Problems I have encountered as a host

[Raab0]

Afternoon Everyone,

Just thought I would share a couple issues I have experienced as a host and if anyone has any ideas of rectifying these problems.

I have been hosting for about 6 months now and the first 5 months have gone great. No issues, everyone has been very easy going and considerate with my properties. However, the last month I have had some issues.

1) I had a guest stay that ended up taking all the keys to the house, stealing the mouse for the computer and the TV remote (?!). Why you would do these things are beyond me, but they did. The guest never answered their phone or replied to any Airbnb messages after I let her in on the first day. So I opened a resolution with her claiming back money for keys, lock change and the rest. She never replied and so I escalated it with Airbnb. This has gone on almost 3 weeks now and nothing has happened at all. What am I mean't to do?

2) I have a moderate cancellation policy on Airbnb. Recently I had a guest booked in to stay for almost 2 weeks. They booked almost a month in advance and i was happy to have them. However, 3 days or so before they were mean't to arrive he messaged me to say that there had been a slight change of plan and would it be possible to change the dates of the booking for 4 days ahead of the current booking but he would still like to stay for the whole time. Having availability for the dates he requested I thought nothing of it and agreed. However, later that day I get a notifcation off of Airbnb saying that he had cancelled his booking completely. So I lost out on the money because he had moved it out of the 5 day period and then didn't have any guest coming in at all because it was very short notice. What am I mean't to do here? Just presume that people are going to mess me about and not be so naive? 

3) I recently had a guest stay that said it would only be 1 person to stay for the night on business. I agreed to let them stay. I later found out when I went to check on the house that multiple people had stayed and they had left the house in a bit of a mess as they had obviously had a bit of a party there. I dont mind people having a party at the house, it is the extra people staying as I charge on a price per person basis. Thoughts? 

The previous experiences of Airbnb have been great but over the past weeks it has gone down hill. It isn't helped by the poor customer service from Airbnb and the really, really, really long response times.

Let me know your thoughts if you could!

Thanks a lot,

Raab

[Dee9]

change your cancellation policy to strict.

you can contact airbnb via facebook and twitter for better response results. If you dont have a facebook or twitter i suggest gettting one if youre going to remain a host because theyre really pushing that as their main avenue of contact.

whenever possible meet the guests at checkin so you can see how many people are actually staying or do an unnannounced pop in telling them you just "wanted to see if they needed anything, and if their stay was satisfactory"

[Raab0]

Hi Diane,

I have changed the cancellation policy to strict - But what the guest did I would still miss out on 50% of the money away. I agree, 50% is better than nothing but they chouldn't be allowed to change the dates adn then cancel straight away. Or there should be some penalty on their front.

And I always meet the guests at check in. But these 2 instances only 1 person was there so I thought nothing of it. They obviously had more people come in afterwards.

I suppose the only solution is to do unannounced drop bys.

Thanks.

[Stan-and-Jan0]

Greetings Raab,

We have been at this for a long time so we've seen everything you've decribed and more. A couple of suggestions come to mind regarding your recent experiences. First I'd like pass along that no matter how good your guests are, eventually you will have some issues to deal with as a Host. But you can minimize these problems.

1. As far as keys. You might consider using electronic keyless locks. We us the Schlage Connect Touchscreen locks using a Z-Wave network. The locks can be controlled remotely via a web app so you can give guests a code that is activated on a specific day and time and deactivated on a specific day and time. There are many benefits to using these locks and it makes it easier for the guest to check in and allow you to control access.

I agree with the other post. Twitter and Facebook are a good way to get Airbnb's attention. If you can attain and retain the Superhost status, you can reach someone easily as they have support team assigned to Superhosts.

2. Change your cancellation policy to "Strict" You may not get as many bookings but the ones you do get will be less inclined to cancel. That was a pretty sneaky trick the guest played on you by moving the reservation and then cancelling.

3. Be very clear on your house rules and policies about what you allow regarding occupancy, parties, etc. You might also install some security cameras on the exterior so you can monitor who is coming and going. We use NetGear Arlo wireless cameras and they work for that purpose however we are considering wired cameras so we don't have to deal with changing batteries. We have a short paragraph on the listing letting guests know we use security cameras so they know in advance. We also state in our house rules that only those listed on the reservation are allowed to stay on the premises. They can have guests but any more than 2-4, then they need permission. If they violate any of the house rules we can ask them to vacate (and we have). No refunds. Guests need to understand they are staying in a home not a hotel. Big difference.

Hope this helps.
Stan

[Conner0]

Raab,
Tough break man. Sorry to hear the string of bad guests. Sounds like they've all intentionally ripped you off.

I would say for the key situation to jump on amazon and buy a digital door lock- they're like $75 and you never have to worry about people stealing keys. I've got one at my condo and no one ever has a problem with it. Plus, you can change the codes as frequently as you'd like so you don't have any unwanted return visitors.

For the cancellation policy, I have a few friends that host that have changed their policy to strict and said they it hasn't decreased their bookings at all- so that could be a smart idea. 

Lastly, if you charge per person, you could install a camera at the front door. If you believe there were more who stayed than stated, you have video you can review. The gal next to my condo who hosts AirBNB has installed a camera outside the front door and in the front hallway for that very reason and she loves it! Plus, if you have pictures of a camera system in your listing pictures, I'm sure that would keep people who are intentionally going to try and rip you off away from booking.

Hope the next few months go better!
Conner

[David126]

1. Have you called ABB?

2. It is a well known trick, up to you if you allow a guest to rescedule. I would have assumed this was going to happen, but I am cynical.

3. More a management issue, you are letting out 3 properties and imply you will not even be in country. People will take advanatage at some point, hopefully not too often.  You are in a high risk business, these issues strike me as relatively minor, how are you going to handle more significant issues?