Blurry boundaries on ABB stays

[Laura2592]

I view my own experiences as a guest as follows:  I am staying in an Airbnb that is a home belonging to someone else. It often is unique or has different features from a hotel. I might choose it for the decor or particular location or amenities. I might also decide I would rather stay in a hotel in the area if I want room service or a spa.  I enjoy my stays as a temporary respite from my normal life and move on. 

Some guests don't seem to have this perspective. They see my Airbnb space as something they own temporarily. They make changes (a recent guest re-potted and pruned several plants, others move furnishings, etc.) They ask for hyper-specific amenities or even major purchases to "make them comfortable." (Not possible but geez why even ask?) The boundary between "temporary vacation spot" and "my own home I have purchased" is very blurry. I don't think the advertising ABB does helps this, either.  Some guests seem to want to fantasize that for their nightly fee they DO own a weekend place. I find this can be worryingly true of return guests. 

So how do you personally navigate this? I don't want to be gauche and say "Hey you REALLY DON"T pay this mortgage nor did you pony up for the downpayment or maintenance so take it down a notch" but beyond asking nicely and putting things in house rules it is pretty difficult to get some guests to understand the reality of this exchange. You want people to relax and feel comfortable but not SO comfortable they start asking you to change the paint colors to their liking. Any thoughts?

[Ann72]

@Lisa723  :):):)

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  While many entire home hosts say they don't know how people can share the home they live in with guests, that they would never be able to do that, I feel the exact opposite- I would never host an entire place as an off-site host.

Home-share guests, in my experience, never display the attitude you are talking about - that would be so contrary to the concept of home-sharing.

Is the guest who repotted your plants the same one who watered the hanging plant right after you did? It's mind boggling to me that someone would do that in an str.

I feel for you. As Andrew points out, it isn't simply a matter of educating guests as to the fact that it isn't their place just because they paid to stay, you are having to counter Airbnb's messaging that your home is indeed their "home away from home".

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Sarah977 @Ann72 @Laura2592 @Lisa723 

Like you, Sarah, I would not host an entire place as an off site host

"While many entire home hosts say they don't know how people can share the home they live in with guests, that they would never be able to do that, I feel the exact opposite- I would never host an entire place as an off-site host."  (I could not agree with you more)

Home-share guests, in my experience, never display the attitude you are talking about - that would be so contrary to the concept of home-sharing. (Absolutely! And that is the beauty of it)

I've done 12 vacation rental houses on a resort property, where I was resident manager. To enter and leave the property people had to walk or drive past my house, so comings and goings were covered. Rules were strict, and mostly respected, except by a few guests who had been coming for years, and thought that current rules did not apply to them. The people who did not respect the property were slowly eliminated, as new people responded to our ads and filled up all the available dates well in advance. 

As a home share host and a decades long guest in home shares I feel much more comfortable. As a guest I know that any potential issues have already been addressed, and anything new will be resolved promptly, if at all possible, or a Plan B put into place. I don't need to know how to operate the house systems or deal with the quirks! As a home share host,  I am confident that there will be no parties, no extra people or pets sneaking in, and no issues with neighbors.  I can take care of any minor problems immediately. Major ones can be dealt with as well. As an off grid home, mine has more complicated daily items to tend to, unlike homes with public utilities. We are like a ship at sea, and that means ongoing daily responsibility for infrastructure. I definitely would not trust that to a guest, especially one who lives in an urban area. I am also able to warn of potential interaction with wildlife, which could easily happen if a guest leaves food in their vehicle. Being a home share host also makes sure that guests respect  rules around fire hazard causing behavior, which is a huge concern. Everyone loves to grill their dinner, it seems, so we've invested in a tabletop electric grill for guests.  It is used on the porch outside, no flames! 

When I'm asked why I love home sharing, I have pages of good reasons. I am always surprised how casually people offer complicated whole homes on these platforms,  when they do not live right next door.  Those whole homes I've stayed in sooner or later could benefit from a resident manager, and they endured a lot of wear and tear. Thank goodness the owner was only a phone call away in one, and I was traveling with someone who could do first aid plumbing repairs for another. 

I am very clear that one of us will be on the property at all times, which I am sure gives guests confidence that they will be well taken care of and need not worry about a thing!

[Ann72]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 @Sarah977  Guys, it's not a Jets and Sharks standoff!  No one said anything about taking sides or preferring one to another or swearing they would never do one thing and not the other.   @Laura2592 posed a question that's of interest for certain hosts.  There is no one size fits all in hosting.

Maybe time for your own thread?  In the meantime, since Broadway is still closed, enjoy!

https://youtu.be/c9z33lasnkU

[Sarah977]

@Ann72  I certainly wasn't putting forth the notion that this is better than that- you seem to have misconstrued. I was simply saying that it's quite different and therefore the problems that arise are different. I wouldn't be cut out to handle the stress of having an off-site listing, and other hosts wouldn't be able to handle sharing living space with strangers. It was simply an observation.

The question Laura put forth is interesting to me- that I don't personally experience those issues with my listing notwithstanding. Are you only interested in things which personally affect you?

I thought we were having a discussion here. If you notice, my last 2 paragraphs above addressed the issue Laura brought up as relates to her and hosts who experience this problem. It's a topic which highlights Airbnb's inappropriate messaging, which is relevant to all hosts, regardless of the type of listing we have.

[Ann72]

I was just trying to make people laugh, @Sarah977!

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Repotting your plants? Reminds me of the guest who said she did the white glove test on your place. I mean, who goes on a getaway with those things top of mind?? 

You do have the oddest guests. Since you say it’s returning guests who are the worst offenders, maybe it’s time to say no to that. Perhaps they are feeling too comfortable and at home!

[Marissa160]

@Laura2592  I am feeling this! In the short time I have been hosting, I have been amazed at what people are doing. We have a hot tub - - - they unplug it, turn it way down, leave water bottles in it, already broke my new cover. We have an area that we keep extras in..chairs, floats, etc. they make a huge mess in there and don’t put anything back. Then ask if we can supply kayaks, when we already have a canoe. My dryer is already broken from people not using it properly. I know many people say to view this as a business, but this is our 2nd home that we worked so hard for. We live very modestly and aren’t making that much money on it. We just wanted people to love it as much as we do. And the truth is, they just don’t, or maybe their idea of taking care of a home is not mine LOL. 

[Sarah977]

@Marissa160  Just as new guests should be required to read through some sort of tutorial and take a quiz before being allowed to book anything, anyone considering hosting should spend a month or so reading this forum before deciding to host.

Aside from property managers with tons of listings, bought up by people solely for the purpose of using for strs, I think the majority of hosts, at least of entire homes, have experienced much the same as you.

People decide that hosting would be cool, either to make some money off their own vacation home when they aren't using it, or a home they plan to retire to one day. Maybe it's a home their grandma died and left to them. Whatever.

They enjoy the whole process of making it into a comfortable, attractive space,  many times doing the reno work themselves. They pick out furnishings, purchase bedding, towels and appliances, art for the walls. They figure out the best configuration for the furniture, outfit the kitchen and bathroom with what they think guests will need. They sit back are pleased with the result, take photos, write up the listing, and wait for all the nice guests to book who will certainly appreciate the lovely space they've created and look after it as they would.

When, in fact, a concrete bunker would have been more suitable accomodation for some of these guests.

Because I home-share, I don't have these issues of guests abusing my home. But I've had plenty of housesitters over the years when I go on holiday, who manage to damage or totally destroy more things in a few weeks than I have ever damaged in my life. Like you, I just don't get it. It doesn't seem all that difficult to be careful with things and pay attention. It's a real wake up call to find out that so many people just don't care.

[Cathie19]

Totally weird @Laura2592. I wonder if the fantasy of owning the home they are STRing in for a few days, has them water any artificial plants?

 I’d be mighty miffed if they shifted plants here. But if they wanted to help fill up the caged sided trailer with fallen plants fronds, I’d happily make a coffee and watch them…. I’d supply a glass of water for them too! Lol…

But if they were to start yanking on the vines growing up the palm trees, then that’s a different story and a very different response. Using some herbs is allowed. Shifting and pruning is not! 

[Lorna170]

We do not share our properties with our guests, and for years I did not list on AirBnB because my view was that it was a platform for persons who wanted to invite guests into their homes and had an extra bedroom, not for whole house vacation rentals.  We used other platforms that catered to whole house rentals, and our properties were set up to make people feel more at home than in a hotel room.  However, we did not furnish them with beloved items or with things that would have been costly to replace should damage occur.  

We have our own vacation/second home property that we rented to guests for more than 10 years while we finished up our careers.  It was quite the learning curve to find that many guests were probably envious of our financial situation and would mistreat our property and our hospitality.  Yes, the majority of our guests would leave the house spotless and would be invited back in an instant, but again, I had to remove certain furnishings and plan what would need to be replaced (kitchen counter/appliances) due to guest misuse once we took it off rental and moved in.  One bad guest a year would make me pause and rethink why our second home was listed with the OTAs.

Why did I finally relent and list one property with Air?  Because Air had become the "go to" for renting properties and the other OTAs had adopted Air's framework -- Instant Book with unknown guests, holding payments until after the guest had come and gone, charging fees for services that only a host can provide, preventing me from obtaining a valid and chargeable damage deposit, etc. so there was little difference between Air's shared accommodation model and a whole house rental.  I have since sold most of my properties (or gone to LTR) and am winding down the business as it has become more stressful -- unknown, careless and entitled guests who no longer seem to appreciate renting a whole house experience for their families.  

[Michelle1851]

@Laura2592 

Good question.  When I rent, I definitely think of it as a place of my own or try to, however, I don't rearrange furniture or repot plants,  maybe if I was staying longer(I would ask first), but these days most places have been so expensive, we don't stay more than a couple nights.   The last few places I've rented have been run more like a business than a family home, which is actually a little sad for me, no one of a kind amenities or soul, just a motel like atmosphere.  It appears unfortunately, that is more the norm.  

I think maybe take it as a complement that your place is so comfortable,  that they think of it as their own.