Has lowering the price of one's airbnb resulted in a "lower quality" guest?

[Trish16]

When I first set up my bnb unit there were very few other hosts in my town. Now there are hundreds (!) and some of them are offering such low prices they have crashed the market.   After a couple of months of no bookings (and the difference in price was not that great) I decided to lower my prices, too.   Since then some of the guests have acted as if this were a 'rent by the hour' place; this is new to me.   All my guests until now have been great.  They washed their dishes, threw the trash into the can, didn't use the towels for wiping the mud off their boots, didn't trash the place, didn't throwing used condoms around the room.....  .  The wierd thing is that I cannot truthfully say these recent guests didn't adhere to the house rules as I expected people to respect my home.   I don't want to add a cleaning service because that's not the point.   Is there any way I can cover the cost of damages when they are incurred?

What has been your experience?  And how have you dealt with similar issues?

Thanks for being here.

[Sarah977]

Hi @Trish16  What a crummy situation for you. I think a lot of people are math-challenged- they drop their prices so low that it wouldn't appear to be worth it to host. From what I read on this forum, guests who look for super cheap places tend to be the worst guests. I am also in an area where there are tons of airbnbs, but mine is a little unique for the area, am in the countryside in a beach tourist town, they know it's a 20 minute walk into town and the beach, am also one of the least expensive for a solo traveler (but still priced to make it worthwhile for me to host, I never look at airbnb's price tips as they are ridiculously low, I couldn't clean, do the laundry and pay the added guest utilities and break even for what they suggest), and I have had really great guests so far.

I think you should try to offer something unique that will make your place stand out from the rest and up your price again. I don't know what to suggest to make your place unique, as I'm not familiar with your area (altho I did live in Israel way back in another lifetime when I was 18).

[Trish16]

I think what I have to offer is quite unique but, living near the coast and at the foot of the Carmel Mountains, people tend to expect views and beaches which I don't have.  Neither do I havea jaccuzzi or cable TV.  I guess I'll just have to go on plugging a huge garden, nice rooms and excellent breakfasts in the hope that I'll continue to attract low key guests.   Thanks for the input.   Much appreciated.

[David64]

This winter I experimented with slightly lowering prices. The result has been no more bookings than last winter (winter is the slow season here in Maine).  Several other results have been guests that require more attention during the booking process, which is fine. Guest that treat the apartments with a high degree of disrespect, leaving the kitchen in filthy condition. The next result has been reviews that have not been the best. Compared to past winters it’s been lower quality guest leaving bad reviews and much more work for me cleaning all for less money. From now on it’s full price all the time.

[Trish16]

Amazing.   We live worlds apart and share exactly the same experiences.   Thank you.

[Greg6]

Hi Trish, All, and greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area! To preface, we are long-time superhosts for a 1bd private apartment at our home outside of San Francisco. It's been mostly a great experience, hosting people from near and far. With few exceptions, our home and rules have been respected. Typically, our per-night rate was set at 135.00, with two night minimum, plus a 50.00 cleaning fee and 250.00 security deposit. We have, on average, about 100 bookings per year. Rarely would a guest need to cancel (I can think of 2 instances in five years.)

This past October, I tried out the new "smart pricing" feature. I set the low threshold to 110.00, and the high, at 140.00. We had an immediate uptick in booking requests during the slowest time of the year; winter. Since November, we've had 3 last-minute cancellations, the apartment is left in disarray most of the time, guests book for one, but bring 4 people (unit sleeps 4). Check-out times are violated, parties are being held, despite a strict no-party policy that is communicated clearly.

After the experience with our current guest and her steady stream of friends at all hours (thankfully, the unit is completely private), I have returned our pricing to where it was, made our cancellation policy 'strict', and am revising our rules and how they are presented. 

Basically, I have to say, our experience has suffered at the expense of "Smart Pricing"... I now have about 5 or 6 more guests who booked this way, and then we should be back to normal.