Brand new host--horrible experiences

[Ann686]

Well, I think I'll probably be switching to Vrbo, after a very short time and some horrible experiences as an AirBnB host. This place just gets shadier. 

I started off as a cohost, working on the shadiest property imaginable; I was in a bad situation as I had just gotten out of the hospital after my roommates almost let me die of typhus. So I reluctantly took an offer to work 5 hours a day in exchange for no money—just a "free" bed in a hallway. I had to share the hallway with an old guy who snored like a battleship chugging through the Arctic. The old guy was supposed to be helping me clean, but he was a friend of the hosts, so they just let him live there for free, and I had to clean up after him AND ten paying, slobby guests packed into a 3-bed, with no help. The owners rarely appeared, and would not discipline my "coworker." It was absolutely foul. They agreed to give me the cleaning fees for a little while—which didn't help, because their filthy guests were mostly long-term—then quietly stopped giving me anything. But for some reason AirBnB lets them keep renting multiple properties while treating employees like indentured servants.

When I got my own studio apartment, I decided I wanted to make some money for myself. But it only got worse.

My very first guest, on his very first night, had a wild party in my tiny studio. They shattered a mirrored glass door in my apartment and punched a hole in my wall. It wasn't just a hole, though; they cracked the entire drywall panel. He left scattered glass everywhere and a huge mess.

This was less thatn 24 hours after I started hosting!

I had a $1000 security deposit, but what did AirBnB do?

Not only did they tell me I had to let him stay out the week in order to get the money for his stay—even though I was scared of the guy after he put a hole in my wall—they also refused to make him pay for the damage he caused.

He tried to fix the door, but it still doesn't work, and my entire closet (clothes and shoes) was full of broken glass. The dispute resolution employee—who was clearly on the violent guest's side, as they were both young men—googled "hole in drywall" and awarded me the first Google result--about $60!—for ALL the damage this person caused. 

Then they let him write a fraudulent review of my place to defend himself, claiming that it was dirty. Yeah, it was dirty because he was in it! My cat pooped outside the box because he and his violent friends terrified her too badly to cross the floor and go to her litterbox. The ad clearly stated there are cats in the apartment, but his based his complaints on... the fact that there are cats in the apartment. I worked for hours to clean it up for him prior to his visit, and had to spend $120 just to clean up his filth and broken glass. He claimed my ad was "dishonest," when it just didn't say what he wanted it to say.

My next visitor said my place was "OK," then gave it a three star rating just because. He said it was too small for him. It's Los Angeles! 

What does AirBnB do? Because of these two awful people, they not only left 90 percent of the repair and cleanup costs to me, THEY PAUSED MY LISTING.

Yep, they took my listing off the market due to two ratings, one which read "OK" and the other was from a violent drunk who wrecked my apartment. (I had provided them with extensive documentation of the damage and his lame attempts to save money by pretending to fix it; they didn't even look at the documentation, apparently, just talked to this creep and let him off the hook).

Going to Vrbo, and I suggest you do too. The guests there are not cheap, violent liars and the customer service doesn't favor the worst people. AirBnB is becoming a pigsty and they will NOT protect hosts from fraudulent and even volatile guests. (Unless they're awful hosts who treat their cohosts like unpaid indentured labor.)

[Ann686]

Hm, that's not good. I don't know why you can't access this:https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35834551?toddlers=0&check_in=2019-06-25&check_out=2019-06-28&source_imp...

[Sarah977]

@Ann686 Okay, I see it now by clicking on the link, but it doesn't appear at all when clicking on your profile. Are you still managing Suzi's places? If not, I don't know why they're appearing on your profile, and your own is not. Usually if a host has a few listings, a couple will be shown on the profile, but right below that and above the reviews, it says "see more of XX's listings". Yours doesn't, at least not for me.

I think you could do better with your photo gallery- as far as I'm concerned, photos don't need to look slick and professional, in fact that can lead to overly high expectations, but they should be clear, bright and show everything the guest has access to. For instance, you have no photo of the bathroom at all, and no photos which give a view of the whole inside space, most are too close-up. It's good you show the cats, but with only 7 photos, having 2 be of the cats is overkill. And a photo of the sofa bed made up as a bed (make sure bedding is straight and unwrinkled, try to make it look inviting) is crucial.

Maybe you have a friend who's good at photography who you could trade work time or something with, to shoot you some new photos. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sarah977 

there are 2 listings and an arrow you have to click to see the third one in a row

[Ann686]

Look back at the origins of the service. What you're describing is literally what it's for. Not for people with multiple properties to take apartments off the rental market and run unregulated hotels.

[Suzanne302]

@Ann686  This whole thread is you lashing out at guests, and then, lashing out at fellow hosts. I'm sorry you're so angry, but sometimes when things happen, you have to look at what is the common denominator in all the events, in this case, it's you.

You can't control what happens TO you, but you have 100% control over how you react to situations. Perhaps you should try a different approach to life and maybe you will see some better results.

[Ann686]

LOL yes, I was sexually assaulted, caught typhus, and had my home ruined by an AirBnB guest because of my attitude. And yes, ALL of this **bleep** happens to have happened to me. How woo do you have to be to think this is due to my "approach to life?" Am I attracting evil spirits?

[Ana1136]

@Ann686 no you are not and @Suzanne302 wasn't implying that. I am sorry you had to go through all that and I hope life treats you better. Her point was that no matter what happens to us we control the way we react to and and how we handle the consequences. You are in no way guilty of what happened to you but you can always learn from it. You seem angry at everyone and no one here has bad intentions, we don't even know you. Hosts are just giving their opinions on what you could improve in order to stop things like tgis happening again. You asked for these opinions, sometimes we don't agree with everything but people here have taken time of their days to give you advice, you should respect that. I wish you better luck with your future guests and life in general! 

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Ann686: I am not a fan of VRBO's $499 annual fee or 5% per booking + 3% credit card processing fee.

Sorry Airbnb didn't work out for you. Best of luck on VRBO.

[Inna22]

@Barry-and-Lera0 you can pay per booking instead of the $499 subscription

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Inna22: Yes. 5% per booking + a 3% credit card processing fee.

[Inna22]

@Barry-and-Lera0  Yes, you did in fact say that. I guess I can’t read just like the majority of my guests 

[Inna22]

@Ann686 

It is time for you to take control of your life. Your roommates did not take care of you, your landlord was unethical, your guests were bad, Airbnb was unfair. Now it is your turn to be in control. Going to VRBO will bring you very few guests. Their platform is geared towards a different type of accommodation. Read these boards about best practices of screening guests. Rewrite your listing and post it hear for others to comment. Make your price only slightly cheaper because you are new, raise it later. Win your guests with your service and offerings, not your price. Clearly, cats are an issue. When one guest mentions something to me, I think they are after a discount. When two mention something- I change it. This should be either really clear in your description- your nocturnal pets are up and around all night, the place is not for a light sleeper and also put in the potential for noise section guests acknowledge before they book. Better yet, they should be off the premises for many reasons I am not even going into here unless you want me to. Good luck!

[Ann686]

If I had somewhere else to put the cats, I certainly would. As it is, checking on them every day provides some measure of control. Here's my new listing:

Basic, PRIVATE, sunny studio apartment on the edge of K-town. All the Korean BBQ you can eat as well as transit hubs are a few blocks from your door. These are not luxury accommodations, but you will not have to see or navigate any other guests. Note: There ARE two cat roommates, and you may hear them at night. I will come in to care for them once a day. The bed is a stylish IKEA pullout sectional couch by day; I provide a duvet mattress pad and lots of cushions.

The space:

The LA rental market is crazy, so the place is what realtors call "cozy" (i.e. small). You get a very cheery, sunny, private studio in Koreatown—with all the food options and great mass transit access that implies—plus TWO CAT ROOMMATES in a real Los Angeles home. See how non-movie stars live here. This is not an unregulated flophouse, monthly rental, or one of multiple properties run by a landlord; this is AirBnB as it was originally meant to be—a genuine local experience in a real person's home. I am not taking an apartment off the already tight market and squeezing the city's poor and middle class, so you can feel socially responsible about staying here.
That being said, you don't want to book here if you don't like cats! (NOTE NOTE NOTE: I have a diabetic cat and I need to access the apartment once a day to clean, feed the animals, and give her an insulin shot, at your convenience, preferably when you are out and about so I do not disturb you.)
My neighbors are swell. Free coffee/French press (but please do not eat my food), free wifi, lovely patio and jacuzzi; laundry can operate via coins or your smartphone, and transit is amazing. Note: If you are from a town with a less crazy rental market, this studio may seem small to you. It's normal. And the patio out back is a score.

The bed is a pull-out couch, but I will provide a mattress pad/duvet in case it isn't soft enough. Lots of blankets and cushions. Just so no one misses it: There ARE TWO CATS. Please do NOT book here if you aren't OK with TWO CATS. Yes, you may hear them hiss at each other at night. They're communicating about territory. I've done everything possible to make guests (and myself) comfortable. The litterbox is enclosed in a cute piece of furniture. I will provide spray disinfectant and incense in case of smells. This is an incredibly safe building protected by razor wire, so when you find the building, text me (I will provide my number after you book) and I will come out to greet you and get you settled in.

Transportation: LA public transit gets a bad rap. NOTE: I do not drive, so I don't have a parking space I can give you. There aren't enough in the parking lot next door for each apartment to have an assigned space, so they rent them to residents who do drive. There is an app called spacehero that is very helpful in this regard.
If you're a public transit person, the situation here is WAY better than what people will tell you LA transit is like. (If you must drive, street parking only.) Go to Wilshire Boulevard a block away and you can go anywhere the bus or train goes. To the west on Wilshire is a purple/red line Metro train station which will take you to Hollywood/NOHO if you go west, and to the downtown Metro hub if you go east. Thence you can get to the ocean, East LA, the south suburbs, or anywhere the train goes. On Wilshire, you can catch the 20 or 720 bus, which will take you straight to Beverly Hills. The 720 also goes to the ocean (Santa Monica)! A few blocks away is the bus to Venice Beach.

[Susan17]

@Ann686 @Suzanne302 @Sarah977 

Ok - let's clear up this absolute myth, once and for all, that Airbnb has ever been just about homesharing. It hasn't. 

It's true that the origins of the brand started in Chesky and Gebbia's front room when they threw down a few air mattresses on the floor, and charged accommodation-less conference delegates $80 a pop, with breakfast thrown in. But that company was Airbedandbreakfast. com. Not Airbnb. And as Airbedandbreakfast. com - which did only cater for homesharers - they struggled through 2007/8, trying desperately to raise enough funding to stay afloat, as investors simply weren't evaluating their homesharing model as a worthwhile punt. 

The founders were finally thrown a lifeline at the end of 2008, when angel investor Paul Graham invited them into his Y-Combinator start-up mentoring program, which led to a further $600000 in venture capatalist funding. The company that graduated from the incubator program was no longer Airbedandbreakfast, but was now VC-backed Airbnb, and not only did Airbnb accept entire homes to the platform from Day 1, they aggressively recruited them to jump onboard. The company just worked hard to keep it on the down low - exactly as they've done with the big commercial players on the platform since 2015/16 - and used the whole "all about hosts sharing rooms in their own homes" facade as the thin end of the wedge, as a means of easing their way into sceptical cities, with the entire home hosts slipping behind them, under the radar, and being Airbnb's dirty little secret for years. Everyone knew we were there, but nobody wanted to talk about us. Just as it is with the Pro's now. 

So no. Airbnb has never been just homesharers. If there's one thing that Airbnb shines at, it's spinning a yarn. Oh sorry, I meant, "telling a story". Fairy stories, most of them. 

[Ann686]

Homesharing sounds cozy and funky and bohemian, but honestly, people want some measure of privacy when they vacation. I try to be as delicate as possible about getting in to give the cat her shot... if I had somewhere else to keep the cats, I would. But it does give me a way to make sure my wall hasn't been punched in again.