AIRBNB is Successful Because We Opened Our Homes.....

[Michelle1588]

No, this is not a hater post. I'm pleased to know that some folks had a great idea and were able to gather the resources required to execute it and it worked out well. They took off! And now this company is perched atop the tallest, strongest oak tree in the forest - looking forward to their next adventure  -and completely overlooking and dismissing the tiny little trees (us) that helped them get there. 

Lest we not forget, Airbnb found its success because millions of people opened their homes to total strangers to be a part of this crazy, fun idea.

That's cool Brian, Joe and Nathan, but it's getting kinda hectic down here in the trenches for us. I read an article (probably a bit exaggerated) that stated, in California & the UK, the rate of live-in hosts to corporate managed properties on Airbnb dropped drastically to look something like this: 69% corporate management companies to 31% traditional hosts. Hmmmm.

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2022/09/airbnb-hosts-are-sick-of-airbnb-too.html

Now I don't know if those numbers are real or exact, and it could just be a total exaggeration to stress us about the direction this company is going in - but it's important to consider the information anyway. Especially, when we compare the awful back office processes for hosts (& Superhosts) who are confronted with extreme difficulties trying to solve problems with their reservations through the CS system, and how it seems to be in alignment with this report. 

I'm encouraged to grow with Airbnb, and not because they are growing - but because from the very beginning I planned to develop some land I own into a homestead of tiny & tree house experiences for writers and other remote creators. I'm working on the funding 🙂

But many hosts who found a new way to make an extra income doing something they enjoy - are going to be crushed .... right out of the experience. That makes me sad. 

Do you think Airbnb will improve to show itself wanting and servicing independent hosts with one or two listings, or not?

Michelle

[Helen3]

Can I ask why you extend long term stay guest through the platform @Huma0 ?

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

In this particular case, I regretted it. When I saw how much the guest was paying, I felt really bad about it, but she didn't seem to care as her parents are paying for it!

[Helen3]

Ah fair enough. 🙂  Yes it's a high fee and they could offer a lower fee structure for longer term booking. @Huma0 

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

Yes, I think that is a good idea. Airbnb should charge a lower percentage for long term bookings, but they are unlikely interested in doing that because they want to earn the biggest bang for their buck. They could have easily introduced that as an incentive when, after the pandemic started, they started pushing hosts to accept long term stays, but they didn't...

[Michelle1588]

@Huma0 

That's interesting that the majority of guests you've noticed complaining on the forum have rented spaces that are being managed by this new "wholesale" bulk hosting venture that morphed out of nowhere on Airbnb, but not surprising. (I see ads with fast talking guys selling courses to be an Airbnb property manager all over youtube, ugh)

To be honest, that style of doing business with Airbnbs spaces is so far away from what the service was supposed to be! 

Also, I think the average host might not be aware that when we do long term reservations Airbnb takes a huge (whopping) percentage. Clearly Fred was not aware of the fact that one way or another it cost me and my guest an additional 15% to keep our transactions on Airbnb. That alone warrants a decent support system! Long-term is an entirely different monster and Airbnb is taking an amount close to a Broker's Fee for those reservations.

Imagine how much is being made factoring in all of the hosts who are doing long term (over 30 days) with Airbnb. 

@Helen3 

The figures I gave you are for a 30 day stay at my co-op. It is a shared 3 bedroom 2 bathroom unit. I had a professor from China affiliated with Columbia University stay with me for 4 months, and similar to @Huma0  she paid well over $1,000 in fees the first 2 months of summer. That also affects me and my pricing because as you can see from the image I shared below.. I have 2 options, allow the system to roll it into my price, or allow them to add it at the end. 

It has caused some problems where I've had guests ask me to give an additional discount once they saw the rate hike up at checkout. So basically, Airbnb adds over 14% to my nightly rate that I do not receive. 

Helen asked why do we extend the stays through the platform... Well, in my case, it's because I'd rather stay covered under Airbnb's protection for the duration. However, the way things went with the last psychopath I rented to, I would have been better off on my own. Support did not help at all and ended up deducting over $500 from my funds when he made that false hidden or unknown camera claim.  It was awful. 

I'd love to hear why @Huma0  extends her long term renters from the reservation... 

Also, I believe we are in a legal agreement or promise to keep the reservations on the platform if  the guest initially came in from Airbnb... 

[Huma0]

@Michelle1588 

I don't know about the legal obligation when extending the stay, but I assume you are right. Airbnb prohibits taking payments off platform. I rarely have a guest who extends for a significant amount of time (it's usually just a day or two, occasionally slightly longer) because normally the dates are already booked by someone else.

However, another host told me we were not under an obligation to use the platform with a returning guest. I don't know if that's true or not.

If he was right, then I had no need to use the platform for the second long booking from the student I mentioned earlier. However, I leave it up to the guests. They are paying a much higher percentage in fees than me. If they bring up the topic of rebooking with me direct, then I am happy to discuss that.

With the student, she never mentioned it and just went ahead and sent the booking request and I accepted quickly so she wouldn't miss out as I was getting enquiries for those dates. Also, I was a bit worried about how the payment was going to work, especially with the funds coming from her parents.

There is another girl who stays with me a few times a year and pays me direct, but she comes for around 6-8 weeks each time and just pays me for it in two installments in advance of the stay via bank transfer. She is a very organised and reliable person and I have known her for four years, so I don't need to worry about it. The student, not so much.

So, I suppose the 3% fee that I pay covers the handling of the payments. Also, possibly Aircover/assistance from CS if I'm lucky. I only once had to ask a guest to leave and Airbnb were helpful with that, although I did offer to refund all remaining nights. I've only once put in a claim for damages and that was sorted surprisingly easily. However, I do know that CS has gone seriously downhill since then, so I wouldn't rely on them helping me next time I need it.

The thing is, the guest has already paid Airbnb several hundred pounds during the first stay for finding my listing on their website. What is she getting for the additional £900 she's paying the second time?

[Helen3]

Hi @Michelle1588 

Could you quote the source for figures you quoted re corporate v homeshare houses please