Hello everyone 😊
I have read hundreds of threads on this site in the last 6 months, I think every question and problem has been answered, which has been great.
Along with a friend, my husband and I bought a studio flat in the next seaside town to ours in April 21. About 6 months of prep went into this, after a year of saving up, and in that time I did so much research into exactly what to do. I must have easily spent over 200 hours on this site, as well as reading various guides about how to be a good airbnb host.
After getting the keys to our flat, we spent 2 weeks doing it up before we listed it last month, and we currently have our 12th guest in there. We don't live there, it is all self check-in, which makes choosing the guests a lot easier. I don't think I would be brave enough to host in my own home!
I've already experienced some of the challenges, nothing major luckily, but airbnb took a review away because they thought I had paid someone to write a review because the price was so low. I had put the price low for a friend of a friend, so I sent airbnb screenshots of texts from my friend who was there sending me photos of things she liked (she had helped decorate the week before). In the end, they said because she hadn't stayed there and her friend had, that it was a third party booking so they would not reinstate the review. I've also had a person have a 22 message long conversation with me, to then just not book, but I suspect real problems will start when I get my first bad review and will probably stress about it for weeks!
I've just read the last few pages of this thread and it's so cool to see all the different corners of the globe we are all from! I kept thinking "ooh I want to go there!"
Kathryn x