New to hosting? We’ve got you covered!

Answered!
Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

New to hosting? We’ve got you covered!

 

Stephanie_0-1623249364859.png

Hiya everyone,

 

We’re very pleased to announce a brand new board on the Community Center: the New to Hosting board!

 

This is a dedicated space where new hosts can share their beginner questions and stories, and we encourage all of you lovely experienced hosts to share the wisdom of your journeys and support of new members.

 

We’ve moved some amazing threads over to the board already so there’s some great tips to get new hosts started: a big thanks to all of you who contributed on them over the past few months and years.

 

What’s the best tip you’ve received on the Community Center?

 

It’ll be great to see how the CC has helped all manner of hosts in different ways and share your appreciation for your fellow community members.

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

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1 Best Answer
Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

This content is in our Archive board.

 

You can still access it if you have the link but it won't appear when you search the Community Center.

 

To ask a new question in the Community Center, please click:

 

Stephanie_0-1677151830470.png

 

Thanks

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74 Replies 74
Isaac260
Level 2
New York, United States

Hey Everyone investing in a property in Dominican Republic which I intend to rent on Airbnb. It's a new construction with, two floors, two bedrooms and a pool. Am thinking of adding a third bedroom (extra20k) but not sure it's worth the investment. Any thoughts? Do renters look for more bedrooms or can I add a sofa bed in the living room and be good to go? 

@Isaac260  Renters look for all sorts of things- some are just looking for a place that accommodates 2, some that accommodates 16.

 

The thing most hosts have found is that the lower the maximum guest count, the less damage or partying arises. And investment properties with off-site hosts see more of this behavior than properties with hands-on hosts, especially if they live on-site.

 

So it's up to you to decide how many people you wish to cater to.

Geane-and-Øystein0
Level 2
Haugesund, Norway

Got me covered? Not exactly!

One of my first group of guests where some artists, they left the kitchen in an awful mess, dishes, food leftovers etc all over the place, a couple of hours extra work to tidy. A broken glass etc.

AirBnb take the %, and offered to ask the client if he wanted to pay; I asked for a small fee to pay the housekeeper. The guest did not want to pay, and airbnb said "nothing we can do". 

So what is covered by the insurance then?

 

It should be taken from the deposit, if insurance not cover.

Geane-and-Øystein0
Level 2
Haugesund, Norway

Do you accept one night stays?

I would like to see the opportunity to have a specific price for one night, as the work and costs are quite different if it should get covered by only one night, compared to two or more. 

Hence, I would like to specify one price for 1 night, another for 2-6 nights, for instance. An alternative was if I could specify discount for 2-6 days (my choice), and not only 7 days and onwards. 

Anybody else have opinions on this? Or even found a solution? 

@Geane-and-Øystein0  I have always had a 3 night minimum stay. For precisely the reason that I don't want to clean aand turn over the room for only a 1 or 2 night stay. Also, people don't normally look for 1 night rentals in my area. 

 

But the way you can make 1 nighters more expensive is by having a cleaning fee, which is a one-time fee for each booking. If your cleaning fee is $50, that means a 1 nighter is paying $50 cleaning fee for one night. If they book 2 nights, it amounts to $25/night, and so on.

Alan10
Level 2
Smithsburg, MD

What is the easiest way to share a link directly to one of my listings?

Emily1491
Level 3
Coxsackie, NY

I’m a new host and just had a disquieting experience with guests. I have an old house that kind of rambles, and my Airbnb space is in a small part of it. It’s single family but has doors everywhere, so to create a rental space I just installed locks on all the doors (on their side in the rental, on my side at the end of hallway, top of stairs etc). I do a sweep before guests come to make sure all doors are shut and locked. I just hosted a very young couple and did my usual sweep right before bed. When I woke up in the morning, I noticed the door at the top of the stairs seemed to have been opened to the reach of the chain lock and a piece of the wooden lip had been broken. I was confused but it didn’t occur to me that anyone would try to open it. When they checked out I found shoeprints going to all the connecting doors (my floors are very clean and so they were easy to see), and signs that someone had tried to open the doors. All my connecting doors are at the opposite ends of hallway/stairs from the Airbnb front door, so there would be no reason for anyone to walk that way except to access my part of the house. They otherwise were very quiet, polite, and left the space very tidy. I truly don’t think the young man to whom the footprints belonged meant to harm me or anything, just was entitled and nosy and not too bright and wanted to see the rest of the house (I’ve got a relative who has caused me endless angst by simply walking into unlocked houses if she thinks they are cool and she wants to see the inside). But at the same time, the idea that someone tried to break into my space while I was asleep kind of makes me sick to my stomach. I’m curious about what experienced hosts would do in this situation, short of installing drop bar locks, which I just started doing.

Damiana19
Level 2
Hallandale Beach, FL

Critique my listing, please.

 

Hello, @Stephanie I started my Airbnb in April.  We have been pretty booked and getting good reviews but suddenly August came around and no full bookings maybe like 2 for the month. September was completely empty and October is the same.  I had to register under another renting company to get the guests that I have coming in tomorrow.  I added a few promotions but I'm Not sure what else to do. Can you look at my listing and give me some critique. Here is the link to my place:

https://Airbnb.com/h/hiddengemhollywood 

@Damiana19  I would suggest that it's your photo gallery and your decor that need some work. 

 

I wouldn't lead with the outside photo of the house. No offense, but there is nothing unique about it-- it's a generic looking ranch house. So lead with a photo that will draw people in. 

 

I would retake the photos that distort the space and make it look larger than it is. No need to try to get the entire room in a photo, take normal, closer up shots of each room from a couple different angles. 

 

As for the decor, nothing wrong with the furnishings, but it looks like an empty barren home you just put some furniture in, and a couple things on the wall. It doesn't look cozy and warm. It's hard looking. I see you have blinds, but some curtains, in addition, would warm up and soften the look of the spaces. Some colorful throw rugs that can be easily washed. More interesting things on the wall, art, tapestries, posters, whatever. Some potted palms, maybe. 

 

 

 

 

Tanya555
Level 1
Mound, MN

Hi there, I'm just getting started and I've already run into a serious problem. I'm trying to apply for an STVR license in Ventura, CA and I just heard from the city that I may not be allowed to rent my Additional Dwelling Units (two separate apartments attached to my house) as STVRs at all, according to state law. Does anyone know anything about this and if so how do you deal with it? 

 

@Tanya555  Try applying for Homestay instead

Hi Everyone, i've change the price in my calendar for high season price (normal price 1M, high season price 2M). but still the last customer booked my villa with the normal price. does anyone know why this is happening and how to fix this?

@Rendy11 Basic question but did you press save on your pricing changes?

 

Shannon713
Level 2
Hendersonville, TN

I have received the same notice.  Can someone please provide the phone number to the airbnb customer service?  Thank you in advance!

@Shannon713 look in the 'contact Airbnb' post pinned at the top of the help section of this community centre