Shutting down at the end of the year

[Michelle53]

Hi All

Firstly, I  want to thank all the regular contributors here, from whom I have learned so much.

Secondly, I want to thank the moderators who have done much to make the Community Center a great place to interact.   (loved the games, even if I couldn't participate in group chats)

We've all had a lot to deal with the last two years.

Shutdowns, cancellations, cleaning protocols, mask mandates (or not), local restrictions etc etc.

But when I have been open for business, folks have, generally speaking, been great, and very appreciative, travellers.

Now that things are opening up again, a new traveller has been born. Grumpy, intolerant, complaining, low-budget-high-expectations.   I've always run a budget listing - I don't offer the Ritz Carlton, but I don't charge for that either.

I don't pretend to understand what goes on in peoples' heads, but I've sadly reached the conclusion that I can no longer manage the workload and the stress.   

I'm tired of cleaning bathrooms after other people, worrying about whether the shower is draining fast enough, or whether someone will find a stray hair or critter-without-a-passport, if the beds are all equally comfortable, if it's not at the "Goldilocks" temperature .  Above all, I'm tired of being reviewed. 

Airbnb was a phenomenal way to earn extra money when I was struggling. My work,  thankfully, has bounced back, this year, in a big way.     It's not without its own stresses, but I have to make choices about where to devote my energy.

So, finally, thank you, everyone, that has helped the load to be lighter by sharing your advice and your stories, and commiserating when things were tough. You have no idea how much it has been appreciated.

I'm running out my calendar of existing bookings to the end of this year, and that's it for me. 

Good luck to those of you still operating, or planning to re-open, Superhost status or otherwise.

All the best !

Michelle

[Teresa31]

I’m on the same page…no 4 seasons here😂good luck. 

[Mark116]

@Michelle53  That's too bad, or  maybe its great.  Our guest quality has somewhat rebounded from actively bad, to disinterested and clueless.  Guests repeatedly fail to answer messages about when they're arriving, prior to last year I've never had to contact Airbnb because a guest was unresponsive, I've done it 3x in 5 months, I've almost cancelled 3 reservations over MIA guests.  Many, many more guests now never say anything either during their stay, they don't respond or even acknowledge a message with 'tx' nothing, and many more don't bother leaving reviews.

We're going to look into potential alternative sources of income, because we have really found the extra $$ helps maintain and improve the house.

Good luck and I don't blame you, if/when we find a way to create a different income stream, we will likely bow out as well.  As you said, too much work, too much stress and not enough positive reinforcement.

[Michelle53]

@Mark116    I thought I would share this one, while it's still warm. 

Guest with one positive review books, check-in due yesterday, and I do what I've always done, which is to send entry instructions a couple of days ahead of arrival. 

The guest sends me a "thank you" message at 11.30pm last night, when I was already long asleep, to say she is on her way, after having dinner with her sister. 

The guest apparently completely fails to locate the lockbox, situated on the outside of the screen door.  First time in 7 years. Even non-native-English speakers using Google Translate have been able to figure out how to get in.   I assume she went back to the sister's residence. 

I have not been able to make contact with the guest this morning.  We'll have to see how this one plays out. 

[Mark116]

@Michelle53  People have lost all common sense. 

Our last guest, who was lovely, but she was arriving one day late on her reservation so was checking in at 7:30am.  We left the keys on the porch as we always do, with detailed directions, literally saying put key in front door knob lock and turn right then push.  For some reason, she walked off the porch, down the basement steps and tried to use the key to the basement door, which behind said door are the trash cans.  Who would think their Airbnb is behind a basement door alcove that holds the rubbish bins? Therefore, I ended up having to do what I didn't want to, which was go down at 7:30am and let the guest it.  I have now added ...do not go to the basement door...in the instructions.

My upcoming guest who is driving here to arrive at 9 or 10pm, despite significant dialogue on the difficulty of parking that late in the evening, just messaged me this morning wondering if we had any cooking utensils or offered bread, milk or butter?  I can now know there is a 100% chance this guest has read nothing in the listing.  I've already expected some kind of frantic messages tonight at 10pm or later that she can't find a space anywhere or worse, she will park illegally and get towed, and can add to that she will be completely clueless about everything having to do with the apartment.

Airbnb really needs to do better in educating guests how to help ensure their stay is a good one, starting with read the entire listing, and read and respond to your hosts messages.

I also denied another request yesterday because after 22.5 hours and two messages specifically saying 'we can't move forward with the reservation until we hear from you that you agree to the house rules' there was no response.  45 minutes after the denial, she replies that she 'didn't know she had to respond'??? and she agrees to the rules.  Come on.  

So annoying.

[Deborah175]

@Mark116 I've written that same text "we can't move forward with the reservation until we hear from you..." so many countless times in the past several months, with no response. I just cannot fathom why Airbnb can't have a customizable pop-up appear that guests must confirm certain things like: is this still your telephone number?; please verify the number of guests you're booking includes; have you read the listing and agree to the house rules?; please insert your ETA and certify you'll notify your host if it substantially changes. I could go on. It would be a game changer

[Christine615]

Good luck. You don’t seem to be alone. I wish Airbnb listened to our requests to do a better job of screening and training guests. 

There needs to be an Airbnb service to fix host burnout. 😢

[Genaro18]

I am so bad with words. It's worse since I had COVID, which was nothing at all but a 3 day mild annoyance and sleeping - until the monstrous Long Haul things happened after. 

You have said it all. 

It's stupid of me, but after 7 years of this, you made me cry. LOL. I would NOT have a place to live now if it wasn't for Airbnb and what occurred while my country was locked down, and I lived with a stranger, whose lives are both changed, again because of Airbnb.

Every word, every sentence, Michelle - WE understand. 4 of us here. we understand and have felt every line. 

Our "way" to move on and release ourselves of the incredible pressure and stress, was to list slowly and experimentally elsewhere, like little trial balloons, to "see what happens". We knew Airbnb was the best and easiest platform, and the others all looked disastrous at first view.

Well . . . things change. 

Having an "escape hatch" for the emails politely saying "we heard you were perhaps running a Mexican Drug Cartel, while filming people in the shower, running orgies, and doing it all in your underwear - while also spreading COVID to everyone" - so we have suspended all your listing tomorrow . . . .

We were sick of the stress of the fictional stories done for refunds.

Anyone else reading this - I was so grateful for the few hosts that PRIVATELY, virtually whispering, advice and tips - NEVER public - on what to do? I owe it to them to "pay it forward". 

We could write a book and started one not on the "awful horrors" - just simply how to avoid, and get around situations, and most of all, "don't put all your eggs in one basket".

You can write us. 

Sherry, Morgan, Anthony W, Eric, Troy, Antonio, Genaro, William, Cristobal

[Helen744]

@ Genaro81, sometimes you just cant win . All the best with the Cartel and other options but until the world turns itself right way up again I think we will all continue to lose money time and sanity . Cheers H p.s Even with long covid you are 'very' good with words and funny.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  Always good to recognize when it's time to move on. One of these days all that will be left on Airbnb are the big property management companies and a bunch of entitled scammer guuests complaining about an ant for a full refund. And all the great guests will wonder what happened to all the small-time hands-on hosts they liked to stay with.

You will be missed- you were a wealth of information and a steady voice of pragmatism. 

Whatcha gonna do with the studio? It would make a nice massage studio you could rent out to a practitioner. 

[Gillian166]

---

@Sarah977 wrote:

 And all the great guests will wonder what happened to all the small-time hands-on hosts they liked to stay with.

---

This is how I feel about eBay, there used to be such a wonderful community there too. I know there are still thrifters and resellers but the flavour of the place is not the same. I wonder if Etsy will go the same way, or will it survive with its indy culture. 

More and more, esp in big cities, I see Airbnbs being managed by large groups, but i'm still hopeful that those of us who are operating off the beaten path, in towns where there are no motels, will still do ok. 

[Michelle53]

@Sarah977  Thanks !   I think I will enjoy reclaiming my home, and just having the space empty for a while.   It can go back to being for visiting friends and family, and I can use it in the hot summer months as the coolest place in the house to sleep.

I'll have time for my own life, instead of spending Sundays doing turnovers.  I can't count the number of times I've said to friends "Sorry, can't make it - I have a guest coming in". 

Big generally means cookie-cutter.  Bulk buys of furniture, artwork, and other decor.  Sameness. Consumer. The small and different ends up falling by the wayside. 

You know - like you can have exactly the same McDonalds experience in 160 countries.

I bought the materials for raised garden beds. I'm going to do vegetables again, this year.  I've always loved working in the garden. 

[Suzann0]

Hi Michelle,

I love what you have said and I am in the same space. Have been a host for 9 years. Remember the "good old days" when people would come and love the homely feel. I have made many friends from Aribnb and am grateful of this. I now feel that with the changes it may be time to find something new. Cookie-cutter I am not and like that I am not.  I now have a wicking  bed (self watering raised bed) and will enjoy this together with not so many washed sheets, towels etc.

I wish you all the best 

Suzann

[Jane2692]

Well done to you for being such a great host and realising when it’s time to move on.  Reading this is like a breath of fresh air knowing that I am not the only one in this situation.  I feel too like this year most of my guests have been a real pain.  It’s such a shame as the good guests are just so fantastic and you are right it’s a shame for them that others ruin it. There seems to be no appreciation left in the world. As you say no contact, no please, thank yous….but they always find something wrong. Classics for me recently are the imagined expectations. The guests who wanted the house to be more in nature, or who thought the books might get dirty so they weren’t for him. They are just so strangely self righteousness and irritating. There’s no arguing with them. I am getting to the stage where I am thinking of asking guests not to write reviews but I know they get bombarded with review requests from Airbnb. And let’s not forget the self righteous love to review!  I always imagine them poised with a coffee in hand and taking their time to proudly write their words.

Anyway, the sun is shining…spring is on its way, let’s hope it brings with it happy guests 😀

[Laura2592]

@Michelle53 we have our property up for sale for many of the same reasons. Got some really good offers and will likely accept one today.

So many great hosts are bowing out and a new cadre of people are looking to get into ABB as a "get rich quick" scheme. I do wish them more luck than we have had.  

I wish you the best for your new adventures! Life is too short to worry about "location" ratings and grumpy people who expect 24/7 concierge from someone working a full time job. Quite simply, there are better ways to spend your time and easier ways to make extra money.

I do hope that Airbnb hears the message that their pool of great hosts is shrinking due to burn out and lack of support and that it spurs some serious changes. But my hopes are not high. Their business model seems to encourage rapid churn and a limited host shelf life. So perhaps we are both giving them what they want.