Very Put off by Airbnb so far

[Jared268]

I'm new to hosting and new to Airbnb.  Its been about a month since we started hosting.  We have all 5 star reviews so far and we have really tried hard to accomodate and make everyone very happy.  We even leave a gift basket for each guest.  We've let guests come early, leave late and scrambled to make it work and schedule our cleaners around the guests.  We have allowed more pets than our policy calls for.  But due to how new the listing is we have struggled to get our condo rented and also have lowered the fees quite a bit.  There have been times where we actually lost money because the cost of cleaning and utilities was greater than our payout.  As a result we recently started using another booking site as well.  Its been a lot to juggle at times and we try to be very very diligent.  

Last night we had a guest book for this weekend on the other booking site.  It was late and I didnt get a chance to update it.  Then today the same dates were booked by a guest on Airbnb.  I immediately let the guest know that it wasnt available and it was double booked and I was extremely apologetic.  The guest was totally cool about it and appreciated my quick response.  When I tried to cancel Airbnb informed me of a penalty.  And from what I can see it looks like a $100.  Riddiculous!  I fully understand the seriousness and problem that cancelling on guests creates but this is not a guest who had plans for weeks or months. This was a guest that had just booked and was informed immediately!  I don't know who Airbnb thinks they are to treat guests like this but its obvious they are making too much money to where they no longer value hosts or even need to for that matter.  I'm strongly considering pulling my listing.  I don't do business this way and I don't treat others this way no do I work with companies that treat their "partners" this way.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jared268 a simple solution is to link the calendars between the two sites.

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Jared268 

As @Mike-And-Jane0 mentioned, the simple way to avoid this kind of situation is to synch your calendars. See: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/99/syncing-your-airbnb-calendar-with-other-calendars

Apart from that, it's really important that you familiarise yourself with Airbnb policies (and those on any other booking platforms you list on), especially about things like cancellations, so that you don't get caught by surprise again.

It seems like you are doing a great job of keeping your guests happy and your reviews so far are fantastic. I worry though that this will not be sustainable for you:

A. If you are making a loss on some bookings. Price your listing at a level that makes it profitable and worth it for you. Sure, you might want to lower this a bit to get established and build up your reviews, but you should never be losing money. It is better to have less nights booked at a higher price than to be running around like a headless chicken trying to fill every night. 

I have no idea what you charge, but let's say hypothetically, your listing is worth $100 a night, but you've listed it at $70. Five nights at $100 is still going to work out more than seven nights at $70 and for less work and less stress. Also, a lot of hosts on this community have reported that bargain prices can attract a lower quality of guest, i.e. those that expect everything for nothing.

B. You run the risk of 'host burn out'. While it's great to add extra touches and be as accommodating as you can, you need to set your boundaries. Letting guests arrive early, leave late, bring extra pets etc. to the point that you and your cleaning crew are scrambling about, is just not worth it, especially if you are not making a good profit. 

When I started hosting, I did early check ins/bag drop offs, let guests leave their stuff here to collect later and provided all sorts of extras not specified on the listing. Sure, a lot of guests appreciated this, but many just took advantage and caused me untold stress. It's just not a good long term strategy.