Decline in bookings

[Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0]

I know that this conversation has happened before and I am aware of summer release and the turn in the economy. My hope is that if people keep posting about how dramatically bookings for great listings have stopped with no notice that new hosts will know what they are getting into or maybe someone will help us?

Hosting is a massive investment of time and money. We can't just buy nice things for our spaces once, our spaces have to be in prime, like-new, condition all of the time. They also have to be perfectly, spotlessly cleaned.

For me, that means replacing sheets after guests eat in bed, keeping three of everything so that I have a ready replacement when things get broken and mostly cleaning myself because no cleaning service will spend the time that I will to make sure my reviews are perfect. Also, I can't find a cleaning service that will charge me what I can charge my guests for our studio little house so when I can't do it, I pay twice what I can charge.

We work really hard. Our space was designed by a local high-end designer. We have special amenities, allow dogs and constantly go above and beyond to make guests feel well cared for. Our reviews are glowing.

Despite all of this, our bookings totally went away. Our little house in our backyard is small and priced accordingly. We don't make a lot of money but we very much depend on it. This is my only source of income so that I can stay at home and be a mother. I just lost my mortgage payment with no notice.

I'm hearing Airbnb talk about enlisting more hosts. What if they took care of the hosts that are already here first so that we can continue to give the high quality stays that guests are looking for?

[Helen3]

Hello @Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 

When you set up an STR business it is a volatile market; there is large potential for profits and also for large losses.

Sadly many hosts don't treat their STRs like a business . For example they don't carry out market research to understand demand and capacity in their location. They don't set up a profit and loss account to look at peaks and troughs in demand and pricing and understand their set up and running costs.

I'm sure your listing is lovely but perhaps you have sunk too much money into it in terms of your ROI.

I certainly don't have three of everything or spend a lot of money having my place designed by a high end designer.  Why use an outside cleaner if you aren't working outside the home - co-ordinate your bookings so you are always available to do the changeovers. There are ways you can reduce your costs.

Also have you made sure you have listing on ALL relevant platforms and set up your listing for direct bookings? If not you're not doing all you can to maximise your bookings.

I have a lived-in Victorian house and have had my busiest year since I started six years ago. I've been a superhost since the first quarter of starting and have retained that ever since with five star ratings. 

My point is you don't need to have a flash, expensive property and  pristine interiors to run a profitable STR business. 

If you're choosing to be a stay at home mother and your STR business isn't bringing in the income you need,  look at other work you can do at  home such as PR, accountancy, legal work, cooking, acting as a co-host for other STR owners, being a PA, craft making etc.

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

I think that is a bit harsh. It sounds like @Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 are experiencing what a lot of others are.

I do actually have at least three sets of bed linens and towels etc. for each room. I have  found that this is sometimes necessary. And, I don't think @Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 was saying  she NEEDS to pay a cleaner. Quite the opposite. She said that she does it herself because it's too expensive to pay someone else the going rate and she can't pass that cost on to the guest because that would make her pricing not competitive.

You have a lot of experience already, but I do remember being a new host and it's not always easy. Plus, just because you have had a great year, it's a bit dismissive to suggest that the many, many hosts (both new and experienced have not) following the Summer Release are all somehow misguided and a bit lacklustre in their performance. Many of them were doing a stellar trade until that Summer Release was launched.

Have a heart and cut people some slack.

[Helen3]

Hi @Huma0 

Sorry if you felt my comments came across as harsh.

Yes I have three sets of bedding and towels too but I don't have three of everything else. @Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0  mentions she has three of everything in case items get broken.

I appreciate that many hosts are experiencing a drop in bookings because of falling demand in many areas. My point was that STRs are a volatile market and that in these circumstances we need to advertise across every possible channel. 

And look at ways in which we can reduce our costs in order that we remain profitable when demand is falling. 

@Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 said that she does pay a cleaner when she can't do it herself but said the costs are more than she can charge in a cleaning fee - hence my advice about managing check in's so she can clean herself. 

Yes the summer release has affected many hosts, but as importantly many areas are experiencing falling demand as utilities and other costs spiral and people cut back on non essential areas such as holidays and travel.  This makes it difficult to rely on STR income. So it's good to look at other options if STRs aren't bringing in the income Lisa needs to be able to stay at home.

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

Sorry, didn't mean to be critical of you either! It does sounds like @Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 is working hard for this and I can understand the disappointment when Brian Chesky then says his priority is recruiting more new hosts. 

I think it's a fair question to ask why he can't focus more on promoting the hard working, highly rated hosts he already has. But, then it's no skin off his nose. He just wants the bookings. It doesn't matter how they are spread out and if existing hosts are pushed out.

[Laurelle3]

@Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 I am sure you have done the same as i did when I thought about venturing into Airbnb and I thought long and hard about it.
Part of the my research was what was the positive eg meeting people, creating self employment and of course make some money. For the negatives was, what happens if I am not offering what people want to stay and book. What if i don't get enough bookings to cover my expenses. Fortunately for me I have been able to keep my head above water to date but no-one could really for tell the future of what could happen around the world. So we have to have a plan B and each one of us will react differently to try and hang in the game of Airbnbing.
By keeping your property spotlessly clean as you have pointed out is the most important for me. Also, I don' t think you need to have all new furniture and fixtures you just need to make sure that they are functioning and well maintained. Half of our furniture was second-hand but we repaired and painted them. i made new soft furnishings, everything was done on a budget and have replaced some items with updated second-hand pieces or new furniture. Because i do the cleaning myself I notice if there are marks on the walls, paint is chipped I fix it there and then. Yes, it does take time and effort on my part, but this is part of my business.
Like you, I keep 3 sets of linen, 1 set on, 1 set in the wash and 1 set ready to go and I launder the linen myself and work hard on the stains so far have been able to manage to keep it in good condition. If I have to replace any piece, I just replace the top or bottom sheet. I have white sheets and started with sets of sheets but replace with single top or bottom (all the same brand and from the same shop).
There have been many articles on shortage of reliable cleaning staff and having them to do extras as if it was their own property and yes, we have to pay for it. Now in our local area there was an influx of new Airbnb's on the market cleaners have been able to ask any price and can pick and choose who or what sized property they want to clean.
At the moment, we are seeing holiday properties being sold because of the world economy and interest rates going up. and cost of energy prices rising, and people are viewing their own economy of what they can save on or what I must pay out and can I afford a holiday or short stay
I agree with you when you pointed out that Airbnb is trying to get more hosts, but they need to look after the hosts that are trying to have a go. But we cannot predict what people want or where they want to stay. All I can say is hang in there.

[Sammy-L-0]

Like you, we have mostly second-hand vintage or antique furniture. Some has been repainted it refinished, but it was all pretty nice until the past month. A guest sat in an antique chair and the bottom tire out. Now we're trying to find someone to repair it. Another guest found a worn spot on a couch arm and picked at it until it caused a quite large blemish. We do our own cleaning, so we notice these things. I do most touchups and repairs myself, but these two are beyond my skills. It makes it worse that bookings are down and taxes locally are due. If we weren't booking through a competitive platform as well, we'd be in serious trouble.

[Gwen386]

@Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 As a new host myself, I have been fortunate during the Summer release. I really believe this is attributed to being in the right location, pricing my nightly rate appropriately, offering the option of a 10% discount for nonrefundable stays, furnishing my space for how I live—not what someone else may like or dislike, and cleaning my apt myself to ensure top-notch cleanliness. 

I have 6 sets of bed linen and 8 sets of towels and washcloths because I got sick and tired of the quick turnaround of constantly doing laundry. I loathe it!

However, I only decided on airbnb because I added a full kitchen to my already finished basement. So I basically decided to do STR to increase my 401K contributions. I also enjoy not having my STR always booked. I need time to myself. 

I do agree with @Helen3 that some hosts jumped in without a plan. If one needs the income from their rental, and then the STR market becomes volatile for any number of reasons, it really hurts those hosts who depend on it. 

I’m okay with airbnb recruiting more hosts. It’s been a lucrative market for some hosts for a long time. And I feel if newer hosts are ready to jump in and try their hands at making money, good for them. I love the challenge of competition. I feel all it does is make me up my game. 

[Sudsrung0]

@Lisa-Maurine-And-Alex0 

Sounds like you went the full option there, It's difficult to say since they made changes here we cant see your listing.maybe you could post your link, Some good ladies here will Critique it for you,

We all have our own way of being a host, I do think you are going overboard about the sheets you will worse than eating in bed, plenty of chemicals out there for cleaning your laundry.

We live in Phuket and it's tropical weather, One of the reasons we dont have TV's in the bedrooms because people eat and drink in bed.

We do tell people not to eat and drink in the bedrooms and dont leave cans of coke or a can of beer lying around overnight at the least it would be covered in ants, seems to work for us, Food either put it away or throw it away in the bins provided.

Same with the BBQ I dont like putting signs up but we had to "Do not leave food lying around overnight" 

I dont know your market is it seasonal? 

Anyway without going on to much let us see your listing, I have a few ideas