I have recently listed a little guest house in an area literally on the wrong side of the tracks. I have written and re-written the neighborhood description and am now turning to the community for advice. I don't want to overstate and scare people off yet I also want to be completely upfront. I also want to avoid cancellations.
If you have a moment please take a look at my listing. I welcome any thoughts on this. I am beginning to feel all Airbnb rentals must be at least middle class to be acceptable. I had a young woman cancel this afternoon after previewing the house, She is the second to cancel over neighborhood concerns. The neighborhood is poor and much of it is deep hood however as I state in my listing I lived here as a single woman and felt safe.
I read in another thread voicing similar concerns where an owner was advised to remove instant booking. I started to do that but saw that I would not have protection from cancellation penalties and decided against going that route. The thought being that an inquiry would give me the chance to reiterate "scruffy" neighborhood. So opted instead for a possibly too forthright description and will never again get a booking! Though really I would prefer that to having an unhappy guest who feels they've been misled.
