Hi,
I am Eric, doing Airbnb in Panama, originally from Korea.
I am doing an Airbnb operation in a 4 BR apartment,
I have 2 rooms listed on airbnb, and an extra room that guests can stay in case they like to stay in my place and need extra few days when the rooms they booked has a booking after their check out.
I originally was a co-host for an airbnb that I had with a friend/partner, but I did not like how I had to put my money into it when he is the one managing it and not being a responsible, and he was doing a casting studio inside an Airbnb and had photoshoots at night when guests were sleeping and did not try to control the situation while living in the moment.
The apartment had pool and gym, and it was located in a good environment.
However, being with an irresponsible person using my money like his own was a very stressful nightmare and the security and admin of the building did not really like what we were doing.
I had to leave the country and come back after 5 months trip just to found out that he has kicked me out of the apartment for not giving him money to pay for the rent of the apartment when he did not put any of his money.
Throughout my travels in Mexico and Argentina, I learned the good practices of airbnb hosts and the market situation being a traveler myself, and started my own airbnb operation with a property that i knew that was gonna work.
My ex-partner was gaslighting me with HIS experience about contracts and everything, but I was so fed up with him that I can show him that I CAN DO BETTER THAN HIM without having to be his wallet. I had losses for few months but on the 3rd month I broke even, paying for rent and all the utilities.
Meanwhile I am paying all my obligations on time, my ex-partner still owes me money (for more than a year) and struggling to pay his rent and utilities.
I have met very interesting people that get along with my mindset, some people come for business and we share business ideas and i learn about new things and they do learn about new things as well. It is an interactive environment and when people feel comfortable, a shared living space that creates value which is not limited just to financial gains.
My honesty, hospitality, and hard work has paid off and got me a SuperHost status, while my ex-partner is still just a regular host, and I have proven to him that I can do way much better than him WITHOUT HIM.
I was able to do it in an apartment which is less attractive without gym or pool, but the location was very strategic, smart people would understand that but those that aren't would not.
Furthermore, some guests make terrible mistake of going to areas that are not really safe just because they saw a room or exterior of house/ building that looks clean and fancy outside and is priced cheaper with good reviews, not knowing ANYTHING.
Thus, it would not be possible to have a superhost status if the host has a listing in an environment which is not good and is prone to have any accidents or robbery for the guests.
In addition, what i noticed with my ex-partner was that he does NOT speak English at all, using a translator and translating spanish to english is fine but it has it's limits and it is VERY VERY VERY frustrating for guests if the host cannot speak English, especially in this age where English is a universal languages that everyone is expected to speak, and IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ARE IN A LATIN AMERICA THAT EVERYONE SPEAKS SPANISH, and I have seen it in the review that some guests openly write that they did not like host not speaking English, and we can never expect a visitor to speak fluent Spanish. Basic rule is that if you want your business to succeed, you must know English.
ESCRIBO AQUI PARA TODAS ANFITRIONES DE PANAMA Y OTRO LATINOAMERICA, POR FAVOR HABLA INGLES SIN TRADUCTORES SI USTEDES ESTAN SERIAS CON EL NEGOCIO Y NUNCA TENER EXPECTATIVAS QUE LOS HUESPEDES PUEDEN HABLAR EN ESPANOL EN SERIO.
The path to become superhost was not easy to be honest, there are some shameless people who do not understand that "what you pay is what you get," and give 4 stars or 3 stars with a very unrealistic expectation, when I have given them full 5 stars.
While some ignorant people do not understand the importance of good evaluation, some understand this so well and they ask for things that are not a host's responsibility (e.g. Early check-in, using the laundry, finding some items that are not my responsibility) to get what they want just because they think they can negotiate and get whatever they want for a promise of 5 stars which they aren't actually going to keep.
Also, some say that they will give 5 stars for everything, but end up giving 3 or 4 stars in some aspects and NOTHING can be more disappointing than people who stab us at the back.
A no review is preferred than a 3 star or 5 star review, i hope people understand that and also not black mail hosts and superhosts from losing the status that they earned from hard work, and also airbnb from protecting superhosts from being abused by abusive guests because we are kinda forced to give guests 5 star reviews but when we find out later, we cannot change our reviews and evaluations.
I suggest airbnb to add a feature that allows superhosts to actually see how they have been rated before they can rate the guest so that we can know if we are being abused or not.
I am also a verified merchant in Binance P2P, and verified merchant status comes with features that are not available to ordinary merchants.
Being a superhost means more exposure, which may possibly mean more income, but also attracts a lot of unwanted attention people with very cheap personality and uneducated people who think they can manipulate and abuse everyone and deal outside the platform.
So there is a pro and con, and I prefer to transact only with airbnb to be protected from any guest damages.
If I were to share one tip with all the superhosts out there if they have a guest who has booked with airbnb and want to extend outside airbnb:
1. Make sure that the guest gives you 5/5 on everything (if it was not a great experience, they have no reason to stay with you! you should be in the control not them!)
2. Have a scan of their ID or passport, Airbnb will not be responsible for problems that might happen outside the booking done thru the platform, people can always change and do bad things (NEVER TRUST 100%). Also in case they get into accidents (jail, hospital, death, etc), you will have to deal with their belongings in the room, or report to police or embassy of their country of origin.
3. Make sure that they pay on advance. You should never lose money for blocked dates that the guest does not decide to pay and potential revenue lost. People's indecisiveness should not be YOUR problem.
For now this is what I can think of, if anyone has any other tips or suggestions, please comment down below.
Congratulations to everyone who became Superhost this term, you guys did an awesome job and you all deserve it.
