Two for One Problem

[Kelly149]

Dearest Hosts, can you help me put to rest or better solve a problem (or tell me if you think it is unsolvable in this Covid era)??

Problem One, please tell me what you think this means:

In an abundance of caution, we are making the barn available primarily to single household groups traveling independently. If you are a group made up of multiple households or your visit to Austin includes extended visits with people outside your household or if your travel includes public transport (airplanes) then please discuss with owners to see if your trip can be accommodated (this may require higher cleaning fees or purchasing days before or after your stay as a buffer).

Problem Two: I'm not sure if it is participating in CC or the collection of guests we've had or the moving target of ABB expectations or my personal predilection to perfectionism, but such a high percentage of guests are a problem that hosting is more dread than joy. Even the money doesn't seem to outweigh the ninnys. So, ideas?? Turn off IB, turn off listing (this may happen on ABB in a week when I don't sign Cleaning thingy, but we'll still be on Vrbo), shorten listing, lengthen listing, take less guests....

I look forward to your suggestions!

[Lisa723]

@Clare167 @Anonymous besides the conscience/self-worth benefits etc., our other significant motivator for not signing up is to avoid jeopardizing the position of our co-host/cleaners. We don't do the turnovers personally and don't want them to feel that we are promising something they cannot feasibly deliver.

From here, the good news is that we have not seen the degradation of guest quality that other hosts seem to be reporting. So far, our guests, at this point necessarily driving-distance households looking for a quiet distanced getaway, continue to be great, and all have been totally on board with our safety rules. (Our listing texts state we have not signed up for the ECP and why.)

[Clare167]

Hi @Lisa723 I just looked at Newt Wash (fantastic!) and while you don't have the Enhanced Cleaning badge, I can't see any text explaining why not, and under Health & Safety it says this: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, all hosts and guests must review and follow Airbnb's social distancing and other COVID-19-related guidelines".

For myself, at the moment I don't want to take the chance that I will get good, non-scam guests, and I can't see any way to counter the Airbnb tactic other than by withdrawing our flat from their inventory, temporarily for now, and probably permanently next year if things are no better. It is depressing. @Kelly149 @Anonymous 

[Lisa723]

@Clare167 That listing is closed. It’s the other open ones that have the text.

[Clare167]

OK, yes @Lisa723  I have seen your wording on Leland, and it is good. However, under Health and Safety the same rubric appears as for every other listing. God forbid that any ungrateful, ungracious guest tries to make trouble for you.

[Kelly149]

@Clare167 @Lisa723 @Anonymous  @Debra300 @Ann72 the more I think about it, the more annoyed I am that on top of demanding that we "agree" to this, even without our agreement ABB appears bent on making it appear that we will do it anyway.

I definitely don't think guests actually care, but nonetheless...

[Ann72]

@Kelly149  Or as someone said, it's a simple CYA move?  Which is a little more sinister.  They make it appear we've agreed, then when a complaint comes in, they say whoops, that host didn't agree, so the host is liable, not us.

[Clare167]

@Ann72 I can not be bothered to check but I suspect that somewhere in the old and/or the new ToS there's an obligation on hosts to adhere to Airbnb's health and safety standards as they exist from time to time. My guess is that they have encountered a disappointing shortage of hosts who have willingly agreed to the protocol and have decided to force it upon us by other means, seeking a pre-emptive answer to any defence by the host that she didn't undertake the obligation. @Kelly149 @Lisa723 @Anonymous @Debra300 

[Kelly149]

yes, but it will be interesting to see what happens... the "ignore the protocol" message today said something like 'we've started closing calendars, hurry to agree'

[Ann72]

@Clare167  I suspect you're right.  The "from time to time" language in many EULAs and Terms of Service covers a multitude of sins and a***s.

[Clare167]

@Debra300 , you are right, of course, and some uncomfortable spins of the roulette wheel this past summer, before compulsory adherence to the protocol was a thing, played into my thinking when I snoozed, some weeks ago, and also when I cancelled my only reservation, last night. I shall continue to reflect, and to learn from the experiences of those of you still active, but I suspect in the end I shall just de-list. All the best to you all!

[Kelly149]

@Debra300 @Lisa723 I tried an experiment with a channel manager... it didn't go well. I'm going thru the process of removing the channel manager and replacing all the things that the software vanished from the listing... as of this moment, my entire calendar looks blocked... I can't tell if that is bc of ECP or from the software resetting itself after removing the CM. What about y'all?

[Lisa723]

@Kelly149 @Debra300 

My Airbnb calendar is still open, most recent (instant) booking day before yesterday.

And, funnily enough, today I received an invitation to become an "airbnb ambassador" in my region.

(I've been using MyVR for channel management for a couple of years without any problems and am mostly happy with it.)

[Kelly149]

@Lisa723 @I wanted to like the CM, but there were too many “holes” in the listing. (No house rules other than the standard, all the special fields- things to know, house manual etc missing)

and it’s just the one space so I’ve managed fine to self-monitor. 
I’ll go back and check later. My front page still says the same, please accept quickly, message. 

[Debra300]

@Kelly149 , @Lisa723,

I still see the same prompt to sign up for the new policies, and not the "hurry now" message you've seen.  My calendars are still open.

I've not yet signed up with a channel manager although one is included with my Lodgify website hosting agreement.  My primary reason is if I have problems with a reservation on one platform, I don't want to block the dates on the other platforms.  For example, Booking markets to guests that they don't have to pay when they book.  Which is misleading, because it's the property owners that do the financial transactions after the booking is made.  As a result, I get a fair amount of bookings where I have to wait 24 hours to give the person a chance to provide a valid credit card.  I know most will do so within two hours for a valid reservation.   I prefer to keep the calendar open on other platforms until I can cancel the "placeholder" booking. 

Kelly, one thing that I've noticed is if you have Airbnb listings that have calendars linked to each other, you will have to manually open days on the calendar after alterations are made to bookings or one calendar.