Extremely Transparent Listing Description

[Scott1598]

Hi All,

Appreciate the guidance as I'm just short of a year hosting.  I love it almost all of the time but struggle a bit with items that are not within my control while still trying to keep happy guests, superhost status and a high rating.  I have a very thorough guide that is included in two messages, one of which that goes out 5 minutes after a guest books, that lay out everything about the property including some items that I would want to know about if I were a guest.  I understand guests may not have the time to read this guide. 

If I bring some of this to the forefront while also noting how great our place is I wonder if it might help fit the right guests with what my place has to offer.  I know it might detract others, possibly impacting my occupancy rate, but that ok with us.  We stay there often and rarely, if ever, have issues but it's our place so sure we are fine putting up with more than a paying guest might be.  In some cases I have refunded nights for issues that are related to the building or neighbors that are out of my control.  I don't mind since I want guests to have a great experience but always challenged to make things right for things I can't control.  For what we can control, we have upgraded all appliances, bathrooms, kitchen, heaters, furniture, etc.  Anything central to our unit is in solid working shape and most everything is new/fixed/maintained inside the walls.

We are pretty seasonal in the mountains of Colorado and these last few months have been our "busy" time.  If I called out some of the following very clearly upfront (instead of in our guide) to highlight some of the feedback I have received I wonder if there would be benefit.  Again, these things rarely happen but when they do, it has caused a lot of communication with guests, maintenance, property management and neighbors to try to diagnose.  I would wordsmith but here are some of the points:

1. If booking in the summer you may hear construction noise as many residents are full-time and regularly update their place, as we have done with ours.
2. This is a small complex but you will have three neighbors.  This is a small community that does have quite hours after 10pm.  That said, you may smell their cooking or the smell of marijuana as it is legal in Colorado.
3. The building is incredibly built from the 1970's and solid but it's also old and located in extreme temperatures.  Heating is done with hot water through pipes in the building which may bang or knock as they expand.
4. There is a central boiler that serves all hot water to the building, including our unit.  While rarely an issue, there may be a temporary loss of hot water while building management resolves.  A hot water outage would also impact heat to the unit but we have two backup electric heaters if needed temporarily.
5. ...

I'm not suggesting hosting should be easy.  Just wonder if extreme transparency could be of benefit upfront, prior to booking.  I'm sure there is a wide range of perspectives on this topic so I appreciate the feedback.

Let the fun begin!  Thank you!

[Scott1598]

I'll also note that I have a great relationship with my neighbors and they are awesome.  If they are cooking with garlic or quietly enjoying a joint in their home I'm all for it and thankful that they are open to guests staying at our place.  I've read many issues with hosts complaining about loud, crazy or inconsiderate neighbors or neighbors who don't tolerate their guests.  Fortunately I'm not dealing with either of those scenarios.

[Martin3344]

@Scott1598 

I would definitely recommend transparency Scott. That way the guests who stay with you will understand in advance and be fully accepting of any issues. Hopefully this will then lead to good reviews, and that in turn to future positive bookings. Otherwise you are liable to have the issues highlighted as negatives in reviews and ratings, which will then deter other guests from booking with you in the future.

In my experience guests are generally very understanding if they know about issues in advance and feel that you are being open and upfront with them.

As you suggest it would certainly be good I think to highlight the positive aspects surrounding any issues where possible, such as having great neighbours !

[Lenore22]

Great things to mention. Include it... Maybe as short Bullet points so it's easy to read.

[Renee291]

I agree with Lenore22. Include it because then the guest is free to decide if those are things they are okay with or not. Bullet points, simple phrases, are more likely to be read.  I include a "warning" about airplane noise.  My house isn't in the normal flight path of the airport but weather, runway repair and safety issues very occasionally result in a change that sometimes reroutes flights over my house.  Delivery services (DHL, Amazon) depart at 5 am. Now they know this may happen and if it does, it won't be every day, and it's outside my control. I put it in the section Property Info, Potential for Noise. There was a limit to the number of characters I could use. 

[John5097 · Accepted solution]

@Scott1598 

I would put this concise list in the "Other things to note" I bolded what I would add. 

Your listing looks great. I would just be upfront about everything. You are right that some guest won't read a house manual. The messages should also be concise and to the point about check in, and anything else in the listing. You could simply ask in your first message, "If you haven't already feel free to look over the listing details and let me know if you have any questions." I would include that in the first sentence or two. 

Add this first in Other Things to Note. (don't need to bold, I just did it to show what I would add or change. 

--- Our unit is in solid working shape and most everything is new/fixed/maintained inside the walls. We have upgraded all appliances, bathrooms, kitchen, heaters, furniture, etc.  

However a few things to note: 

1. This is a small complex but you will have three neighbors.  This is a very safe small community, everyone is very friendly, that does have quite hours after 10pm.  That said, you may smell their cooking or the smell of marijuana as it is legal in Colorado.
2. If booking in the summer you may hear construction noise in the daytime as many residents are full-time and regularly update their place, as we have done with ours.
3.  
4. The building is incredibly built from the 1970's and solid but it's also old and located in extreme temperatures.  Heating is done with hot water through pipes in the building which may bang or knock as they expand.
5. There is a central boiler that serves all hot water to the building, including our unit.  While rarely an issue, there may be a temporary loss of hot water while building management resolves.  A hot water outage would also impact heat to the unit but we have two backup electric heaters if needed temporarily.

.

[Scott1598]

Thanks all!  Sincerely appreciate the feedback.  I have been extremely transparent which sets the proper expectations upfront.  My question was focused on if I should use my limited real-estate in the man description and I have decided (based on your feedback) to highlight these items in the Other Things section as mentioned by @John5097 .

Many thanks to you all for taking the time!