4 wheel drive/all wheel drive access to my property in winter the months

[Jason1618]

My wife and I just opened our 1st STR in upstate NY. Our listing clearly states 4wheel drive/all wheel drive is needed to access the property in the winter months. My driveway is a shared driveway, crushed gravel the first 1000 feet then turns to concrete at the top with my turnoff to the left approximately 70 feet further up. The final left hand turn is the tricky spot. This is where the 4 wheel drive is needed. There's an incline at this turn before returning to crushed gravel and a flat level surface again, which usually gets slippery even with maintenance. My first guest rented a minivan. 2 wheel drive. Although I have a plow contractor who takes care of my property anytime 3-4 inches of snow is in the forecast, and I had my property manager visit the site just 4 days prior to this guest arriving. They still got stuck at the very top of the driveway. It was 10:00pm at night, so I contacted the closest tow company and had the vehicle unstuck within the hour so my guests were safe,  and not left out in the cold and could start their ski vacation. I had my plow contractor run over the next day to salt/sand/scrap.

My question: Should I have put the tow fee's on the guest? Being my first guest, I paid the fee. Going forward I will not pick this fee up, and refer the guest to the listing. As a new STR host, did I do right by my guest? I'd be interested to see what outer host (especially in cold weather climates) think, and how they have handled any similar situations.

Thanks for your comments in advance.

[Emilia42 · Accepted solution]

@Jason1618 

Your listing isn't connected to your profile so I can't see it, therefore I don't know what level of attention you bring to the fact that guests need the proper vehicle in the winter. But the truth is that it probably doesn't matter how you word it. Guests won't see it, or they won't read it, or they will ignore it, or even think they know best. I would have a conversation with every single guest who books in the winter months that this is the reality and these are the risks. Then the ball is in their court and you won't have the question your response/actions when things happen. But I think it is really important that you have a conversation (in the Airbnb message thread) about it rather than just saying You should have read the listing.

[Lorna170]

@Jason1618   I agree with @Emilia42 that guests won't read the listing and would have to be reminded over and over in every communication that you have with them that 4 wheel drive is necessary.  We had a property years ago with a steep grade on a curve and gravel drive requiring 4 wheel drive -- over 15 years I can't tell you how many guests ignored the need and either couldn't get their car up the drive (had to walk up) or were afraid to drive back down if it had snowed.  You could add the comment to your signature or as a paragraph at the end of every email.  Perhaps even in the title of your listing.

[Sarah977]

@Jason1618  When asking for advice here, it is helpful to either post from the account the listing is attached to, or include a link to the listing. 

That way, responders can take a look at the listing to see if there are ways you can make things more clear.

[Jason1618]

Thanks, but my listing does not show that portion of my driveway, so I did not feel as though my listing photos would add value to this question. Thank you though for taking a minute to look it over. 

[Sarah977]

@Jason1618  I wasn't referring to photos, I was referring to wording. A lot of times hosts post about something their guests are ignoring, but one of the issues is that the host has buried that information somewhere that guests are likely to overlook it. 

And no one can "look it over" if we can't see the listing. That was my point. No listing is attached to the profile you are posting under here.

[Helen3]

It is odd when people say they are hosts and then set up a seperate profile to post @Jason1618 

What have you got to hide 🙂

[Jason1618]

My listing is managed by a PM firm. That's why I am using my Airbnb travel profile to ask this question. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/54041904?adults=6&federated_search_id=f4b7b2dd-a692-4c6e-9747-ca893837b...

[Sarah977]

@Jason1618  Okay, well the only mention of the 4 wheel drive requirement is "4 wheel drive necessary" buried at the bottom of your listing description, with no further explanation. If you want guests to see it, it should be one of the very first things mentioned and mentioned prominently, as in "PLEASE NOTE- a 4 wheel drive vehicle is absolutely necessary to access this property during winter months."

It wasn't a great idea to give control of your listing to a property management company. Your listing should be under your profile with the PM listed as co-host. (There is no such thing as a travelling profile- every user has one profile, that is used for either being a guest or a host or both).

By allowing the PM to list it exclusively under their profile, if you ever decide to change managers, you will lose all the reviews and ratings and have to start over, as reviews are attached to the listing profile, not the property.

And I hate to tell you this, but if you do a search on this forum using the keyword "Evolve", you will find tons of posts from both hosts and guests regarding terrible experiences with them.

[Jason1618]

@Sarah977 @Helen3 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/54041904?adults=6&federated_search_id=f4b7b2dd-a692-4c6e-9747-ca893837b...