Leaving ABB-- what is next?

[Laura2592]

After 3 years and about 200 total disparate stays with a variety of colorful guests, we recently had one who killed wildlife in the yard with a pellet gun and left them in a pile as well as spent casings both indoors and out, smoked indoors and left the windows open in January and then claimed the "AC" didn't work in the review and the space wouldn't get warm. There was a mess that looked like he was trying to redecorate my space (pulled down curtains and then said I didn't have any, moved the sofa and dining table, chairs) and the lingering smoke smell mixed with body odor was a pain to remove. This is the last straw which is making me seriously consider removing my listing from this platform. I have pulled back my calendar availability from 6 months to 3 and am mulling over if I should wipe my listing completely.

For those of you who have left or are considering leaving, what direction are you going in? We would not rent long term on this platform but might become landlords. Our area is hard to find short term lessors so I am contacting some realtors. We really don't want a 12 month lease as we prefer to use the space ourselves when we can. But we may go that way. We are also considering selling but have bookings into April so we couldn't do it immediately. 

What are your plans after ABB?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Laura2592 You will do your fellow American hosts a disservice if you close your Airbnb. All the kooks will go to them instead of you. In fact, with air travel opening up they may even come across the pond to us.

No- Just keep going and be happy you are providing a useful service to the rest of us.

[Laura2592]

@Mike-And-Jane0 maybe I should ask for donations from my fellow hosts lol! Its like the concept of the 'sin eater' of old...I take on your crazy guests so you don't have to! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Laura2592 Great idea - It could be a new type of Airbnb experience. 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 even moderate short stays just don’t want to pay what STR generates. We had family in the barn for 6 months & haven’t reopened in the 2 months they’ve been gone. If you’re considering going with longer stays (that would pay less) then you almost might as well double your STR rates and deal with any decrease in occupancy that brings. 

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149 at this point its not about the money. Its the headache. We don't really need this to be profitable per se, we just need to cover expenses. We put in a lot of cleaning and pay for pros as well, goodies for guests, replenishing supplies, etc. I think we would probably be fine just having a regular old tenant for less money a month. The turnover costs to get the space hotel ready look like they would even out with a lease at a decent market price. And you can't put a price on emotional labor including dealing with absurd requests or worry about poor reviews from terrible guests. 

[Lawrene0]

"Left them in a pile" -- you poor thing, @Laura2592 . Was it you who found them?

Nothing has been murdered here, but I'm scaling back as well. Numerous reasons.

Just had a cancellation, though, for the valentine's weekend, and waffled about blocking it. Instead I upped the price and slapped on a two-day minimum. I'll see if making it worth my time helps. I'll see if I don't turn around and block it again in an hour. Guests are a hard bunch these days. 

I'm considering taking the wedding venue up the road up on their offer to be one of the accommodations to which they direct their booked wedding guests. I'll likely get the relatives no one wants around. Surely Uncle Bob and Aunt Gert are at least quiet?

Are direct bookings possible for you? 

[Laura2592]

@Lawrene0 technically the dog found them but yes, I was there. We didn't see them right away as we often turn over in the evening when its dark. So I feel bad that my next nice guest may have run into them in the yard before me. It was obviously Mr. Pellet Gun Shells. I still can't wrap my mind around it. 

Yes, direct booking might be possible. We are looking into selling too. 

[Chad-N-Bernadette0]

I am new to all of this but have done ABB for about 3 months now. We have 3 listings. I can tell you that we only did VRBO for about 2 weeks and shut that down QUICK! We had attempted scams (notified by VRBO about 1 individual) on ALL 3 Listings by 2 different folks. This would have meant several thousands dollars lost if we had booked them. The one booking we did have that seemed legit tried to scam as well. He wanted funds back that we never received bc he “double booked” a place to stay and didn’t pay attention to the cancellation policy. BEWARE if you use VRBO.

[Laura2592]

@Chad-N-Bernadette0 I have never activated my listing there. Good to know!

[Colleen253]

Sorry you had such an experience @Laura2592 

If I were you I would hike prices again, substantially, before pulling up stakes. Your ongoing guest challenges may mean you are still too low. What have you got to lose by trying? Even if it results in a lower occupancy, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, all things considered. 

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 maybe so. At this point I am not sure its worth dealing with some of these folks for any amount of money....

[Mark116]

@Laura2592  Did you get any response from the freak with the pellet gun, and did Airbnb do anything positive or pro active on banning him from the platform?

[Laura2592]

@Mark116 no and no. 

I asked that the review be removed and sent pics of the condition of the space and the poor dead squirrels. I got a call asking if I had SEEN or had camera footage of the shooting. No I didn't have either. Still investigating. He still seems active. He has never responded to anything. There is a communication barrier and he wasn't the most responsive guest so that does not surprise me. I doubt anything will happen. And I really don't care about the review as its pretty obviously a one of and a very odd one at that (plus I think my response explains everything.) But its still irritating and dangerous.

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  I'd be really tempted to tell Airbnb you are going to the media about them allowing guests to remain on the platform who bring a gun to a host's property and shoot the local wildlife. 

He could have shot a child or someone's dog and even killing the squirrels is disgusting and likely illegal. There is no way this guy should be allowed to rent on Airbnb again.