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]

[Ev18]

Our short-term rental is part of a family farm that's remained in our family for over a century. The cousin who left it to us requested that we try to keep it in the family.  The lawyer for her estate told us that this was a nonbinding requirement and he warned me that I would never find good tenants in such a rural area. He was right:  I could not get anyone to consistently pay when I was a landlord.  I was about to give up, but rather than sell it, I converted it into an Airbnb short term rental property earlier this year.

This has worked out well, because the property is near Mississippi's largest lake, and we've consistently found guests to rent it--even in periods that I assumed would be dead.  Airbnb automatically withdraws the amount due the host from guests' credit cards, which is huge, because I don't have to deal with that as an issue anymore.  But it did require a big investment to get the ranch house into top shape, as the house had deteriorated a lot over the years when little maintenance was done. I don't yet know if our latest strategy will cover all the money we put into the place.

In addition, as someone else here mentioned, there are some Airbnb guests who evidently don't want to pay as they may try to find fault (e.g., a barking dog in the neighborhood annoyed them, or they are short on money this month) in order to get a discount. Additionally, you occasionally will get a scammer who reaches out seeking to rent your property off the books. But we have achieved a 4.86 rating, as of this writing, and I've been able to rent it consistently.  Additionally, over time the rental process has become smoother, more predictable, more routine.

One of the first guests, a somewhat messy fisherman, took a bunch of towels and left fish entrails in the yard. I was personally hurt, but this was a mistake. You have to not take anything personally. It's essentially like a business where you are, in effect, akin to a retailer or hotel owner who has to react professionally and factor such issues into the costs of renting.  I've had the guest who brought in a dog (against the rules), the guest who left makeup all over the sheets, the guest who smoked (against the rules), the guest who brought in 9 people (when the maximum number was 7), the guest who couldn't get the cable on and needed extra hand holding.  But it gives me joy to keep the place going and it also increasingly gives me happiness to get another good review and nice comments.  

You can find our rental here:  Families Welcome (7.6 mi to Grenada Lake) - Houses for Rent in Grenada, Mississippi, United States -...

Best wishes.

Evelyn

[Kyra-With-My-Husband-Har0]

We used to rent our condo out on VRBO and I find that AirBnb is so much easier.  I love the they handle the money, and it just gets deposited into our account once the guest arrives.  VRBO didn't do that, and I found that collecting the deposit and rent before hand via snail mail just didn't work well.  I have had great guests in our condo I'm Maui.  The rental income helps to pay the condo fees, pay for renovations and makes us able to afford to own it.  We even come out ahead most years and wouldn't be able to own the place if we didn't rent it out.  

I would say the hardest thing about renting out your short term rental is finding a great cleaner and handyman.  We have gone through a few over the years, but we now have great help and that makes our rental run smoothly.  

I've had wonderful guests for the most part.  I do find that last minute bookings have caused me trouble in the past.  Ive had two of these last minute bookings this year that say it's just for one person and then they have 4 or five people joining them as 'unaccounted for guests'.  It is hard on our condo and once they are in the place, there is not much you can do about it.  Luckily our place has never been trashed, but it is an uneasy feeling to worry about it.  I choose to give discounts for extended stays and don't rent it without having at least a weeks notice to eliminate the last minute bookings that tend to cause grief.  

Airbnb is a wonderful site and the only booking site I use now.  I get help soon after I call with a question, and have been a Superhost now for about three years strait.  Being able to rent out our condo has enabled us to constantly improve it and enjoy it ourselves every winter break with our kids.  I feel really fortunate to be able to have such a place in paradise and I have 'regular' guests that come back every year as we do.  It has been a special place that created wonderful memories for more than just us.  Honeymoons, anniversaries, birthdays, all have taken place there and our guestbook is filled with happy experiences.  I love to host for that reason.

I also like that AirBnb has insurance in case 'the unit above us has a flood', there was once a leak in the washer hose in the unit above us.  Airbnb was able to arrange to put our guests in another unit and be covered in order for our condo to be fixed.  Things happen out of your control, and Airbnb helps to make issues that arrive, solvable in a way that works for the host and the guest.  

I am happy with the service that Airbnb provides and will continue to use them as my only booking site. Thanks, Kyra Hanson

[Eileen462]

@Kyra-With-My-Husband-Har0   Hello Kyra!  Your message is so encouraging I truely appreciate it and you.  Eileen

[Edmond68]

For me it was almost normal because I have worked for many years as a social worker, so it is now natural for me to communicate with people. For me, the experience as a host is beautiful.

[Eileen462]

@Edmond68   Thats wonderful to hear Edmond.  I love unusual people myelf and love learning their personalities.  We are people persons lol.

[Edmond68]

@Eileen462 We are people and we want our lives to have as much peace and happy moments as possible.

[Julieanna0]

@Eileen462 I had almost complete opposite experiences with my first two sets of guests.  One was an awful experience, and the other was amazing.  The awful guest complained about everything, didn't read or respect any house rules and then attempted to get me to agree to NOT review her.   The way it was presented to me was that if I left a review for her, she would basically ruin my reputation right out of the gate.  (She was my very first guest.) 

Even though I was very new to Airbnb, I didn't agree to her request to not leave a review for her.  She didn't leave a review for me, however, she did reply to my review and said the most awful, untruthful things.  I'm not sure what her goal was re complaining about everything, unless she expected me to refund her money for the entire stay?  She was already getting a very good deal as when you're new on Airbnb, you generally start out at a discounted rate.  

I'm thankful to say, my next set of guests were amazing!  I've learned a lot throughout my years of hosting and if I could give you any advice, it would be this:  never communicate outside of the Airbnb platform, and always do a video walkthrough of your place prior to guests staying.  You will likely find that most of your guests are great, however, when you have some that aren't, your biggest nightmare will be dealing with @Airbnb trying to collect for damages.

Search Airbnb on the BBB (https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/rental-listings/airbnb-inc-1116-375521/complaints), and you will find that, sadly, they don't care about hosts or guests; all Airbnb cares about is making money.  

I hope you never have occasion to have to contact their "customer support" or "resolution" department, as there truly is no customer support.  It is a total nightmare and apparently, there is no way to hold them (Airbnb) accountable.  It is maddening, and this, more than anything has caused me to almost quit hosting on several occasions.  They claim to have you, (the host), protected with their "Air Cover" (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3142/), however, it's very difficult to navigate through their claims process as the Support Ambassador that will be assigned to you regularly changes, or they will message you at 3 AM and then take a leave of absence and nothing progresses.  

However, if you have documented what your place looked like prior to guests staying, and something does go wrong, quite often the guest will pay for damages if you submit the proof.  (Before and after videos/photos)

I wish someone had shared with me, what I have just shared with you, before my first bad experience!  (I hadn't found this community yet!)

While it isn't always "sunshine and roses," here's wishing you all the best in your hosting endeavors!  

[Eileen462]

@Julieanna0  Hi Julieanna.. thank you for your kind note today.  Im so sorry your first experience here was like that.  It seems some people have good experiences and some do not.  My first was good and Im waiting for a second.  Trying to figure out how to make it work in the depressed area that I live in.  I imagine it would be hard to get through a claims process as AIRBNB serves worldwide.  I therefore will be buying into a local policy to cover myelf more if anything should happen.. perhaps with AAA.  Kind Regards,  Eileen

[Jacqueline1272]

Good morning,

if I could help anyway, we can talk via phone if that works for you

I have a one bedroom couples only cottage. I don’t have multiple properties.

when I begin Airbnb they set me up with a super host that walks you through how to set up your ad and get you going. It was helpful, but I had so many questions that I just tried to work out on my own or call the support helpline, which was really good when he first help me he told me this is going to be a lot of work. It’ll be like a full-time job. I was thinking I only have one place but he was so right if you really want to do things correctly and want to be a place for people to want to stay it’s a lot of work. I became a super host within three months  i’m so proud of myself and so is my family. I’m absolutely in love with the cottage and it makes me so very happy when people come to stay but anyway if you’d like me to talk with you, let me know and I will give you my phone number. Thank you for reaching out 

[Eileen462]

@Jacqueline1272   Hi Jacqueline!  I was never set up with a Superhost so I have fumbled through and asked alot of questions sofar and learned that way.  I would love a phone chat I sent you my number in a message  hope to hear from you!  Eileen

[José-Raymundo0]

it was great and a lot of work to set everything up. I'm very much a people type of person so I quite enjoy greeting guests; I soon found out that there are some guests that pretty much want to be left alone at all times, even on check-in; so it's been a great learning experience for me. 

But overall it's a great and rewarding experience to provide efficient, clean and beautiful lodgings to so many people visiting my city. I've been able to hear stories of people from all walks of life. 

[Kerri-and-Andrae0]

It was fun! I started 6 years ago because I love hosting and the opportunity came at my footsteps. I’m literally 8 mins from JFK International Airport, I used to mostly host airline personnel’s and it just took off within months. In any business there are challenges and improvements so I would solicit feedback from my guests and use those feedback to implement changes 

[Eileen462]

@Kerri-and-Andrae0   Hello Kerri!  wow I bet your a busy host!!  Thank you for replying my friend!  Eileen

[Felicity11]

Hi @Eileen462 

What a great question.  

When I first started out  in 2012 I was very nervous.  Would this work? Would people want to come and stay in my area of town?  Would they like how I had set my place up?  What had I forgotten?  How should I price myself?  Would this pay off after all our hard work setting up?  What had I forgotten ?

I had a lot of questions. I was very lucky as I had a former neighbour who had been running a traditional B & B since 2020 and she helped guide me and introduced me to her network of others running similar places in our area and we all worked together and helped each other out.

This is one of the reasons why I love the Community Centre and the host clubs as it is such a great place to be able to go to and ask questions and get feedback and support from other hosts who have been through the same thing as you. It helps us all to be better hosts and it feels good to help others! 

[Eileen462]

@Felicity11  Hello felicity!  Exactly the way I have been feeling!  I do not know anyone in the B&B business so im learning as I go along.  My biggest challenge now is getting bookings!  Smile,  Eileen