother actually owns multiple properties in the same town on airbnb so we've been following his lead and learning a lot from him along the way. Though I'm sure there will be plenty of things I'm not prepared for.  

We have our first few guests coming up soon.  

Jamielynn