Help taking the personal aspect out of this business

[Stephanie1215]

Hi Everyone

Calling all airbnb veterans to help me with this!!

I am fairly new to airbnb, about 3 months in. My struggle is trying to separate the personal from business. We live in a 2 family brownstone in Brooklyn. The apartment we rent out is recently renovated and we've put so much time, care, and attention into making this space a real home away from home. In other words, we've invested a lot more than just money. That is why I am taking it so personally when guests leave the space messier than expected, break or have things go missing without reporting it, dirtying towels and linens beyond repair with makeup, food, and who knows what else, bringing more people than expected, etc. Some of the behaviors feel as though they are being done purposefully even though I know that probably isn't the case - except for this one guest which is a whole other story. I've made sure to put in the house rules all of the expectations of the guests because we provide exceptional service to them. I am the type of person where if you're upfront with me, I will work with you. I just don't like sneakiness or if someone is trying to take advantage. 

I have a feeling the personal will come out of it for me eventually, but right now I'm having a hard time separating the two. After all, it is my home. And even though I am new at this, I make sure to point out certain things to the guests when I see something is not right. I'm not afraid to politely address it.

Also, if anyone has any good rugs and/or padding you put down for sound absorption, please share. 

Thank you so much for listening to me vent!

[Susan151]

@Stephanie1215 My cousin is one of your neighbors! I know the layout of your home well.

Your listings doesn't seem cluttered at all, which could have been a reason that things are getting broken. I have, to my astonishment, become a laundry expert! I have only lost one towel to makeup/hair-dye/tanner. But, I spend way too much time on laundry. It is felt worth the effort since I choose to have high-quality [aka expensive] linens and towels. Your dishes look much nicer than mine. I decided to use all white IKEA dishes which are cheap to replace. And yet, I have never had to replace them!

Are the things that are getting damaged [not linens] the same items over and over? Is there a way to buy or swap them out for more rugged items that serve the same purpose?

How to separate the business of hosting from the personal attachment to the space? I don't really know. I suspect that the change will be how you respond to the messier and/or too casual guests, and not the guests themselves. House Rules can become to overbearing that it feels like you have rented a prison cell! And who is marking you down for location?

[Stephanie1215]

Hi Susan

I have slowly started removing the nicer things and replacing them with, nice but not as nice things or not at all. Recently a very sturdy glass candy jar was broken. Not really a big deal except the guest put it out on the curb during trash day (without mentioning it to me) so it wasn't recycled properly. And I highlight NYC's recycling in the rules because you will get fined. Needless to say, I'm not replacing the candy jar.  Same guests lost one of my nice steak knives.  Not replacing that either since there are 3 left now. 

I too have become a laundry  expert/inspector! Oxiclean is my best friend!

My neighborhood is one of the nicer ones in Brooklyn. I've had 2 guests mark the location down to 4 stars. One didn't mention why. The other thought it was too far from downtown. Don't know if that's downtown Brooklyn or Manhattan but I can get to either pretty quickly. Not sure which route they took to get to where they were going or even where they were going. Not everything in the city is quick and easy to get to but that's the beauty of NYC. We walk everywhere. They also thought my neighborhood wasn't very clean. I'm going to posts pics of the neighborhood so that isn't a deterrent to people searching. I would love to respond to that comment but again, I'm struggling with taking things to personally.  I have had some amazing guests as well and I wish I could think of them more instead of the issues I've had with guests.  

[Yadira22]

Hi @Stephanie1215 

hope you are well.

Regarding location- also remember that many guests may be from smaller towns or even cities. Places where a 15 mins walk is equivalent to walking across the town or very close- there is nothing wrong with this but what is closeby to you as a New Yorker may not be to said Person. Brooklyn alone may be the same size as their city.

I once had someone ask me if one day would be enough to walk and see all of London +visit all the main attractions- museums, parks, places of interest, etc.... not possible even if you are in a car! (No native Londoner would drive through Central London- especially during rush hour, unless they are getting paid for it). 

Take it all with a bit of salt... what I always tell myself is that not all of London looks like Notting Hill (the movie), not even all of Notting Hill itself, what the movie potrays is a specific side of it, Portobello Rd. 

I wish you love and all the best. Keep on going... you’ll find your mojo! 

Yadira 🙂

[Stephanie1215]

Thank you Yadira. Yes I know a lot of people have misconceptions about getting around NYC. A lot of people think you can get to everything in just a few hours or so. It can be quite an ordeal getting  around the city and it can certainly take some time. I work here everyday and everyday I have to replenish my patience levels! I'm sure I will find my mojo one of these days.

[Mark116]

@Stephanie1215   The best thing you can do is work to screen your guests to prevent the bad seeds from ever getting in the first place. Otherwise, I don't know if you will ever be able to fully separate things, I know that I sometimes feel, offended is not quite the word, but upset when people are super careless or they say things that make it clear they weren't paying attention when they booked the space. 

[Stephanie1215]

Yes Mark! I get soooo offended and super upset. I think I feel that way because I would follow the golden rules if I were staying at someone's home and it's apparent that a lot of people don't care about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. The bad seeds are making it hard for me to remember the really good seeds that have rented from me. I'm working on it though. Guess it's a work in progress.

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

Hi @Stephanie1215 ...it is harder to separate at the beginning...I think you will get used to it as time passes by, and you start seeing your place more like a business than a personal space.

It does help to keep special items (or sentimental items) out of your rental space. I have things that I keep in a locked space and only take out when my family visits our casita. 

I also buy towels and bed sheets/covers every time I see them at a special price...that way I do not think twice about trowing away things like that : )

[Stephanie1215]

Buying when I see a good deal is a really good idea. I bought a lot of linens when we first started but haven't continued to re-stock. I work near a jc penney's so I'll have to make regular visits. Thank you

[Susan1404]

@Stephanie1215- I had some difficulty with this in the beginning as well.  My late husband and I built a two bedroom, 2 bath cabin on our horse farm for personal guests. When he passed away, it was suggested to me to try it as an airbnb and it turned out to be successful.  I have had light breakage of some things and some mis-use of certain items.  I had to disconnect myself from the personal aspect and realize that no one was going to love that cabin like my husband and I did, so I removed some of the more expensive items and replaced them with impersonal things.  There was one thing I did that helped quite a bit - I raised my rates after being in business the first two months.  That seemed to weed out a certain type of guest that tended to not care about my property.  Since then, I've had no real issues.  So my recommendation is that if you have been booking steadily, you might want to go up on your rates just a bit and see if that brings in a better class of guests that might be more responsible.

[Stephanie1215]

I'm sure that was very tough for you and must have been extremely hard to not take personally. The idea about raising rates is a good idea. That may actually work especially in my area. Thank you for this advice and sorry for your loss Susan.

[Susan1404]

@Stephanie1215- thank you for your words of sympathy.  I hope raising the rates works for you as well as it did for me.

[Marta794]

@Stephanie1286 It can be difficult at first to separate the two until you realize you're renting out a space as a business. This of course entails all the trappings and what not that come with the territory. One of our first guest's daughter had her female time-of-the-month come along that slightly soiled our bedsheets. We were a little annoyed as this wasn't disclosed to us before they left as discreet as it could've been mentioned. So, we just shrugged our shoulders and set to getting it cleaned in the wash. We also have many extra bedsheets on hand so again not that big of a deal. There's always sometime to worry about with each guest, but you'll learn to take it in stride. Thankfully we haven't had anything stolen or broken...yet.

[Stephanie1215]

I am hoping this is just first time airbnb jitters and that this will pass. I've been a landlord in the traditional sense for over 20 years and so I know how to be all business with renters, but for some reason this type of renting is so very personal. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we've furnished it, and clean it and are heavily involved with it- more hands on. I think it's just going to take me some time to get there.

[Marta794]

We understand how it can be personal. We put a lot of time and money into an ADU (specifically for Airbnb) off the end of our house and take great pride in that accomplishment. Also, like you, we have personally furnished with items bought and used from our house. We also are the cleaners after each guest so get a front-end look at how people treat your space. Although there is some trepidation upon entering after the last quest has left, we generally, so far, have been impressed with how everyone has followed the house rules. I have no doubt you'll get to that point in time as well.