Rule No. 1 for new hosts!!

Isabel203
Level 10
Halifax, Canada

Rule No. 1 for new hosts!!

Do not accept your first booking until youKnow how to contact AIrBnB customer service. FYI you can contact them directly from a tab on the booking confirmation. But also make sure you have the phone number for your area and have it programmed into your phone.

 

I mean it. This is easiest and most important thing you can do to ensure that you have a good experience as a host. Seriously.

 

There are so many panicked posts on the boards here, from hosts who have encountered a pressing problem and have only THEN realized that they don't know where to go for help!

 

 

PS, in case you haven't already heard: Rule No. 2 is NEVER cancel a confirmed booking without talking to AIrBnB first. How? See rule no. 1

 

🙂

36 Replies 36
Rene-and-Zac0
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Isabel203 Rule 1.5 put a dollar value on every single item in the listing and have receipts for every item detailing when you bought them. And how much you paid.

You are going to need this too, trust me. 

 

‘You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

That's all well and good to say Isabel, when you live in Canada. As a host in Mexico, my phone provider does not support calls either to the toll-free or local numbers in S.F. and the # for Mexico doesn't answer or they talk a million miles an hour in Spanish.

Airbnb hosts are all over the world. It's not as easy to call from everywhere.

Thanks for sharing this, @Sarah977. It's a good reminder that what seem like "universal" procedures at AIrBnB can vary from place to place. CS has been such a great part of the AirBnB experience here, I hope they can get it together for their hosts elsewhere.

 

I guess I should amend the the title to Rule No. 1 for New Hosts in Canada!

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

 @Sarah 

Sometimes I wish I had a bit more local knowledge and Sarah I am not up with the way the cellular network  operates in Mexico but.....

In general, when you became a Superhost (as you are Sarah) you would have (as part of your congratulatory email) been given a support phone number to call. If you call support on that number via your registered Airbnb phone number....the one you receive notfication on, as soon as you call, the Airbnb system will compare the numbers and recognise that you are a Superhost and place your call at the head of the phone queue. In a matter of seconds an electronic voice will say "Welcome Superhost an agent will be with you shortly" and within seconds rather than minutes your call will be taken in San Francisco or one of the other centres, and when the agent answers your call, your account will be already on the agents screen.....you don't even have to say who you are!

 

I do appreciate that communications around the world can vary but from the vast majority of countries calling Airbnb can be a very quick option....particularly if you are a Superhost.

 

Cheers.....Rob

Rob- I wish this were so, but the Mexican cell phone system does not allow calls to toll-free #s in the US. I used to be able to call the local SF #, but that doesn't work either now. Call just won't go through.

Get a MagicJack phone number. You can get the app for free and pay about $60USD per year and as long as you have internet you can make the call. Just register it under a US phone number and all set!

"Just register it under a US phone number"

 

I don't have a US phone number.

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

   My first advice to anyone about to embark on hosting is to make sure they have - READ - everything they can about hosting with Airbnb, be as well versed on the subject as they can before even starting, and then they will find they will not have to consult Airbnb too often, which should be contacted as a last resort, in matters that no one else can help with.

   I can't think of anything that an about-to-be or new host wouldn't find the answer to here for example, in a nano-second, vs. 'trying' to get through to Airbnb, and when you do they will likelihood be talking to someone that has never been actually an Airbnb host, ever a guest, probably young (lack of life experience), auto-talking the company line, and most notably not necessarily ....

  Knowledge is king, try to get as much of it as possible before actually starting. It will help immensely in the long run.

Fred is so right. I really think this should be pinned at the top of these Hosts and Help rooms.

 

I see a lot of posts on here from new hosts, asking things like "I am a new host and just got my first booking, how will I get paid, will airbnb send me a check?"

 

If a person can't take the time, or doesn't have the attention span to read through all of the information on the airbnb site at the time they create their listing, I can foresee them having all kinds of issues and confusion.

 

New hosts- don't be so excited about generating $ from your new listing that you do not familiarize yourselves with how it all works. Create your listing, make sure you understand how the calendar works, what Instant Book means, what Preapprove, Decline, and Accept means, enter your payout details, understand when you will be paid, understand how messaging works, how the rating system works, etc. etc.

 

Hosts on this community forum are quite willing to take the time to help each other out with questions, suggestions, and so on when you are confused or can't find an answer to your question otherwise, but you really shouldn't expect others to do your homework for you. And also, check for your question in the search box in the upper right hand corner of this page before starting a new topic- your issue or question may already have been addressed in other threads.

 

I am in agreement with @Fred13

While it is important to know how to contact Airbnb, it is also important to understand Airbnb is only the middle man and contacting them is as a near-last resort. Hosts really need to understand Airbnb policies, read everything under HELP before they decide to host or not. Even with preparation, we still face unexpected situations that catch us off guard. The better you know the rules of the game (hosting thru Airbnb) and what hosting responsibilities really mean, the higher the chance you won't feel like you were "tricked" by Airbnb or the guest. Hosting is hard work - people who think Airbnb-ing an extra room for extra cash is easy money are the naive ones. Recieving money for providing anything is NEVER easy. 

Aye @Jessica-and-Henry0 , relying too much on Airbnb is a recipe to frustration. There are so many aspects to hosting that really fall under 'wisdom' in which so many here really possess and are more than willing to unselfishly share.

Holly63
Level 2
Matlacha, FL

I have never been able to find out how to contact anyone at airbnb to help me. Something is always wrong with a quote. I don't see that airbnb is collecting the tax amount or the security deposit that I indicated. Can anyone tell me- Can I see the itemized quote with tax and security deposit listed before I pre-approve and send it to guest??

@Holly63 Airbnb doesn’t collect a security deposit. They inform the guest there is a security deposit with a dollar amount.

The guest is merely put on notice that a security deposit in the amount of X is attached to this listing. 

So the guest could be on the hook for damages up to your set amount for security deposit but they are never charged that amount and it’s not reserved on the side or anything. 

Airbnb only collects taxes in situations where the company has made arrangements with local authorities to do so on a host behalf. If Airbnb doesn’t have an agreement with your town, you’re on the hook for the tax. 

Ive heard that some host take the booking and then send an alteration for the tax. 

 

Good Luck!

 

’You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

Rene and Zac, thanks for your help! How would I know if airbnb has made an arrangement with my town to pay the required tax? Is the tax amount ever listed as a line item for the guest to see and pay?