Beginner, first bad experiences, few questions

Damian225
Level 2
Puerto Escondido, MX

Beginner, first bad experiences, few questions

Hi everyone.

I just started my adventure with Airbnb in Mexico and I have some questions. I appreciated a lot for explain me few thing. So let’s start.

 

1.Can we set standards of our places, like low quality, average, or super luxury?? My apartment where I’m doing Airbng is not brandy new, but is clean. It’s a huge room, kitchen and bathroom. One time guy rented my apartment in high touristic season just for $14 dollars. All private apartment was for him, in another place he will have to pay 5x more for private apartment. But he doesn’t like it the standard of the apartment, used things, refrie has some corrosions, totally disaster with his expectations. He took a pictures and sanded to the Airbnb. Of course he cancelled his reservation and also I got $100 ticket to pay…

The thing is, when apartment need some repairs but Is nothing very serious and because of it I set so low price for rent. But rented someone who had huge expectations for so low price. Of course my announcement has pictures of all the local, and are real photos, I’m hiding nothing

What I should to do it to avoid that situation? When I’m going to the cheapest hostel, I’m not expecting super hotel standards. Or I can offer only super brandy new apartments??

2. Another question is with cancellation by clients. Few times people did half reservation, but later they didn’t came, or they founded another place. And because of it my reputation is going down. What I can do It?? It’s not my fault than people changing their mind. Or sometimes some people open reservation and later not answer.

3. If we have not too good location of our place, so we are doomed to bad grads and never we will be in the high position? People see on the map where is the place, so how they can later complain on it?

4. How works automatic prices? Automatic are better than manual?? The problem is I set $21 my minimum price, but system is renting for $15 or $16. Why is like that.

5. Are exist general list what the things should have apartment? Every next customer want something. How it works? It’s difficult to make everyone happy and thanks it to get good revive.

6. What is the concept of Airbnb?? All the time I thought it’s like paid couchsurfing. People host you in their own house, thanks this we have a contact with local people, better memories and everybody are happy. But now I think it works more like another booking. What do you think about it guys??

7. What I should to do when clients destroy something? I should charge them or I should contact with customer service?

Regards

 

5 Replies 5
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

I suggest you write some of the above into your description. That way any prospective guests will have better set expectations.

If you do use smart pricing then don't set too high a maximum price or you will be attracting guests with too high an expectation.

Finally I think you need to set the location correctly otherwise people will be upset

Yes - be sure that the location is set correctly on the map, but also don't assume that a tourist who's never been there before will know things like how busy the road outside is, how readily available is transportation, and how long it takes to walk to restaurants, shops, beach, etc

@Damian225 Catering to the budget travel market can be much harder work than the luxury market. People from outside your area don't necessarily know the local cost of stuff like electricity and labour. And they're only thinking about the price at the time they're booking; when it comes time to review, they're only focused on whether they enjoyed the experience. You don't have to have a brand-new, fancy apartment in order to be successful on Airbnb, but you do have the challenge of setting accurate expectations and targeting the niche that will truly enjoy their stay and not just settle for it because it's cheap.

 

Photos aren't enough; your listing needs to have descriptive texts that show off the positive qualities about the place while also acknowledging the aspects of the home and location that might be negatives for some people. Turn off Instant Book, and have a conversation with the next few guests who request your place before you hit Accept, so that you can assess whether they will be a good fit. Unfortunately, having a low rating early on can be a struggle to overcome, and with a low rating you can't afford to have another disappointed guest at this time.

 

Since you offer an Entire Home listing, it's definitely nothing like CouchSurfing - your guests aren't looking for locals to hang out with but rather a private space of their own. This means they'll use the space more extensively, view it more critically, and if they're having a bad day you'll have fewer chances to cheer them up with a fun activity or a nice mezcal.  You may ultimately find that you get better results by moving up a rung or two on the budget ladder by investing in some little improvements (like a newer fridge, a nicer rug, some colorful decorations on the walls, whatever thoughtful touches you can afford).

 

On responding to guest reviews:  I'm afraid you've made a bad mistake in how you answered guest feedback publicly. You must remember, the audience for the response is prospective guests considering your listing, and it's important to show your best face to them. They're taking a big risk by booking with a new host, and when they see negative feedback it's very discouraging to see that the host had no interest in doing anything about it, instead choosing to attack the guest. Some humility goes a long way - people will more easily accept that you've gotten a bad review if you demonstrate that you're listening to the feedback even if you feel it was undeserved.

 

Anyway, these are my opinions. Many of your questions, such as about damage, can easily be answered by copying them into the search in the Help Center. Perhaps you would benefit from pausing your listing while you study up on how the platform works  (any upcoming bookings will not be affected). In this time you can also crunch the numbers to see if your potential income is worth the time and effort you need to put in, and moreover if it leaves you a little surplus to invest in some upgrades over time.

 

Big love to Oaxaca!

A

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

 

@Damian225   You will want to make sure airbnb fixes your location as a priority, this will definitely make people angry.

 

If you are renting it as a budget accommodation, then say so in the text of the listing, you can even say something like if guests are looking for spa like experience they should not book your place.  You can write the description in a light hearted way but get the point across....your place is very cheap and not fancy.

 

Looking at your photos I see a few inexpensive fixes you can make.  Put a cloth covering in a nice color over the sink.  Put the toilet rolls in a nice basket in the bathroom.  I would also say you should put up a little more and larger stuff on the walls.  This can be done inexpensively, you can even make your own stuff.  Order cheap black frames from Ikea and then you can use literally anything, calendar photos, wrapping paper, napkins or other clothes with a nice print or picture.  We did this in our bathroom.  We got the two wood frames on clearance and then used two photos of the colors we wanted that we took out of a calendar.

 

If the guest cancelled you should not be charged anything by airbnb, if you cancelled on his behalf, call airbnb and explain you did not understand how that worked as a new host and ask them to waive the fee, they probably will do that.

 

I would recommend for the time being that you turn off the smart pricing for a couple of months until you better get the hang of it.  But you can set it at XX minimum and then it won't go below that.

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Damian225 in addition to the good advice above:  NEVER cancel for a guest. If the guest wants to cancel, they must do the cancellation themselves.