How things were for you when you first began your AIRBNB

[Eileen462]

Hello Hosts!

Please tell me how things were for you when you first began your AIRBNB?  

[Title updated by Community Manager for relevancy]

[Kim3909]

Hi,

Exciting and scary. It was a whole new venture.

[Jenna416]

I am still very new to being a host. I was so nervous for our first guests and review. Thankful to have a super host to connect with and ask questions. She has been a great help!

[Evelyn957]

I recall the uncertainty. Would people like my place? Am I charging too much? Too little?

Now, I’m 5 years in and so thankful I got started when I did. 

[Juan4592]

Starting out as a host was both exciting and challenging. There’s a lot of unknown at first, but then you quickly need to get to setting up your space, creating a listing, and welcoming guests into your home/condo. There’s also a lot of learning that takes place about the hospitality industry, understanding guest expectations, and managing bookings effectively. Building a positive reputation and receiving positive reviews from guests takes time and effort. However, with proper planning, communication, and attention to detail, the journey has been rewarding thus far.

[Josée19]

Bonjour, 

J'ai commencé par louer une chambre dans ma maison ça s'est très bien passé et ensuite j'en ai loué une 2ème.... Les voyageurs adorent aller chez l'habitant et moi j'aime le contact donc tout se passe bien.

A chaque nouveau voyageur  j'appréhende l'arrivée et après tout se passe bien après leur avoir offert un café ou un apéro.

bien souvent les voyageurs repartent en amis !!!

[G92]

It was, at first a daunting thing, as my start was maybe a little different than the norm, as someone had used my details and the photos from the estate agents advertisement who I had just bought the apartment from to set up a false account in my name. 
It was only when a booked guest made contact to ask why he had heard nothing from me that I found out that there were 4 other bookings as well. I immediately contacted airbnb who dealt with the problem and cancelled the bookings for me, which it was impossible for me to accept as I was in the middle of alterations to the apartment.

I subsequently set up a proper advertisement and with Airbnb’s help has been a great success, with a great many bookings and now a super host at the moment.

[Janice281]

Hi Eileen ! It was a bit of a challenge getting everything set up but gave me something to do after having recently retired from full time employment. I  rent out just a double room in my home but Air B&B gives me the flexibility to block out dates when i have family back to visit ! And I have met so many wonderful people that have stayed as guests .... enjoy Eileen !

Jan

[John7560]

It has been a bit challenging. We have had only two guests. Both were amazing families and we are grateful for their booking. I left both of them wonderful reviews and mentioned that we hoped they would book with us in the future. Neither of them reciprocated with a review for our rental. We still do not have a review. Also we then received a request for a booking from a person with no history on the Airbnb site. I emailed them a couple of questions and they replied, but something just didn't seem right. The grammar used in the replies was lacking and incorrect words selected.  The deadline occurred and now I have received a mark down for not confirming or declining. I did not know I should have just declined the request. 

[Janet594]

Yes, you have only 24 hours to accept or decline a request.  That is a good time to decide if they will be a good fit for your situation.  If like you say the wording is off, you should decline them with no hesitation.  I have learned to listen to my gut feelings and it has paid off.  Every time I try to give someone a chance, it bites me in the rear and I end up replacing stuff or working really hard to clean up messes they left.  Most people do not have a clue what to expect if they have never stayed at an Airbnb before.  I have learned to avoid that by requesting at least one favorable review to book with me.  That way you know people have an idea how to act in your home.  I think most people think of Airbnb as a cheap hotel if they have not stayed in one before  and they just come in make a mess and leave it for host to clean up.  Let people know up front that you tried to make the place nice for them because you want them to have a great time and then would appreciate a nice review to help you show their appreciation for the enjoyment they had at your place.  Just some kind of notice that you need a review.  You may even say you are looking forward to giving them a good review for your hard work in making the place nice for them,  but they won't be able to read it until they give you one.  This lets them know you expect one from them and it will be beneficial to them to get a good review too.  Also try to have something special for their arrival...a few flowers on the table, a card thanking them for booking with you with a small box of candy or just a small homemade gift of some kind.  I have hummingbirds in my yard so I give my guests a small wooden hummingbird hanging.  They are $6.00 at Amazon and people love them.  It shows you go out of your way for them and most people appreciate that.

[Janet-and-John0]

Fun!

[Courtney584]

🤣

[Courtney584]

In one word stressful. I had stayed in over 150 Airbnbs and felt confident in my hosting ability. Our very first guest gave us only 4 stars  and she explained it was due to the weather. That was extremely frustrating as I obviously have no control over that. However, every guest since has given us 5 stars. Many guests have been great but there are a few that were very disrespectful of my home and my rules and all of those guests happen to be first-time users of Airbnb. My property is somewhat unique in that guests need to be aware of their personal safety due to bears, mountain lions, snakes, etc and responsible enough to put out a campfire. Unfortunately, we get guests that have no regard for their safety or respect for the forest and that's difficult for me. I will continue hosting but we are considering taking away Instabook as an option so we can address these concerns before guests book.

I welcome feedback, especially from hosts who deal with unique safety issues. 

Mostly I feel like our guests don't actually read our listing until moments before arriving if at all. 

[Janet594]

I have had some of your same problems.  I put things I want people to pay attention to on top in list rather than written out.  I also will not accept anyone now that doesn't have at least one previous review.  People that have never stayed at an Airbnb before don't have a clue on rules or expectations and I spend way too much time teaching them or dealing with the messes they leave me since they think of us as a cheap hotel.  It limits the amount of bookings, but I have about 99% good guests now.  Be up front and honest with people and you will have less surprises.  I would rather eliminate a problem before it arrises then clean up after a bad experience.  If people are writing a request, that is a good time to ask them questions and tell them about your situation before they actually book.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Courtney584

We are in the wilderness, with all those incredible wild neighbors, so we are careful to let guests know that eg do not leave food in your car! We also have regional fire concerns. Open flames of any kind are against our rules for an excellent reason.

Your instincts are right per our experience: We tried instant book and learned quickly that IB guests tend to fall in love with the photos and skip reading the caveats of wilderness living.