Private bedroom or guest suite

[Khalid51]

Hi everyone! I'm a new host and soon to be a superhost. I've listed my basement last month (no seperate entrance) it has its own en-suite full bathroom, a kitchenette with mini fridge, microwave, coffeemaker and a seating area. To me this is not a "Private Room" as Airbnb suggests it is. Private room in a house usually share a bathroom. It's more on par with "guest suite" definition, in my opinion. I listed it as guest suite for a week to find out one guest gave me lower rating on accuracy. I then changed it back to "Private Room". How do others with similar listings select the property and listing type?

[Alexandra316]

@Khalid51 I stayed in a very similar listing recently, and it was listed as a guest suite. I don't see any issue with describing it that way. However, I would make it more clear that your guest needs to pass through your space to access the guest suite: in my experience, very few people read the Other things to note section. I would also a bit a bit clearer in your photos regarding what's a shared space vs. what's a private space. For example, scrolling through your pictures I thought your living room was part of the guest suite, which may have been part of the guest's confusion also.

[Khalid51]

Thank you. I see what you mean in regards to the living room photo. Although, under amenities I've listed the main living room and the main kitchen as shared space, but you're right most don't read that. Do you suggest I remove the main living room photo or leave it and add shared space in its discription?

[Alexandra316 · Accepted solution]

@Khalid51 I would either move it further down and add a written description to it stating that it's a shared space, or remove it entirely. I would put all the photos of the guest suite first.

With a guest suite, I wouldn't be expecting to share living space like a living room or kitchen, and I would honestly consider removing that access. I don't really think it's needed.

[Khalid51]

@Alexandra316 great advice. Thank you. 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Khalid51 as @Alexandra316 says, you don't need to include that access. 

How much of your place do guests have to go through to get to the basement? 

Do you have pictures/could you use another door to leave one door for their sole use?

[Khalid51]

@Mike-And-Helen0 aside from the main entrance it's just one door from the kitchen to the basement. 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Khalid51 so it doesn't sound like you could arrange things to give a separate entrance?

In which case I would do what @Jennifer1421 says.

[Khalid51]

@Mike-And-Helen0 That's right. I'll edit the discription and list the place as guest suite. Thanks

[Jennifer1421]

@Khalid51Your listing looks lovely, and you've received great reviews thus far. I think changing the description to guest suite would better reflect the space, but I would definitely highlight that it does not have a separate entrance, nor a full kitchen. I would also (using descriptions on your pictures) indicate which areas of your home a guest needs to pass through to reach the suite.

As @Alexandra316 has suggested, access to your kitchen doesn't seem like it would be needed. If you do decide to continue with allowing access, though, I would suggest you edit the description of the kitchen from the typo "specious" to spacious, since they have very different meanings 🙂

All the best!

[Khalid51]

@Jennifer1421  Great suggestions. Thank you so much. 🙂

[Emilia42]

@Khalid51 

I am going to disagree with the majority so far. I would consider your space a private room. A private room with many extras. Guests are still very much moving around your home which lacks an amount of privacy some would assume with booking an "Entire Guest Suite." I think of an inlaw apartment or an apartment above a garage when I think guest suite. The way your pictures are set up right now I can foresee other guests being confused when they arrive because we all know no one really reads the description/listing page. To manage expectations, I would list it as a private room with plenty of reference that guests will be staying in your home with you present. Many people will be pleasantly surprised when they see that they are getting more than just a private bedroom.

Airbnb defines Guest Suite as having a private entrance.

[Khalid51]

@Emilia42 You're absolutely correct Airbnb defines guest suite as having a separate entrance. My listing type at the moment is Private room. Tbh, it doesn't really describe my place nor does it sound appealing. 

[Sarah977]

@Khalid51  To correct a misconception, Private Room doesn't carry any connotation that there is a shared bathroom. Many hosts, including me, list a private room with ensuite bath, strictly for the guests' use. I have to agree here with @Emilia42- a private suite indicates that it has a private entrance. Which is how Airbnb defines it as well, so listing it as such, when it doesn't have a separate entrance is false advertising and will likely lead to more bad reviews and eventually warnings from Airbnb. When guests book a guest suite, I think the most common expectation is that it feels quite private. Entering through your front door and having to walk through your kitchen, which they don't have use of,  wouldn't feel very private.

Several of my guests have told me that they like the experience of booking a private room in a home, but that they always look for one with a private bath, as that is important to them. So you don't have to worry about guests not understanding that a private room can also have a private bath, they are well aware of that filter. 

You could name your listing "Large Private Bedroom/Bathroom with Kitchenette" or something like that.

[Susan17]

Yet more chaos and confusion caused by Airbnb's lack of clarity and transparency. Bottom line - the entire guest suite category (amongst others), was introduced by Airbnb to further muddy the waters and blur the lines between the small individual host and commercial operator categories, thereby making it even more difficult for regulators and authorities to figure out the true state of play with the Home Host vs Pro Host picture on the platform. 

Airbnb couldn't actually give a flying fig who lists what on their site, or how they list it, and indeed, have already spent hundreds of millions on court battles across the globe, in order to be allowed carry on abdicating all responsibility for the authenticity or legality of the properties they advertise (and profit handsomely from).

You could list the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House or Buckingham Palace on Airbnb, and they wouldn't bat an eyelid -  until a guest complains that there was a dead bug on the window sill or insufficiently quilted toilet roll to wipe their delicate arses, that is... in which case, they'll come down on the host like a ton of bricks (well, depending on how many other properties the host has in their Airbnb portfolio, of course. Commercial operator with oodles of properties - a friendly word, or a slap on the wrist, at worst. Small, independent host with 1 or 2 listings - suspension or delisting, no questions asked, no right of appeal given)

Otherwise though, they really couldn't care less about what's listed on the site, or how it's listed - as long as a property is bringing home the bacon for them, and not drawing unwanted attention to their (our) doors, that's all that matters.