Please help - new host

[Georgi702]

I don’t know what to do. I’m new to hosting, it’s been like three weeks. I am renting out my deceased fathers house in order to save it from back debts. I’m making no money whatsoever.  So it is a little bit of a different situation than most.

The house is dated and I am doing what smaller renovations I can, but I don’t really have money to invest and make everything perfect. So I made it one of the cheapest in the area. $100 a night for the whole house. There are literally a tent, yurt, and camper in my town that are asking more than me, so I would think my price was fair. It’s been a learning curve, but every time I fix something someone comes up with something new to complain about. I’ve gotten some good reviews but two bad star ratings.

One person gave me a three for communication even though I responded to him literally within a minute every time he asked me something. Low stars on accuracy when the property is exactly what it is, should I say it needs renovation in the descriptions? There are many pictures. But what really making me crazy right now is I just got a 2 star for cleanliness because of dirty sheets when they were literally brand new out of the package never used even once.

How do people just lie? And why? If this doesn’t work I’m going to lose my fathers home. I just understand why people can’t just be fair. How can I fix problems that don’t even exist?

[Brian2036]

@Georgi702 

Listing on multiple platforms is commonly done and is a good way to protect yourself from Airbnb’s erratic Customer Service policies.

You can synchronize calendars so a booking on any site blocks the dates on every site. It’s easy to do.

 We are listed on TripAdvisor and VRBO, both of which are eager to have your listing.

Booking.com is another possibility but I don’t use them because they don’t collect the money for you.  While that might be convenient for some people, I don’t want to deal with it.

 I just know I would run into someone who would ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY pay tomorrow, or as soon as they got their credit card unblocked, or when they get their tax refund… and of course only a real Scrooge would turn them and their malnourished children out in the snow.

(Sorry. We once had long term rentals and I heard enough excuses to fill a book.)

Anyway, I want to see the money before I see the guest.

 I guess seasonal decoration is probably a good idea if it doesn’t cost much. The pictures would be useful.

My wife likes to do it on our rental. Personally, if I were renting it, I wouldn’t be at all impressed but I guess some people are.

You do have to be careful about religious themes, however. Someone will surely be offended no matter what you choose.

Incidentally we just got our first booking through VRBO after I enabled Instant Book and made some other adjustments like a price INCREASE for weekends and high-demand dates.

It’s for 5 nights and they seem to be very nice guests.

[Georgi702]

Hello, it’s as updated as it’s going to get for now cause I am complete out of money. I would a really appreciate the Instagram thing. Cause I really really need people right now. 

https://www.airbnb.com/h/dadzpad

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592 @Brian2036  Another cool option is WOOFERS. Ever heard of that? It's an acronym for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. It's an international organization, so people can travel all over the world doing this.

In exchange for a certain number of hours a day of work, the participants get room and board. My niece did that for awhile in her late teens, but people of all ages do it. She really enjoyed it and learned a lot about gardening and orchards. Sometimes they might work on a building project or with the farm animals. Plus she said most of the people she worked for were really great.

[Georgi702]

I don’t know if that would be a right fit for me. I can’t pay medical bills with vegetables.

[Sarah977]

@Georgi702  No, I realize you need the money. I was just joining in the conversation where other posters were suggesting alternative web sites for staying somewhere that aren't the same as booking an Airbnb.

[Mark116]

@Georgi702  If you don't have the money to update the place, then as @Brian2036  said, you are going to have to lean in to the decor.  Try rewriting your description with a sense of humor, '1970s time capsule' 'grandfather's house just like he left it'....something that gets across that you know it is totally dated, but its still comfortable...

There is also no reason why your place should be cheaper than a tent. People can see what they're getting, e.g. it is a very old fashioned decor.

The growing season is over now, but next Spring I would put in some flowers/shrubs.  You can get good deals on the Home Depot/Lowes clearance racks so it isn't a lot of money but will really improve the curb appeal.

Maybe also consider really decking it out for the holidays to compensate for the dated decor.

We furnished the entire airbnb with our own stuff we repurposed and things we got for a song on craigslist or at local flea markets.  We got most of the bedding on clearance from Marshalls, Ikea, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.  Just as an example, the sheer curtains in the large bedroom were $3 each at Ikea's clearance room.  It can be done, but it takes a lot of time if you really want to do things on the cheap.  I've been looking for months for a new [cheap] couch and haven 't found anything  yet.

[Georgi702]

Yeah, I’m brain storming rewriting the description.

I don’t understand why I get low scores on accuracy, I mean I thought it was obvious what you get in the pictures. Should I keep my price around $100?

I plan on decorating for the holidays. I save all the Christmas decorations of my dads and am going to put up a tree.

[Georgi702]

Hey guys! Thanx for all the help. I just reworked the description. Tell me what you think? I won’t be able to update pictures until this weekend.

[Mark116]

@Georgi702  It's better.  Here are some more thoughts...

-Do you really need the red covers on the chairs?  It might actually look better w/out them, I would try it both ways.

-Do you have a larger lamp for the larger bedroom, the really tiny lamp makes everything look mismatched.

-Take your photos at maximum sunlight and really look at everything to make sure lamp shades/towels/throws etc. are straight.

-This will sound weird, but for some reason I feel like some kind of deer antler would complete the totally retro camp feel of the kitchen, until you can do something w/the cabinets.  

-I would try folding down the bed covers to give the beds a more finished look, try and see how it looks.

-If the finish on the dining table is in good condition, I'd consider taking the table cloth off, it looks more modern.

**One of our families has a weekend house in MA, so I peruse the Boston craigslist from time to time and I am absolutely sure you could upgrade the lamps, side tables and probably the chairs for free or almost free...it does take a significant time commitment to scroll through it every day and the ability to go pick the stuff up on fairly short notice, but there is great stuff available.

**The other thing  you can do re the accuracy ratings is in your 'hey, thanks for choosing our listing...I wanted to make sure you took a good look at the photos so you know you're getting a very retro feeling space...something like that to draw people's attention.

Good luck.

[Georgi702]

-I removed one red cover for the picture

-and the lamp from the bedroom

-I don’t have any spare antlers, what about animal pelts?

-retook pictures of the beds

- the table is scratched on top, thus the table cloth

its hard for me to meet people for free stuff cause I work full time, it tends to be gone by the time I can get it. I had my friend swipe that table off the side of the road for me, lol.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Georgi702 I think the gym equipment should go........

But hey, don't stress and see what your next guests think.

[Georgi702]

I’m gonna get that out as soon as I can make space in the garage.

[Phil3544]

Hey Georgi

I’m new to this as well. One of the other suggestions stood out to me tho, about decluttering the space. I think this is a great idea. for whatever you are willing to part with, using Offer Up and FB marketplace well can really help bring in some money. You may be able to improve the homes appearance and raise several hundred dollars for renovations at the same time. 

 It sounds like you don’t have a lot of breathing room right now, but hopefully youll get past that phase soon enough. Best of luck!

[Georgi702]

I’m kinda confused by what people mean by clutter. It’s literally just like furniture left. I put the toaster and the utensils in a cabinet in the kitchen. That’s about all I could see to move.

[Colleen253]

I think what it is, is there’s a lot going on with the multi patterned floral and other mis-matched elements that creates a feeling of ‘clutter’ for the eyes. I have a few suggestions.

For the corner where the desk is, I would remove the knickknacks from the windows, and move the desk over so it’s right under the window. Take away the bench along the wall, and remove the small pictures. They are small and randomly placed and contribute to visual clutter. A few larger thoughtfully placed pictures around the space are less random. Shop what you have, rearrange elements to be more visually appealing and cohesive. I would also remove the lamp in the corner and the tv tables. Put a lamp on the desk instead. 

Remove the area rug under the dining table. It’s awkward and redundant and adds to the visual chaos. In the kitchen, are the placemats at the eating bar really necessary? Same with the items above the fridge and the stove, the little motorcycle, the fridge magnets. The small picture above the sink…again, small and random and adding visual clutter. Put the dish drainer and the dish soap away under the sink. A mat at the sink would hide the stain on the floor. 

In the bedroom, the exercise equipment is an injury risk you don’t want to have. I agree with others, it should go. Remove the knickknacks on the dresser. Again, there is a lot of visual clutter already with the multi floral patterns. And guests will need to have space to put their own things.

 
A plain shower curtain in the bathrooms would be an inexpensive item that would calm the floral chaos. 

A coat of paint can make a tired, worn space look fresh and clean. Stick with white and do what you can, as you’re able. Also as you’re able, think about neutral colored, washable slip covers for the furniture, or at least remove the bright red if possible. Again, visually chaotic.