What does Airbnb do for hosts?

[Brian2036]

I’m seeing a whole lot of unhappiness among people who are clearly confused about what Airbnb promises to do for us, what they actually do for us, what we wish they would do for us, etc.

 I soon realized that I haven’t really thought it out. The advertising tends to create unreasonable expectations, leading people to believe that they can just list with Airbnb, sit back, forget about it, and wait for the money to roll in.

So what do I actually get from Airbnb?

1.) ADVERTISING. Excellent first class advertising, professionally disseminated globally. This is valuable and expensive.

2.) REPUTATION. Public perception is quite positive. If guests start to distrust Airbnb we all are going to lose. We can have another discussion about what we, as hosts, could do to boost the ratings while quietly demanding attention to serious problems.

3.) THEY  COLLECT THE MONEY. I haven’t seen any complaints about payments getting lost, fraudulent credit cards, bad checks or any of that. When I was doing it on my own I had all these problems, regularly, Plus, I’m always trying to find a reason to believe (anybody remember Lobo?) whatever lie they are offering.

Guest: Could you give me another two weeks to pay? My child support check is late.

Host (thinking‘How is this my problem’): OK, you almost paid on time last month. But then you had to pay your bar tab, which is understandably your top priority.

Guest: Thanks for understanding. I hate to ask, but I don’t even have money for groceries. Do you think you could spot two hundred?

Host: Why not, I always admired the local loanshark.

Guest: Maybe there’s something I could do for you…:

Host (hurriedly): NO! PLEASE just have the money ready on the fifteenth. Better yet, mail it to me.

 I haven’t had to deal with solicitations of any kind even once through Airbnb.

[Cherie71]

I'd like Airbnb to offer an insurance policy the guest pays for to cover 'security/damage' deposit similar to that of the other popular vacation rental site.  It makes things so much easier to file an insurance claim than to deal with Airbnb 'resolution'.  

[Brian2036]

I use Booking.com frequently for hotel reservations and have never had any complaints.

That is what they do well.

Now they are trying to get into the private sector and they are not doing it particularly well at this point.

Some of these websites are trying to offer too many services on one platform and that is leading to confusion and frustration.

Airbnb is no exception. I really wish they would have a separate website for hosts. I am constantly getting lost and frequently I get redirected to the guest booking section when I am trying to use this forum, manage my listing or communicate with a guest.

 I have a suspicion that this is not entirely unintentional. HELLO! Where would you like to go today?

NOWHERE. GET LOST.

We have 214 listings for NOWHERE. What dates would you prefer?

Grrrr…I suppose there is a slight possibility that a host might forget about managing their listing and decide to go on vacation but I find it very unhelpful.

And getting out of this forum and back to my hosting area is often difficult.

 I frequently see the message: “We are currently experiencing higher than expected volume…”

Okay; when are you going to revise your expectations so I can communicate with my guests in a timely manner?

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  I think Airbnb's refusal to charge a real security deposit certainly has to do with not putting any impediments in the way of guests booking- Brian Chesky even bragged that they've now made it easy for guests to book a place in one minute, as I recall. 

I think it also has to do with the hassles they foresee with allowing hosts to simply apply the security deposit themselves if the host says the guest caused damages. There are dishonest hosts as well as dishonest guests, who would decide a guest should be charged for an entire new dining table because the guest managed to put a scratch in it or damage a couple square inches of the finish. It could end up being a situation where Airbnb would be having to deal with irate guests who claim the host scooped the entire $300 security deposit just because the guest left a pile of dirty dishes.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely want to see a real security deposit held, I'm just offering my take on why Airbnb refuses to do so.

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 :

That’s an excellent point. For decades it has been standard practice for many commercial apartment complexes to NEVER return security deposits.

People who have to live in such places soon realize that they can forget about a refund and just factor it into the cost of living there.

This is the case in the complex where we own a condo in Panama. The slimy little twerp who manages most of the absentee owned units immediately pockets the security deposit and, if challenged when a guest leaves, claims that he had to have the place cleaned and painted.

He can even come up with a receipt—from his wife, Sra. Puerca, who apparently feels that she deserves $300 a day for going in and slopping a filthy mop around.

If the guest complains to the owner, who in turn questions “Panabob”, the owner is likely to incur another fictitious charge in excess of the deposit.

Really excellent maid service is readily available in the area for $30 a day…

So I can see why we need to avoid that from becoming established practice.

Regarding the “1-Minute Booking” achievement, do we really want to do that?

 I can see why Airbnb might want to encourage impulse buying, but I don’t.

People can’t possibly read my listing in one minute and when they finally get here they are likely to regret their uninformed decision.

 I REALLY don’t want guests who spend only one minute on the website.  OOH! I want to go to the place in the picture! (CLICK) 

You're confirmed!

Short time later: OOPS! I forgot that I have to work that weekend. I want my money back. Besides, I saw another picture I like better. 

I also don’t want guests who can’t plan their vacations more than 24 hours ahead of time. It indicates that they are apt to change their plans, at my expense, even more precipitously.

[Lorna170]

IMO, the reason that AirBnB does not allow us to collect a security deposit is because of the cost of processing the money and having to show that they did not charge their "service fee" on those funds.  They should butt out of our business once the customer (guest, traveler) has been accepted by the host.

[Sarah977]

@Lorna170  Yep. Their TOS states that we are independent contractors, and fully in charge of our own listings, but butt into host/guest business in far too many ways. They're like teenagers who want all the independence of adults, yet none of the responsibilities- not understanding that you can't have it both ways.

[Elaine701]

@Brian2036 @Lorna170 @Colleen253 @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Sarah977 

Most of you know.. I routinely demand a real security deposit from guests with high risk profiles that I'm otherwise unable to "scare away". And it's worked great so far.

[Brian2036]

@Elaine701 

Interesting. 

How do you do that?

Refundable cash, check, or some kind credit card thing?

[Elaine701]

@Brian2036 

I only impose it on "no profile, no history" inquiries, who, after some dialogue, understand that they're in a high risk group who must explicitly agree to all house rules and penalties for violations, and agree to the deposit.

About half of these are scared away by this, or end up being advised to go elsewhere due to  their odd or inconsistent responses. That's ok, I don't need that type of guest. And there's always another inquiry in the queue right behind them. It's airbnb's greatest strength. 

But for those that agree and get this far, I'll preapprove their booking, and they book it. Then resolution center -> request money -> amount of deposit.

They pay it. If not, I'll ask them to cancel (this hasn't occurred yet, but could, so I'd have to cancel them if they refused, and suffer the consequences). 

When they check in, they're reminded of the house rules, and what is expected in order to get their deposit back. 

At checkout, we have the deposit on hand, in cash. And a printed receipt. If all is good, they get the cash, and they sign the receipt. And as an added bonus, they'll also receive a good review, which will help them the next time they want to book something on Airbnb. 

Everybody wins. Everybody happy. 

Naturally, we deal with "regular" guests in a simpler, more friendly, personal, and accommodating manner. 

But this seems to work so far. 

[Brian2036]

@Elaine701 

Excellent idea. Thank you.

 I never would have thought of doing that way.

For guests who think I should trust them with a $300,000 house, but they don’t trust me to hold $500 cash for a week:  GO AWAY!

[Elaine701]

@Brian2036 

Well, just remember, it's less about "protection" and more about prevention. 

The reality is that with a security deposit held, they are much, much more likely to be conscientious and avoid causing damage, and in fact, in every case where we've used it, the guest has left the house remarkably clean and orderly. Because... they want their deposit back. 

You need to be very careful here. This isn't a sanctioned function of Airbnb, and so there's risk.

Always give them their deposit back, in full, if at all possible. Even with some minor damage, and never retain any of it for being a little "messy". If under any circumstance, you would need to retain any or all of the deposit due to significant damage, do it very diplomatically, get all the photo evidence and get the guest to sign a document admitting the damages.

Be aware that if the guest complains to Airbnb, Airbnb is very likely to refund their entire deposit, deduct it from future bookings, and possibly impose other penalties on you, the host. Not to mention the possibility of a retaliatory review from the guest. 

But in our case, all guests who've paid a deposit have had it returned in full at checkout time, because they fully earned it, and want their deposit back. If it weren't for that, there would be no penalty, and no motivation.

So far, the results have been really surprising. Clean, orderly house. Often far better than non-deposit-paying guests!

So, it's prevention, not protection. And you should always approach it with that in mind. 

[Brian2036]

@Elaine701 

Excellent advice.

Thank you.

[Brian2036]

7.)  THEY PROVIDE THIS FORUM.

This is another valuable benefit. There is a cost associated with it and I suppose there are a number of employees who keep it working.

Apparently one can even criticize Airbnb without fear of censorship and occasionally an employee will address serious issues.

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  Yes, there are several moderators of this forum- they aren't Airbnb employees, per se- they work for a company called Standing on Giants, which contracts out moderating services. Which may explain why this forum is about the only Airbnb thing  that works smoothly and helpfully. 

[Brian2036]

8.) So for me personally, ARE AIRBNBs SERVICES WORTH THE COST TO ME? 

So far I have to say YES. Definitely. 

If it comes to the point that I have to say NO, I guess I’ll have to try something else or retire.