Critique my listing - Sarah in British Columbia, Canada

[Sarah5245]

Hi Community, 

I'm new here and a new host (just listed in June - or was it May...?? lol!).  I've had 2 guests so far, and two more upcoming.  I had an issue with my last guest (soiled linens, massive amounts of garbage...)

I currently have instant book on as it seems to be the only way to ensure your guests have a good track record.  

I would love any opinions regarding our pricing, rules, additional fees for extra guests, cleaning fees, whether or not to have instant book on or off, and just any other advice anyone wishes to share.  

Thank you so much!!!  

I can't seem to post a link to my listing, but I think it can be accessed by clicking on my profile.... I hope so!  

[Marina481 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sarah5245 - Congratulations on starting your hosting journey! The community here is a great way to learn more and get tips. 🙂

Here is a link to your listing 😉 - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/897846824661118840?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=ab63bcd4-149e...

You can also create a unique personalized link on your listings page so that it's shorter and easier to remember / share!

It's marvelous you got some bookings so fast and looks like great reviews too! I'm sorry you had a not so great experience already. Some wear and tear on the property and needing to do [a reasonable amount of] clean up is to be expected with hosting though. Reading the reviews, it looks like someone had a large party for a family reunion so that kind of booking can be a bit more of the heavy-use side. I would recommend asking your potential/upcoming guests what they're using the property for an making sure are clear and having the settings enables for the house rules that do not support events. I have a listing that sleeps a large amount of people too and while we are ok with some events (like family reunions) we don't like to have bachelor parties or other more rowdy guest activities in our house.

I just happened to notice the "no internet or cell phone coverage" comment all the way down in the During Your Stay section. My rural listings were like this too (we JUST got internet here) and there were quite a few times that guests panicked because they didn't see that comment! I would put it higher up in your description and make sure its on your listing details as limited amenities so that it is something they need to acknowledge before booking (as well as the wild animal warning).

I would check these 'getting started' articles out from the official Airbnb Resource Center as well...

1. https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/writing-an-effective-description-of-your-place-13
2. https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-set-up-an-effective-listing-page-12
3. https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-take-great-listing-photos-307
4. https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-make-your-listing-stand-out-321

[Sarah5245]

Thank you so much for the super helpful reply.  I am definitely going to highlight the fact that there is no internet or wifi sooner in the listing (as well as wild animals).  We aren't really that rural, and there are lots of full time residents on our street.  We just couldn't afford the internet fee at first.  We are hoping to get it soon though.  Not only for guests, but as it might actually make our teenage daughter more agreeable to going!  lol!  Well, that and a boat!  

Interestingly, it wasn't the family reunion group that left the mess in the house.  Our cleaners commented on how clean and tidy that group had left it.  It was the next group, who we should have seen red flags with.  Initially the guest booked for 4 people, but then asked to increase to 8 after we accepted the booking.  I guess we wrongfully assumed with the prior 5 star reviews that there wouldn't be an issue.  It stung even more because we had given her a $400.00 refund due to severely bad air quality during her stay (from wildfires).  It was 11/10!  My husband spoke to her prior to check out to let her know we were doing this and she was super grateful.  We also let them check out much later as the air had finally cleared on their last day. Anyway, that was on us. We have so much to learn!

Do you ask your guests by message on Airbnb, what they are using the property for before accepting their booking? Do you find they are usually honest?  Do you use instant book?

I'll have a look at those articles too! Thank you again!

[Sarah5245]

PS: Thank you for the link!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sarah5245 A thought on your pricing.

You seem to charge twice as much for 8 people as for 4. This feels excessive and I fear people will lie about the numbers coming. Also you need to realise that 4 people can use 4 bedrooms.

If you feel this pricing is justified overall then perhaps consider a 2 bed listing to go with your 4 bed listing. You can then lock the unbooked bedrooms when the 2 bed place is booked.

[Sarah5245]

Thank you for your comment and advice.  I hadn't really thought about the fact that our price doubles from 4 - 8.  Oops!  I can see how that might cause people to want to lie.  I've had SUCH a hard time figuring out a fair price for our property.  

When you say to consider a 2 bed listing, do you mean a separate listing, or is there a way to do this on the same one?  That sounds like it might be a really good idea!  

I really appreciate your honest opinion!

[Lorna170]

@Sarah5245   As Marina mentioned:

I just happened to notice the "no internet or cell phone coverage" comment all the way down in the During Your Stay section. My rural listings were like this too (we JUST got internet here) and there were quite a few times that guests panicked because they didn't see that comment! I would put it higher up in your description and make sure its on your listing details as limited amenities so that it is something they need to acknowledge before booking (as well as the wild animal warning).

Having just spent 6 weeks travelling the US National parks and hearing the complaints from other visitors about the lack of internet service and cable TV within the park hotels, you want to be sure that your guests understand that they will be "off the grid" while staying in your beautiful home.  Our property is located in the mountains and did not have internet for the first several years of hosting and it was sometimes difficult to convince guests to take a break from their devices.  We also warn our guests that GPS will malfunction while driving to our cabin, and that they need to print out our turn-by-turn directions, map and door access code as they will not have phone use until connected to our WiFi.   

As @Mike-And-Jane0  said, think about having two listings for your home if you can lock a door between the upper and lower levels, closing off the access to the extra bedrooms.  People do lie about their numbers, especially when renting a larger home.  With that option, the doubling in price is reasonable (IMO).  We had a larger property that slept 8 and we assumed that our guests would use everything and priced that whole house rental as such -- no "discount" for guest numbers that were less than 8.  We also did not turn on instant book until we had several months worth of guests to learn from -- both the great ones and the not so great (careless) ones.

Lastly, when you reply to or write a review of a guest, realize that your reply should be directed to a future guest -- there is a place to write a private reply/review of a past guest where you can respond to their comments.  Future guests do not need to know that the wine glasses are fragile.

[Sarah5245]

Hi Lorna!

Thank you for your thoughtful reply and advice!  I am definitely going to go in and tweak my listing today and put the no internet/wifi higher up.  

The home isn't really off grid and it has all the other amenities of any home in a subdivision. There are many full time residents there and most do have internet.  We just couldn't afford it right away.  I think we will add it soon though.  🙂 We do have the part about printing directions in our check in instructions. 

I appreciate your alternate opinion regarding pricing.  As I said to @Mike-And-Jane0, I had a really hard time deciding how to price it.  I think, based on both of you commenting about having a separate listing for 2 guests, I'm going to do that though!  I didn't know you could have 2 listings on the same place.  (or is it somehow done on the same listing?)  I'll have to give some serious thought to the how to manage the extra guests... whether or not to just have a higher price for everyone or maybe make it a bit higher for 4 and less pricey for each additional guest.  I also had a hard time with the cleaning fee, as we actually pay our cleaners $300.00 regardless of the length of stay.  This includes mileage.  I thought it seemed too pricey to charge our guests that much though.  Any thoughts?  

I also didn't know that my reply to the first guest would be public before replying!  Another lesson learned! lol! 

Thank you again!

[Kia272]

@Sarah5245  Your calendar is completely blocked except for the month of September. Is that intentional? 

Also, the other option for ensuring guests with a good record is to go to request only. That way you can vet your guests much more carefully. I found IB unsatisfactory, and turned it off, but I was well established at that point and it hasn't hurt my bookings. Just FYI. 

[Sarah5245]

Hi Kia, 

Thank you for the reply!  Yes, the blocked time is intentional.  We have it blocked off for ourselves and family members in August.  Our cleaners are no longer available after September 1st so we are just leaving September open for now and will probably block off whatever is remaining if/when we get another guest, as we will be able to go up once to clean after that. Unfortunately, the property is 4.5 hours away from our home so it's hard for us to get up there often.

Fall is a popular time for hunting and fishing, so I am going to keep looking for a cleaner who is available then.  

As for the winter, we aren't sure if we want it open then, as we will also have to hire someone to do snow removal and there's the additional wear and tear/mess during that time.  Having said that though, there is a nearby ski hill, so this is something I am still thinking about...

I think I will try your recommendation to set bookings to request only.  

Thank you again!

[Sangeeta8]

@Sarah5245 , lovely place you have. Ever tried the resolution center? I keep them in the loop as I see disaster evolving! Certainly try taking photos of issues you face, be it cleaning huge amounts, or stains et al.I share them with the guests and ask them to pay up, and if they ignore your messages, do take it up with the resolution centre and they will get in touch with the guest and collect on your behalf.

Best

Sangeeta