@Heather1338
Heather I have the utmost sympathy for what you have gone through but, from your post, like me, you will become a better host. The past can be a great predictor of the future if you let it but, let me tell you what the last 6 years with Airbnb has taught me.
1/.....Don't expect Airbnb to be anything other than a booking platform.
They put A, the guest in touch with B, the host. They charge an outrageous amount of money to do just that but, it is our choice, and if we let them get away with it then we can't carry on about it.
Have a look at this upcoming booking of mine........
Yeah, that is 19% of that booking that Airbnb takes.
I have guests who mark me down on value because they are paying $138 per night for my $105 pr night property! My property is not worth $138 pr night.....but there is nothing I can do about that except tell them that less than $110 of that $138 ends up in my pocket.....the rest of it ends up in Airbnb's.
2/......Don't depend on Airbnb for help when things go wrong!
$6.00 pr guest night goes into my damage fund which I can draw on when something gets broken or stolen....it doesn't happen often but, we would be naive in the extreme to think that it won't happen to us. I do have STR insurance but I have a $2,500 deductible (excess) which keeps the premium minimal and it is only to cover catastrophic damage, and when sheets get ruined, a tabletop or chair broken I don't hassle Airbnb or the guest.....I realise these things are in the main an accident and a part of hosting, I just pull the money out of the damage fund, put it right and get on with the business of hosting!
3/.....Do not offer up front discounts!
To Airbnb your property will never be cheap enough, but they are not interested in whether you make money or lose it......they don't want to let a booking escape to another STR platform. I do offer discounts but I state in my listing description I do it in the form of a refund at the end of the stay when I can assess what discount is appropriate for that particular stay. I am not going to get stiffed into offering a sham discount.
4/.......Keep what you offer manageable.
A wise person once said to me when I said I was going to short term rent.....she said to me 'don't put anything out there you are not prepared to lose'! By all means put 6 pillows on the bed, it looks great but, make sure they are not $450 per set Sheridan's. Be budget conscious and put in serviceable appliances and have a back-up on hand in case that 'what ever it is' should fail. Don't put in your listing what you would ideally like, put in it what the guest needs!
5/......Don't let to hagglers.
I have discovered that potential guests fall into two defined groups.....'Passive/Complimentary'.....or 'Aggressive/demanding'! They either like what they have seen, and they just want to pay and stay or, they have question after question they want answered, and with each question they strengthen their ground while weakening yours. After a while you become good at picking the difference, it doesn't hurt you to decline a request or a booking every now and then as long as you don't make a habit of it but remember, a haggler is the one time when 50% of something is NOT better than 100% of nothing!
6/......Guest choose to book by a hosts past reviews.
Reviews are the centrepiece which future business revolves around and although I am possibly accused of buying good reviews, with the Airbnb review system we have to.....anything less than a 5 star with Airbnb means there is something that needs to be improved. Now obviously that is patent nonsense, some guests will consider that nothing is ever perfect, and in my 500 + reviews about 25 have said their stay was everything they could have expected but, it wasn't perfect....not a hint of what I could have improved but, I ended up with a 4. My way around this is to explain in my house rules folder the way the Airbnb review system works......
Now Heather, after reading this you might think from a guests point of view I am a difficult host but, let me tell you my hosting business just goes from strength to strength. For the past 3 years we have been fully booked......here is my current booking calendar for this month and next.......
Rarely do we have more than 4 nights a months without a guest.
I think guests appreciate a host who offers not just extensive experience but, a clearly defined set of rules.....they know where they stand.
I think what you have done is great, you have taken control of your hosting and I think you will reap the rewards for doing that!
Cheers........Rob