Inequality between hosts and guests

[Huaai0]

I was writing multiple times on the CC that us hosts and guests are not that equal, though a couple of fellow hosts reaffirm that guests are as vulnerable, if not more, as us hosts.

However, I think hosts are more vulnerable in that --

1) Guests know where we live, but we don't know where the guests live.

2) Guests hold hosts hostage with the review, but hosts very rarely leave guests a negative review, with generally the most unfavourable review being "better suited for the hotel setting."

3) Guests may use Airbnb once a year; but us hosts use Airbnb 365 days a year.

4) Guests can easily set up a new account with an alternative email address, but hosts find it hard to create another listing with the same content.

5) Hosts can be lying, cheating, misrepresenting their places, but if three guests leave a negative review, then it will be a dead end to the host's hosting career. However, guests can be unrespectful and disruptive, but they can still get away with it. At least they can choose hotels the rest of his/her life!

[Christian65]

I wouldn't call it inequality but differences. And naturally there are differenes between being a host vs guest. There are pro's and con's on both sides. Whats your point? Is it a contest of who's having it worse or having it better or who's more vulnerable? 

Does Airbnb favour guest over hosts? Most probably and that discussion is probably worth taking although it has been discussed a million times before.

Airbnb relies hugely on trust and that goes for both being a host and a guest -  so at least we have that in common.

[Kary0]

I agree.  Hosts are very vulnerable.  Airbnb does not back the host up when there is damage to a home.  Most guest are very respectful but it only takes one guest to damage the property.  I hope in the future airbnb can back the host more and give more tools

to reclaim security deposits if items are damaged.  I am not speaking of normal wear and tear but of not following house rules -bringing pets that cause damage when there is a no pet rule.  Smoking in the home when there is clearly no smoking allowed.  In direct cases as these it should be automatic to receive the security deposit that is listed on the listing.

[Karen582]

Yes I agree, as a host I clearly state "no parties" & my guests had a party, damaged property, the neighbours complained & I feel like I am the guilty one trying to prove it. I am still in the process of trying to claim the security deposit after 5 weeks.

[Philip121]

I really appreciated your post! I am currently struggling with some of the issues that you brought up. Specifically; leaving bad reviews for guests. We are sitting ducks, while the guest can disappear and re-appear fairly easy. By leaving such a review, one is protecting the entire Airbnb community, although it seems like many hosts are deign to do so for fear of reprisal. So; when I look at someones profile and they have nothing but 5-star ratings, I am surprised when I book them only to find out that they are the WORST. Why wasn't I warned, and why do these greasy sorts continue to fall through the cracks? The biggest question for me is; if someones not watching my back, why should I watch theirs?

[Bruce43]

@Philip121 hello, reviews are a tricky subject.

I suppose what most hosts do it to say"this guest is more suited for a motel 6"

than thumbs down on the review. 

the worst thing to do is write a review to quick. 

I as a guest with Airbnb experience don't need to see a host crash and burn. 

%99 of my guests have been amazing I don't instant book, and I try to have a few messages with my potential guest. 

I have had a few guests that were hard to please and just showed them what Airbnb is all about.

also, dont put up amazing photos. 

I haven't updated mine for 6 months and when the guest arrives they are amazed and say it's so much nicer than the pictures.

bada bing bada boom

Caio

[Clare0]

@Huaai0 Interesting post!

Couple of comments: 

1.  I really don't care where my guests live so not knowing doesn't bother me.  

2. "Hosts very rarely leave a negative review".  How do you know?  Keep in mind that Airbnb regularly removes guests who don't behave themselves and / or are abusive of host's hospitality so you may not see many guests with horrible reviews. 

3. Yep, we're in the business of making money on rentals.   We're selling year round while guests only buy occasionally.  I don't see that as a disadvantage unless you mean something else. 

4.  Guests who are banned from Airbnb are not able to close their account and then create a new one.  That's why Airbnb's verification process is so stringent so that guests are not able to wipe the slate clean by creating new accounts. 

5. Well, just as a guest may be able to book a hotel, hosts can also choose to list on other platforms if things don't work out on Airbnb. 

Just my two cents!

[Cormac0]

@Huai-Dhawa

I agree with your comment,

the most glaring difference in my opinion is the amount of asset we place at our guest disposal both in hardware and time. As of now, while having earned over Euros 5,000 in fees I have still not recovered my initial investment in fixtures and fittings, this is due in the main to low occupancy levels and fees in the round, despite me having five-star rating and super host status.

Let me turn my attention to the amount of time one spends hosting, which most Host probable don't factor in to the profit & loss calculations. Hosting is a time-consuming business particularly when you have a third party "Airbnb" controlling the inputs of guest, fees, deposits, and complaints procedures in which their decision is final.

I know it won't be a popular statement but Airbnb is making a fortune on the losses of the feckless or ill-informed and it time for Host to take a stand.

Why does Cormac bother hosting I hear you ask, because I decided to investigate the gold mine that Airbnb allegedly is, I had ONE very good month in high season and three empty month in low but my property was at the disposal of Airbnb to make money all the time.

The upshot of what I'm saying is, fee are to high and support for host to low and this need to change.

Regards

Cormac

The Explorer's Club Krakow III

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

I think , what @Huaai0 wants to say is that hosts are more vulnerable than guests (have more to lose) but despite that ABB to often unfairly holds a side of a guest on a cost of a host . By doing so ABB breeds a new race of bad guests and I am affraid they will soon overcome good ones and eventually it will lead to the end of Airbnb.

As a host I sometimes feel to play a russian roulette. We invested a lot of money in this bussiness but one group of bad guests can easily destroy it with one bad review or one wild party and there is not much we can do to protect ourselves from a huge loss. Insurance agencies are terrible in our area and it is not worth to get a policy, security deposits are in hands of ABB reps (that is the worst!) , cancellation policies and house rules are not respected by ABB.... 

The only thing which can partialy protect us are smart-home devices : security cameras and remote controlled AC / heating / windows / locks , house alarms, smoke and CO detectors etc... until our apartments and homes turns into a high security luxury prisons with HAL 9000 as a host 🙂 

[Cormac0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0

Hi Ladies, you can't rely on the remote locks Airbnb recommends either, I've recently read that some of these had a firmware update, that basically bricked them, so Host had to change their locks and tell all their guests that the codes to open the doors were no longer valid.

Regards

Cormac

ECK III

[Huaai0]

@Cormac0@Karen582@Branka-and-Silvia0

Your feedback is truly important. Wise and experienced hosts surely know what I was trying to pinpoint regarding the dynamics of the host-and-guest relationship. I surely understand naiveté, the romanticizing tendency, or even a political righteousness skipping the fact-based thinking, but we all have our own perceptions and experiences, and if we don't click with our opinions, then we still have the freedom of expressions. 

@Branka-and-Silvia0 are so right--every word you uttered just hit the point. I would not have been able to get your message when I was in my early stage of being a host--a stage where I was still romanticizing hosting and not realizing how affective the negativity of a bad guest and a bad review could be to our life and business. 

My most recent interaction with Airbnb help has turned me into a skeptic about how helpful they can be to hosts. My guest left the stove on and unattended after cooking. I had no idea when she finished cooking, but when I got home around 21:40, I found the stove on. Although certain friends claim that it was "no big deal," an electrician friend of mine warned me that it was a fire hazard, especially  because there were towels, electric appliances and wires, as well as flammable liquid around the stove. 

Airbnb help assigned a representative to call me the next day. First off, he asked me if I had taken a picture of the stove on [to prove it]. I replied that when I saw it I just turned it off immediately. When you see your house on fire and family struggling to get out of the fire, would you have the time to find your camera, get the right focus, and find the best angels to take pictures? Of course not! Second, the representative told me that he would need to call the guest to "hear the story of her side." This is to say if the guest denies or twists the story "on her side," then Airbnb help can do nothing about it. Legally it is fair, but hosts end up hurt and guests can just finish their stay, worry-free. 

Fortunately, I have been smart enough to put everything in our Airbnb correspondence. I would repeat what has happened in the correspondence, and the guest's apologetic or defensive response to it would mean that he or she acknowledges what he or she has done. Just a small example, if a guest calls to tell you that he has locked him outside, then it would be better if you put in the Airbnb correspondence, "Thank you for informing me that you locked yourself outside." 

Host smart. When we try to think positive, we should not ignore the importance of self-protection and preventive measures. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Cormac0 how do you think are not valid any more? they had to change locks or lock codes?

[Cormac0]

@Branka & Silvia

To be honest I'm not sure of how the system work, I only repeating what one of the AirBnb host claimed, apparently when a Guest books they automatically get a code to open the door, these codes where rendered useless when the host had to change the locks to manual locks and inform all their guest of this change. 

The article was on Techcruch

It's been my experience that automation usual works best at scale, in other words if you're a small operation manual is probable best and more cost effective...

Regards

Cormac

ECK III 

[Melissa304]

Yup we easily get screwed over too. If I have to cancel a reservation a month in advance I have to pay a fee. However, if a guest decides to leave in the middle of the stay (when I approved them instead of the other guests that requested), they get full refund for the days they abandon. I had one girl leave three days early, trash my room- spill stuff all over my rug, mattress(thanks now my mattress looks dirty to guests), curtains on the floor, and still asks me how to get a refund. 

[Luke73]

@Huai-Dhawa I appreciate your post and thanks for sharing this with us.

However, I would like to show you my point of view. I think you can't call it as inequality since hosts and guests play different roles in the business world. Hosts and guests both have advantages and disadvantages. 

Not only Airbnb but other same platform do favor guests over hosts because I think that they are serving for guests. Guests kind of pay money for hosts, and hosts kind of serve guests. Guests can be likely considered as customers. And people always say that “Customer Is King.”