Bye bye Airbnb

Anne1325
Level 9
Melbourne, Australia

Bye bye Airbnb

After 6 months of pretty continuous occupancy of our spare room, we are throwing in the towel. We thought Airbnb would be a fun way to meet people from across the globe whilst making a bit of money on the side. Naively we had dreams of buying a property in the countryside and turning that into an Airbnb, we figured a spare room would be a good place to start before we got there. We no longer harbour that dream.

 

What we have learned is that Airbnb is not the cozy answer to staying in overpriced hotels, creating a homestay experience and offering guests and hosts ways to connect with each other's cultures. How misguided I was.

 

In an effort to eliminate all fun on part of the host Airbnb concocted a biased rating system and stringent host requirements, these seemingly designed to make us outcompete 5-star hotels and each other. This is all great news for guests who get more, and more, and more for their buck and, as such, Airbnb, who laughs its way to the bank - for hosts, however, this is lunacy.

 

In the months we hosted we received 32 pretty much stellar reviews but it came at a cost; lurking on the message board and looking at that gleaming five-star dashboard you'll know what is expected. The welcome baskets, the first class linen and the high-end toiletries that hotels triple your price would offer but also a string of things that hotels most definitely would not offer:

 

  • Accept any old random to keep your acceptance rate up or turn off IB and end up at the bottom of the pile.
  • Whilst we are at it, keep your prices to a laughable sum to appear anywhere in these search results as well.
  • And, of course, accept these any old randoms, for next to nothing, with only a first name to go on.
  • Turn a blind eye to your rules for fear of a retaliatory review. Airbnb doesn’t enforce the rules anyway so tough luck.
  • Also look the other way if a guest breaks something or whatever as they will definitely score you down for that, which amounts to personal experience.
  • Put up with unresponsive guests pending their arrival but get dinged on communication yourself, this regardless of the guest’s level of response.
  • And, of course, my personal favourite; the Airbnb suggestion of ‘baking bread before the guest's arrival' on the forum - just to make the room smell nice. They do luckily understand 'that you don't *always* have time for this'. Try never.

 

At the Ritz, if you don't follow the rules, you’ll end up on the street or heavily penalised. If you happen to break something, your credit card will be charged, no questions asked. If you do not show up at the restaurant at the time of reservation, your table will be gone. If you decide to check out early, kiss goodbye to the remainder of your money.

 

This is still considered outstanding hospitality, can you actually believe it?

 

Of course, Airbnb will not miss our listing and there’ll be plenty waiting to take our place, at ever declining prices I would reckon, so I am under no pretence they’ll lose sleep over it. However, no hosts is no Airbnb so I’m hoping that adding my voice, to the numerous other wonderful hosts on this board, will create some progress for those who think hosting is worth it. 

 

Keep up the good fight my host friends. For Airbnb, so long and no love lost.

76 Replies 76
Joy298
Level 10
Sydney, Australia

Hi @Anne1325 ,

I'm so sorry about your feeling.

I think I indeed understand your distress even if I've just started to be a host.

Sydney/Melbourne bnb markets are really getting over competitive. No matter how you filtered the search, it still shows the tens of thousands of listings. So obviously guests tend to be very sensitive to price. (I can even see AUD$20-30 for a private room in Sydney CBD. Ridiculous, I don't understand how he/she's able to make it as Sydney's such an expensive city.)

For myself, yes I'm starting with a relatively lower price as I'm still trying to get the super host badge before July. So for the last month, I've been exhausted and started to think twice about if it's really worthwhile.

My neighbors are also doing bnb, they suggested me to set the price I'm really comfortable with and just don't be people-pleasing and don't ever feel guilty of not being people-pleasing. Just set your boundaries and live the way you really like. I'll definitely take their suggestion otherwise I don't think I can go on any further.

Hope you all good

@Anne1325  For me Airbnb is eing a lot of fun. You can read my experience here:

 

Here I posted a lot about keeping guests disciplined 

If you wanna know how we keep guests disciplined in our Apartments, you can also read this thread:
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Who-were-your-wrong-clients-attracted-by-quot-the-smart-...

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Here is also my post about

HOW TO RENT A ROOM IN YOUR APARTMENT TO YOUR BOYFRIEND VIA AIRBNB AND IMPROVE YOUR PRIVATE LIFE:
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/THE-STORY-OF-HOW-TO-RENT-A-ROOM-IN-YOUR-APARTMENT-TO-YOU...


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And my new post:
“Saving your Young Daughter’s V irgi nity Over Her Weekend Trip” as a strong marketing positioning of the Apartment in rent:
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Saving-your-Young-Daughter-s-Virginity-Over-Her-Weekend-...
 
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One more category of Clients who are very thankful for my super Strict Rules of Accommodation
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/One-more-category-of-Clients-who-are-very-thankful-for-m...



@Olga464 Haha- the thread on the daughter's virginity is utterly hilarious. I think you'll make a killing with those Airbnb police uniforms.

Yay! @Olga464  is back!

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Anne1325, I'm very sorry to see you go but understand your rationale. Airbnb are making it more and more difficult for hosts and putting them at increasing risk.  I will miss your perceptive insights and the opportunity of staying with you if ever I'm in Melbourne. Best of luck with your future endeavors. 

Anne1325
Level 9
Melbourne, Australia

Thanks @Kath9 All the best to you too!

Anne, I totally "get" how you are feeling, as I feel the same way myself with the points you have listed. I have no trouble getting booked even in an airbnb saturated small town, but the cost of me doing business financially and emotionally is taking it's toll. Every year a whole new group of hosts sign up in my area, thinking they will make a killing, and most of my contemporary hosts from when I began three years ago have stopped hosting. Most do not realise how much it costs to set up and maintain a listing,  especially when guest damage seems to be ever increasing. I live on site, and do this full time and I am spending more time cleaning and fixing damage than I ever did before. Yes, I get great reviews, but wow do I work for it. Do I feel that airbnb supports it's hosts? No, I feel that I am constantly on edge hoping that a bad guest does not get through my screening, which can be difficult when you need instant book to stay in anyway competitive. With two studios, and two night stays, that is a lot of check ins over a year, and a greater risk of maybe getting a bad guest. The review process just leaves me cold now, and I am downgrading guests more than I ever had. The platform is getting too big, support and well thought out software is non existent,  guests do not read even basic listing desciptions, leaving hosts to spend ever increasing amounts of time trying to sort out and educate guests on booking details. It is enough to lead someone to drink! It is a loss to airbnb that hosts like yourself, who go the extra mile are leaving. At this stage I don't hold out much hope of things changing. It is quite disheartening.

As for that drink @Rosemarie0, a bottle or three should do it in my experience;)

I couldn't relate more to your comment. 
It looks easy and fun from outside, but yes, it drains us phisically and emotionally. Its rather ridiculous that us as host have to invest so much on how to educate guests, where they should just read the rules and respect the space. Every time I try to figure out a new way for them to at least read the **bleep** rules. I know I did all I could, its not up to me. And I think about giving up after every bad guest, which is more than one a month.  

 One thing I have found that works really well to get guests to read the rules, is to write them in dry erase marker on the refrigerator. 

 

 Of course all the rules don’t fit… But at least the basics are covered and they are the most important. I have done this from the very beginning and it seems to have worked well .

I have found that there are more airbnbs in my little resort town but I love our guests.  There have been a few bad apples, but not enough to matter.  My prices are competitive, my rentals are super clean.  I try to be better than the others with my decor and extras.  

However, what I am really pissed about is a motel in town has listed all 14 of their rooms.  They look the same, they are priced the same.  They are not separate cabins, but rooms.  

While I am located in town, I have friends out of town and their listings are no longer listed here while they were last year.   Guest have to look on a map to find their listings!  One is a treehouse that is listed Number 3 in the state by several travel magazines, and Number 1 in value.   She is not getting bookings like she did last year.  She called Airbnb and basically was told she doesn’t live in town.  I’ve advised her to go to VRBO which has listings out of the town.  

 

 What is going on?  

 

Ann489
Level 10
Boise, ID

@Anne1325   I can totally relate to everything you said.  I have decided to do the same.  I am still going to honor my current reservations, but will not book anymore past July until I figure out how I want to proceed.  I do enjoy hosting people, but not the way Airbnb is forcing me to.  Best of luck to you!

@Anne1325 ,

 

I'm sorry you feel that way and could understand it! What I learned being a SH since 5 years is:

 

- diversify your provider, never rely only  on Airbnb.

- enforce your house rules and if necessary harass CS to the point they make your house rules respected (I know they hate me at the point I need to phone on incognito mode to get someone).

- never agree to downgrade your rates lower than what your consider a fair trade for both you and guests.

- if necessary don't allow the entry to guest who are supposed to not respect your house rules even a family with babies arriving at night.

- trust your gut and never regret to do so (never ever even for some additional bucks).

- welcome each guest as a guest, nothing less nothing more. Since they paid and respect your rules they own your total consideration.

 

Each "market" is different and in some places the competition makes it harder to stay in the leading pack but, after sometimes it's easier! You will see many new hosts trying to do well and finally desist. After sometimes you are vaccinated against most of Airbnb disease!

@Anne1325 

Thank you for you frank evaluation of the Airbnb experience, it might go some distance to the top but whether 'they' take any notice will be very doubtful, I fear. I don't believe that Airbnb have a true grasp on reality regarding their hosts and you have encapsulated your experience perfectly.

 

@Olivier291 

Can you add to your list of instructions?

Truely, Post these under 'Hosting Airbnb - The way to do it as a Host', or write a book! Good advice.