I'm defining "homeless" here as someone who has an income, but can't or doesn't want to actually lease a place. Guests that are bouncing from ABB to ABB. Guests "new to town" looking for an apartment. Guests that have been recently evicted. Basically any guest that isn't travelling for work or pleasure.
I'm a new-ish host (Oct. 2018), but I've had over 40 guests in that time. I've noticed that Airbnb wants us to set the prices as low as possible to keep getting booked. When my price goes a little above the Airbnb dip, I stop getting reservations. Unfortunately, if my price goes too low, I get homeless people. These people typically show less respect for my rules and my boundaries. They typically alter the decorations and abuse any hospitality that I show them. They leave messes and stain my sheets / towels / carpet.
The numbers just don't make any sense.
I'm in the Denver area. Typical hotel prices near me are in the $80/night range. Airbnb wants me to list my rooms at $24/night (I'm currently listing one at $30 and the other at $35).
Cheap apartment rent near me is nearly $1000/mo. At $30/night that's only $900/mo.
If someone is using Airbnb for actual living, even if they move every single night, here are the advantages:
- no background check
- no rental history
- If they stay in the cheapest places, rent is lower than an apartment.
- don't have to pay monthly
- most of the advantages of a hotel at half the price.
When I first thought about hosting, I thought the price would be lower than, but close to hotel prices, becuase you get the hotel treatment (fresh linens, shower, possibly other amenities depending on the listing) but you also get to be away from the hotel traffic and guests on all 4 sides and super long walks from your parking place to the room. You potentially have access to a kitchen, entertainment center, dining area. All of these things are better than what a hotel has to offer, so why are the rates so much lower than a hotel?
Why does ABB insist on us setting our prices to the point that if you take more than 1hr to clean the room, you're losing money?
I tried raising the prices by a little, and I stopped getting bookings.
I tried removing same-day bookings.
I tried increasing the minimum stay to 2 nights.
The only thing I haven't done is remove instant booking and ask what the nature of their travel is, because that's an easy question give a false answer.
I've recently updated my house rules so instead of relying on decent people being guests that there's a code of conduct that they've agreed to so that if they break it, I can kick them out. But you can't add something about if you're not here from out of town and plan on returning.
What do each of you do? Is it just my location? I'd like to hear from others in the Denver area if possible, but any ideas are welcome.