post pandemic: how to hedge your bet as a proper host 2022?

Thor6
Level 3
Berlin, Germany

post pandemic: how to hedge your bet as a proper host 2022?

hello, @all.

as we know, the so-called Spanish Flu lasted for 26 months, over 4 waves. the rest of the statistics really isn't that nice, so i'll leave that out if it. so me being realistic about things, i'd say people might start to travel as they used to about May/June next year, that's 2022. 

 

thing is is that i have a flat in Berlin, Germany, and a cabin in southwestern Norway. i'd like to rent out my spare bedroom in Berlin next summer onwards (2022), and also rent out the whole property in the mountains in Norway, as i used to do.

 

i know AirBnb has been awful towards us as Superhosts these last 15 months. i'm thinking that it's better to cut my losses now, so that i might have a nicer, more helpful, platform to work with come tourism 2.0.

 

what alternative platforms do i have to choose from, in Europe? are there any decent alternatives to AirBnb? and which ones would you recommend, and why? i've seen rubbish alternatives that might be an option in the US, but that's obviously totally uninteresting to me.

 

i'll flirt with long-term (students) tenants in Berlin this fall, and next spring semester. off AirBnb, obviously. their customer service over the last two years reminds me of how awful John Cleese has become, even though he's the one behind "Fawlty Towers".

 

i'd really like to be prepared for the Summer 2022 season. elsewhere. where should i take my efforts, you reckon?

 

cheers all,

Thor

2 Replies 2
Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Thor6  to find students and long term renters try Facebook groups for your area

For the short term, you can try direct booking options like Houfy, your own website, Facebook...

 

Karol22
Level 10
SF, CA

I can say from a US perspective that rural/out-of-urban listings have come back months ago, some places even better than ever. Meanwhile, most urban listings are still recovering. And then there's international travel, which seems to be the slowest to recover. If you are depending on international travelers, I don't think it will be back fully for a while and you're probably right to use other rental types such as student housing.