Relist? Is this an option?

[Ain5182]

Hi guys

Im new to the community, and had a bad luck booking that is bringing me down a lot. Every time I open the listing to work on it, it gets me all riled up again.  I've only had 3 bookings, and 1 of them posted a really unfair revenge review after I needed to charge for cleaning and broken items.  I was upset and posted a longwinded response, which I now regret. There's nothing to be done about the review or the response through Airbnb support, so I was thinking of starting over and relisting the house from scratch. Would you if this was your place? Is it even an option to delete and start again?

Thanks.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ain5182  I don't see a reason why you shouldn't delete your listing and make a new one and start from scratch. People sell their properties and delete their listings then buy new properties and make new listings for this or some other reasons. I've never heard someone was punished for doing that. But, if you have some active bookings you have to honor them before deleting your listings.

But, reviews will remain under your profile This is not a problem bc guests don't even read the listing so there are very slim chances someone will go so far as to click on your profile and read all your reviews.

[Ain5182]

Thank you. I've had a look and when you go to add a new listing, Airbnb gives the option to duplicate the existing listing as a new one. So it's not against their policy to relist a property. That answers that question 🙂 I've deactivated and relisted so will see if the negative review really had any effect on enquiries.. thanks for the advice!

[Fred13]

@Ain5182  Whether you relist or no, do your self a favor and first read this forum and you will inevitably find the does and don'ts of hosting.  It pays to be well informed, first.

Secondly, delegate less and take a more active role in your place and guests by being physically there more often when you need to be and not count on others to tell you what is going on.  There is no substitute for being personally in charge of your place at all times. The less Airbnb is involved outside of the bookings and the payments, the better.

Good luck.

[Ain5182]

Agreed, I imagine there would be a lot less issues if I could be present at all times.

But this is my main home. I only rent it during the summer and Christmas holidays when I decamp my family to our other place at the other side of Spain, so its not possible for me to be present during the rentals.

As for forum reading, agree there also, I'm about to have a look at the instant booking option, if you more experienced hosts recommend it and what to do if you don't like the look of an Instant booking guest. This person had only 1 very generic review. I thought airbnb would vet the Instant booking guests better, but all you need is 1 review apparently.

Thank you!

[Colleen253]

@Ain5182  “I thought airbnb would vet the Instant booking guests better.”

Airbnb does little to no vetting of its members. A new guest can sign up and book within minutes. Do NOT leave ANY aspect of your hosting business to Airbnb. Take full control at every turn. Do your own vetting of potential guests. 

IB is not recommended for new hosts. Turn it off, and spend some time on the forum searching with the key word red flag to learn more about what to be wary of. The key to success is prevention. Keep the problem guests out in the first place. 

[Ain5182]

Thank you. Ive turned IB off, and searched Red Flags... wow ok, there are a lot to be mindful of, some less obvious than others I would have fallen for had I not checked this.

I will check the forum regularly as you guys are super helpful for a newbie host like me. Thanks again!

[Fred13]

 @Ain5182 Even after 6 years of hosting and 700 guests, I still learn from this forum and visit it every day and scan the new posts. Besides some of the 'cases' are very interesting. You will do well, because you welcome learning. 🙂

[Laura2592]

@Ain5182 I looked at your review and response and TBH it would not deter me from booking with you. I would not bring 4 extra people to have a "family" party so anything that guest wrote would not apply to me. But the problem is search placement. If you have a competitive area with lots of other rentals on ABB you may never even get seen by your audience with a poor rating.  I am not 100 per cent sure of that lol-- the search metrics are a deep and abiding mystery here. 

Rather than start over here, why not just explore new sites to list on? ABB is not the only game in town!