CALLING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY ~~~ANYONE NOTICEING A SHARP DECLINE IN BOOKINGS?

[Susan990]

No , as in zero, views for a few weeks ??? 

 I have been in this business since 2018 and what is happening here  has never happened.  Even when the pandemic hit I simply pivoted to monthly stays exclusively and have been booked 90% .  The market demand here is for longer term stays as people search for permanent housing or perform their work on contract for hospitals or tecy companies or freelance gigs.  I really thought there must be a glitch in the data reporting to the Insights section of the platform but then discover that none of my area ABB hosts have any bookings so it's not just me.  Anyone out there experiencing this phenomena?

[Bart205]

I have 3 bookings right now, I am normally full 3 months out. my views were 200 to 400 per month and now are below 100 per month

[Ann72]

@Susan990  It does seem to have slowed, though it's off-season for me.  I think the news of the recent variation gave a lot of people pause about travel plans.  However, today's news reported that the Pfizer booster protects against the new strain, so maybe there will be an uptick.

[Laura2592]

@Susan990 I am getting questions but not as many bookings as this time last year. Our prices have gone up slightly, so I figured that might be why. 

[Huma0]

@Susan990 

I do have some gaps in my calendar but I put that down to the fact that I host long-term and long-term guests rarely check in right before Christmas. 

As soon as I reduce the minimum stay, i.e. from 28 days to 21 or 14, the enquiries and requests to book come in, but the problem is they are from guests with loads of red flags, so I am just turning people away - almost all of them, which is not normal.

My page views have gone down recently, so I am wondering why the good guests aren't looking and the crazy ones are!

[Susan990]

@Huma0   Your comments got my attention. Yes, noticing the decline on the regular long term guests seeking a place to stay/live/work vs The Crazy ones.  I am loath to say this but.... has ABB groomed the public to think of our lodging product as available to them when the commercial lodging providers have filters built in to screen them out?  And they can just call the cops to drag them  out when they  go crazy but you and me...what can we do with them?  Plus there is no Review payback thing to punish the property owner.  Just asking.

[Huma0]

@Susan990 

Luckily, there haven't been too many times when I have had to deal with the crazy long-term guest. I've had a couple of long-termers who were a pain in the backside for one reason or another, but only two that I'd classify as crazy.

1. One, who I started a thread about on the CC that I can link if you like. When her behaviour got beyond acceptable, I was easily able to call Airbnb and get them to ask her to leave, which she did. Then again, I was refunding her any unspent nights which they said I didn't have to do given her rule breaking. I just wanted her out and to never hear from her again, so I didn't care about the money. The room got rebooked anyway, but those were in better times.

2. A girl who was supposed to stay for two months but, even though I didn't see any red flags when she booked, it became obvious as soon as she arrived that she was nuts. Luckily, she decided to go early of her own volition so I only had to put up with her for 2.5 weeks. However, she could not understand the cancellation policy at all and would have stayed the month if she had had to pay for it. Again, I decided I would rather lose the money that have to cope with her a moment longer than I had to.

What to do though when the crazies refuse to leave?

We have to be crystal clear in our house rules, because that really helps when you are trying to get back up from Airbnb. Problem guests seem to take it more seriously when Airbnb tells them to stop breaking the rules or get out. If Airbnb tells them to leave, they are generally more likely to as a billion dollar corporation is scarier than an individual small time homeshare host.

If that doesn't work, well I guess you cancel the booking yourself (hopefully with back up from Airbnb so you don't get penalised) and then call the police if they still won't leave as then they are trespassing. I know the laws/police enforcement will vary enormously depending on location, but here, they are not allowed to stay if I don't want them to as they are sharing my home. I just have to give them reasonable notice. If I was renting out a separate unit, that would be a whole other can of worms. 

To avoid this situation in the first place, we have to screen, screen, screen and spot those red flags, which is why I seem to be turning almost everyone away right now...

[Huma0]

@Susan990 

PS, neither of those guests left reviews. 

1. Probably feared what I might reveal about her should I respond to her review.

2. Too nuts and disorganised to leave a review.