Critique my listing - Benjamin in Carnation, WA

[Benjamin1216]

https://airbnb.com/h/downtowncarnationcottage 

Help with house rules.

We have a cute little cottage in downtown Carnation. We want people to have fun but also want to make sure we are not taken advantage off. We have had several instances of lots of people crashing at the house, staying the night without being checked in etc. I want the listing to be friendly and attractive without 6 million rules, but I also want to make sure we set the right expectations up front.

Additional rules we have added

- Please, nothing but toilet paper should go in the toilet. There’s a little trash bin for everything else.
- Please use one of the provided cutting boards and do not cut directly on the "Boos block" kitchen counters
- No events, parties, or large gatherings. Only guests registered for your stay are allowed on the property at any time.
- No electrical vehicle charging. Unfortunately, the standard outlets in the house are not EV charger rated.

Thank you!

https://airbnb.com/h/downtowncarnationcottage

[Patti-And-Marty0 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Benjamin1216

Nice job! In terms of not attracting partiers or those who will be disrespectful of your lovely cottage- I have a couple of thoughts.

Do you live on the property or nearby? If so I would mention it, in a nice way that offers "assistance if needed otherwise we allow you your privacy" kind of thing. Right now there is nothing about you as a host.

Maybe don't use Instant book right away, ask questions first, get a feel for who the guest is.

Stick to 4 guests max which is right for your place, don't mention you'll take up to 6. 

You might consider 2 listings- a one bedroom listing, with the office/Murphy bed room locked off. (Or offer it as an office only) And a two bedroom listing with the Murphy bed already made up, to lesson the wear and tear on it. Link the calendars to avoid double booking.

Cheers

[Benjamin1216]

Hi Pattia nd Marty,

Thanks for the suggestions.

We do not live on the property. We recently purchased another property and did not want to have our house sitting empty (the reason we decided to try AirBNB). Its about a 45 minute drive for us to the house so we set the communicate by app prefference as well as try making sure we have enough time between bookings that we can go the house and do a complete cleaning and any maintenance needed between guests.

I think you are right about the 4 guests. I think the pullout couch is a nice option for anyone with kiddos that may want a bit more room.

We are trying to keep the listing for the complete house if possible. Its not very big so I figured it gives people a bit more room.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Benjamin1216 I do wonder if your huge extra guest fees for the 3rd and 4th person are tempting people to sneak in extra guests.

You seem to be doing all you can to stop partying - One of the key points being a 3 night min stay.

I didn't look but do you have a ring doorbell that would need disclosing and will also put off the rule breakers.

[Benjamin1216]

Hi Mike and Jane,

Thanks for the suggestion. We added the extra fees after 2 people as we were getting a bunch of people. People were not checking in either. I think the concern from our side we want to have accountability with who is staying at the house (my insurer suggested having people check-in). I have not seen if it makes a difference yet, so not sure if its a good or bad idea. Would love to hear peoples experiences.

For the doorbell, we have "Safety devices"  checked along with the following description

“Ring doorbell at front door facing towards street. Ring camera monitoring exterior parking and garage.”

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Benjamin1216 One other thought. Please consider adding a picture to your profile. Guests generally don't like dealing with logos/avatars.