First time listing my house on Air BnB and I happen to be out of town

[Mariam160]

Hi,

I listed my house on Air BnB and I ll be going out of country. Now I’m petrified! Am I supposed to remove any personal belongings and empty every single cabinet at my place (literally move out?). I understand that I’d have to remove all clothing.  Do guests expect/not expect to see anything that you’d find in a home like over the counter medications, kitchen spices, olive oil,  tool boxes, etc... 

[Sarah977]

@Mariam160  It seems that you had the idea that Airbnb was some easy way to make money while you are away, but it isn't at all like that. Not realizing that you need a co-host or having any concept of what issues could arise in your abscence is a recipe for disaster.

 No, you can't leave your heirloom vases around- you could come back to find them all broken or stolen. Your liquor cabinet will be decimated. The guests could invite 50 people over for a party and trash your place, upset the neighbors, and lead to police involvement. 

You need a co-host who can: attend to orienting the guests as to how everythg works, check that the people who arrive are actually the people who booked and that they reserved for the correct number of guests, who can attend to appliances going on the blink, plumbng or electrical issues, etc, who can keep an eye on the place to make sure nothing bad is going on there. And who won't be scared to make the guests aware if they are not complying with house rules, if they have more people there than they booked for, and to be able to refuse entry to the extras or make sure they leave.

I would strongly suggest that until you have some hosting experience, that you do not rent out your entire personal home while you are away. I have read posts on this forum from hosts who did exactly that and burst into tears when they came back and saw the state the so-called "guests" had left it in.

[Mariam160]

Thanks so much for all your insights and great advice. 

[Emily487]

@Mariam160 

If you must rent it out, get an experienced co-host right now. Like, NOW-now.

They will need to be paid but they will do all the essential things that @Sarah977  mentions above. Maybe message the host for the place across the street. Their co-host might want to take on another property.

Do not disable the ADT. Why would you do that? You are going to have strangers in your home. You need to know what is going on in the house.

Disable the blinds...people will try to change the schedule and just muck it all up. 

[Emily487]

@Mariam160 

Check out Slice Insurance and see if it works in your situation. It's a pay by use policy that gets good reviews.

[Sarah977]

And @Mariam160 - do not tell the guests you will be out-of-the-country while they are there, as you have done in your listing info. Remove that info ASAP. Knowing the host is nowhere around can give the guests the idea they can do whatever they want, that no one will know. Just saying you are always reachable through Airbnb messaging is enough. Let them think you're staying around the corner and could be there in a jiffy if you heard there was a party going on. Abusive, disrespectful guests will often look for new hosts, as they know you are inexperienced, so you have to be really cautious when vetting prospective guests.

[Emily487]

@Sarah977 

I live about 6 blocks from my AirBnB but depending on how communication with the guest goes, I may tell them I live "just around the corner". The illusion of proximity is necessary.

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

I highly suggest like other hosts here that you lock up all your stuff in a cupboard or store it with family/friends 🙂

[Kelly149]

I feel a little protective of all that beautiful white carpet and white leather furniture... are you SURE you want to rent while you're gone? I'm not sure that an international trip is the time to dive into ABB.

It might be fine, but if it isn't, well, then it isn't.

I forgot to look, is it on IB?

[Jason843]

Mariam,

Be very careful about hosting your home on Airbnb.  Airbnb doesn't protect its hosts. If a guest physical breaks something in your home Airbnb will help you with the replacement of that item.  For example if someone breaks a vase Airbnb will replace it if you have a receipt.

If a guest trashes your home or smokes in your home and you have to pay to have it cleaned, Airbnb doesn't pay for services that have to be applied because of what a guest has caused that is outside of the agreement.  It doesn't matter if you have pictures and invoices for the services.  it doesn't matter if you have an expert come in and write a root cause of the issue.  Airbnb will deny your claim.  

Airbnb is here for the guest and not the host.  Airbnb has not figured out that higher quality is higher profit.  They think that more guests is higher profits.  If Airbnb keeps siding with guests, quality will be so low because owners won't be able to keep quality up.

Sorry, just thought you should be warned.

[Susan17]

@Mariam160 @Jason843 @Helen3 @Kelly149 @Emily487  @Sarah977  @Ute42 @Rebecca181 @Mark116 @Emilia42 @Lisa723

Come on now, guys...  Airbnb is all  about the out-of-town, remote host these days (and the more listings you have, in the more locations, the better) You're a complete and utter failure in Airbnb-land now if hands-off, multi-listing rental arbitrage is not your business model. If you want to survive, take some tips from the red-hot Airbnb Guru Du Jour below...

Why Some Hosts Fail While Their Neighbors Succeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS9SNQg34Xc&t=23s

How I Make Millions On Airbnb With No Property And No Credit

https://youtu.be/r7dlbV6HzCI

[Mariam160]

Thanks Susan. 

[Mariam160]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to thank you all for your valuable advice and wanted to report that the guests stays during my trip went relatively well (with minor damages). But as everyone said; it was hard work. I pretty much worked the entire time staying in touch with my guests, had prepared a long lists of things to check and had my sister do a walk through while I was face timing her, had to stay up a few nights to ensure guests arrived okay and cleaning lady did her job well. Thank you for all your advice. Thank you for suggesting Slice insurance. Now I have a few more questions:

-Does anyone have interior cameras? Are they allowed in public areas of the house? I do have a camera above my stairs inside. When I remodeled the house I intended it to show the entry, however to my own surprise it shows a wider angle which covers the living room and the open kitchen. Obviously I don’t spend time to watch them but I’d be too nervous not to know what was going on at my property. 

-How could I find cleaning ladies to hire. One that I had seemed to work less and less and I ended up doing a lot of cleaning after she was done with lots of money that I paid her. Is there a site to get cleaning services on as needed basis? 

-Are guests allowed to perform any sorts of business while they stay? It seems that the last few guests used my house for a lot more than leisure. One told me he had a cbd company when I saw a huge truck at my house and saw boxes being transported. I was shocked to see large bags of pot on my counter. When they left my house was reeked of pot smell. Is this acceptable? What if this was not pot that is legal now and it was another drug??

-I had a producer who stayed at my house and clearly stated that he was working on a documentary and would be shooting around the city before they came back to enjoy my house. They ended up staying at my house all day and shot their films inside , in my balcony and garden. What is my right? Is that allowed? Is it acceptable because I didn’t state they couldn’t film at my property? 

Thanks for all your feedbacks 

Mariam

[Emilia42]

@Susan17 But are those "out of town" hosts people who just up and leave their house because they are going away? Or are they property managers to who spend time and money setting up a 'home' as an Airbnb rental.

[Rebecca181]

@Mariam160 I do hope you listen to everyone here. Hosting is fraught with peril enough when a host lives 'on-site' - To rent your home to strangers when out of the country is a risk that I, as a homeowner, would never want to take. The 'One Million Dollar Host Protection Guarantee' isn't worth the (virtual) paper it is written on. It is a piece of fiction designed to lull new hosts and homeowners into thinking that they can breathe easy, knowing that Airbnb has their back.

They don't. Not only do they not have their back, they will even throw you under the bus if the worst possible situation happens - As was the case for the owners / hosts of the Orinda property where 5 murders took place: The guest lied about her intended use of the house and threw a party without the hosts' knowledge or consent. They are now being sued, following Airbnb scapegoating the hosts and placing the blame for the party and murders on them, versus the deceitful guest who booked the property.