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

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Laura2592 @Michelle53 

We will all miss you!

Kitty

[Laura2592]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 @Michelle53 @Mark116 @Jane2692 @Gillian166  et al...

Maybe we need to start a "Airbnb Host Burnout Support Group" thread lol. 

[Hal3292]

@Michelle53 @Laura2592 I second that!

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Agh. I will be so sad to see you leave, as well as you, @Michelle53 . You are both lovely people and have been fabulous contributors to the community.

@Laura2592 Are any of the interested parties purchasing to continue as an Airbnb? 

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 funny you should ask....

We had an investor offer 25K above list (cash) to purchase as an ABB if we would continue doing the work for basically nothing. Wanted to keep us as co hosts and just have a pretty Instagram (also, could I possibly provide content when I went to set up for guests? I mean, it wouldn't be inconvenient if I was already there...)

Uh no. We aren't selling the place because we dislike the PROPERTY. We are selling because we don't want to deal with AIRBNB. No more guests. No more cleaning. No more ratings. No more texts about insects or where can I find...? No more "I would like to bring 8 people to your 4 person space and I can't believe you would say no!" No more "This is too expensive but I LOOOOVVEE it. Discount?" No more customer "support" and hours on the phone quoting policies to someone employed by ABB who should know those policies.

So we accepted an above asking offer by a couple who wants to retire there and loves to garden. Great terms, inspections waived, and nice closing dates to finish out our current guest roster plus have our own last stay/move furnishings out. On the market less than a week. 38.3% appreciation over 3.5 years. Not shabby and a nice little nest egg for the next adventure.

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 How perfectly it's worked out then. So happy for you! And I have to say, I'm kind of glad to hear that your beautiful cottage will be given a rest from Airbnb. It will be a peaceful place for a retired couple.

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 yes it does seem like its a really good outcome. I am sad, I will admit. I love that place. But now we can focus on making my backyard barn into an oasis we don't have to travel to. Its a project I have wanted to get off the ground for some time but just had too much going on to manage. 

Between our home in Maryland and our place in New Orleans we can concentrate on our own enjoyment and not the whims of others. I am sad to give up our schoolhouse. But I have learned a valuable lesson. There is a big difference between an investment property and a vacation property. We tried to have both and had to really make sacrifices that negated a lot of relaxation. I am glad we did it, but don't know if I would again in the same way. 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 @Good luck with the barn!!! And yes, this is true. Vacation vs investment. Very different animals. 

[Michelle53]

@Laura2592  Congrats on getting offers. Hope that retiring couple makes your place worth selling. 

I'm almost certain the host attrition rate is not a core metric. As long as the size of the overall pool of hosts goes up, along with the number of nights booked, it really doesn't affect Airbnb at all. 

I really think they are in their own bubble, fuelled by their own marketing, and don't have any notion of what is going on in the host world.   Things go that way in large corporations. 

Meanwhile, I cut my maximum occupancy, and will turn one bed back into a sofa, so I only have to deal with one or two guests at a time, while I run things out. My calendar shuts off in December. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Oh @Michelle53  you too? 😞

I totally understand why you had enough and decided to finally take care of yourself instead of guests and Airbnb. Lately, I am tempted to do the same, but guests are not the only ones to blame.

Airbnb could easily prevent burnout and guest's and host's frustration by simply stopping hiding all important information behind "read more..." , barely visible links somewhere at the bottom of the page. It is so frustrating, time-consuming, and unpleasant to warn each guest to find all hidden information scattered all over the page and to read them before booking or before we accept their request or at least before arrival.

Guests' and hosts' frustration could also be prevented if Airbnb wouldn't show listings that don't meet filtered criteria. If we don't accept kids or pets or don't offer free parking and A/C then why is our listing shown to guests who filtered for it?

If Airbnb's intention was to speed up bookings and make the process smoother then they failed big time, the effect is completely opposite.

In my 6 years of hosting I never had so many requests withdrawn or declined like I had last 12 months. It could be so easily prevented if guests could immediately see and read what I wrote in my listing. This hide and seek game is so frustrating for them and for us.

@ Mark116I 100% agree with everything you said, you are reading my mind

[Kelly149]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 @This right here is the house rules Whack-A-Mole I’m playing with guests. If I wrote the rule then surely it matters so why abb thinks they’re helping anything by hiding it from guests I will never understand. 

[Lenore22]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 @Kelly149 yes!!! I can't even find my own rules to make sure they are still there!!! I feel like I'm losing my mind!

[Deborah175]

@Branka-and-Sylvia0 

"In my 6 years of hosting I never had so many requests withdrawn or declined like I had last 12 months. It could be so easily prevented if guests could immediately see and read what I wrote in my listing. This hide and seek game is so frustrating for them and for us."

I started in 2013, and I've had to decline more and have had a ton of withdrawn requests all because the guests are booking without reading the listing, something that it seems could so easily be remedied by Airbnb. It's been an exhausting start to the year.

[Quincy]

I'm so sorry to see you go @Michelle53! I wish you all the best! 

[Michelle53]

@Quincy  Thank you !