As a host, has Airbnb become so saturated with listings that it is no longer worth hosting?

[Robin4]

The answer to that is…..yes, and no!

In major population areas or tourist locations there is an over saturation of short term rentals (STRs) and many hosts are now either closing down their listings or forced by government regulation to close. In 2018 in the US before the pandemic, occupancy was down to only 11%! That means for every 100 Airbnb hosts, 89 of them did not have a guest on any particular night of that year. And Airbnb is just the tip of the iceberg! With 28 million listings world wide, Booking.com is 4 times the size of Airbnb! So competition is fierce. 

But this is the ebb and flow of business and it is made worse by the fact that Airbnb actively encourage its hosting community to ‘cannabalise’ itself! They are all the time sending their hosts emails telling them that cheaper listings are picking up the business…..’lower your prices to get more bookings’.

Following Airbnb’s advice is a surefire way to put yourself out of business! All it does is make what the host does unprofitable and the host lowers his/her standards to the point where they have an un-rentable commodity. Airbnb are not interested in whether the host makes money or loses it……their sole desire is not to let a potential guest escape to another platform…..give them an offer they can’t refuse! Airbnb own nothing but the linking software between host and guest, and that is what they concentrate on.

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Now having said that, success breeds success, and the Airbnb platform revolves very heavily around the review system. Great reviews are money in the bank and there is always going to be a heavy demand for properties that have a proven track record of giving the travelling public what they want.

We only have one listing, and it’s just an old humble converted garage in the back block of nowhere with over 400 Airbnb listings in the area, but we are fully booked now month after month. I  even had to drop off the other platform I was using because we can’t cope with any more guests. We may start a month with up to 10 nights free but at the end of the month we may have ended up with 2 nights out of the month without a reservation.

The travel market on a world scale is all the time increasing, mainly due to the rapid expansion of Chinese/Asian travelers. If you want to succeed as an Airbnb host you have to give a guest a reason to want to pick your property over another, forget all about the ‘help!!’ that Airbnb provide and host to a standard, not a price, give the guest something they were not expecting and, no matter what the competition, guests will keep coming your way.

The market is saturated but if your good enough the road ahead is paved with gold!

Cheers……Rob

[Elaine701]

@John5097 

Suit yourself.

But if you want to believe you can't actively attract a more desirable guest demographic, nor decline a dodgy guest or otherwise prevent an undesirable situation (for both guest and host), nor decline a request for a discount, then you may as well just accept that you're going to have to live with whatever you get, and there's nothing you can do about it. Airbnb loves that kind of host. Well, any STR platform does.

Happy hosting!

[John5097]

@Elaine701 

Yes I get it. 

Just to be clear what I envisioned in my first post about having a direct booking site that was fully transparent and allowed discounts, and AI assisted, was the exact situation we are discussing. 

Ideally, the deposit would be fully transparent. Also how many times it was used in a dispute about damages. Both Host and Guest could provide pictures and their side of the story. 

Guest could then decide if they trust that host. The only thing the platform would be good at would be preventing scammers. I think thats the primary reason guest choose Airbnb because they trust the money that pay for a reservation will be honored. 

So it's Aircover they promote but most of us never need that. 

I know from your previous post that you also are very good host and avoid any issues. 

I'm a bit jealous. But at least the future platfrom I envisioned would account for that, but host could only have one set deposit amount that would be fully transparent. Any other safety issues as well, fully transparent.  

There are already other direct booking sites that don't have any fees. 

But will these be trusted? How is it that Starbucks is popular all over the world? It's just a cup of coffee! 

Name brand. I would think Airbnb will keep adjusting and probably be around long after I'm gone. 

I do like having good value. I have done well with it. I also think the inquiries are some of the most challenging. I also have to accept that I"m in the top 1% of listings and there is really no way for me to stop or deter anyone from booking. They will create a new account. I think host get used to whatever ratings and behavior of their guest. 

It also reminds me of the story of the boy who put his finger in the dike that kept the city from flooding. I don't know if they still teach that story? 

Above all my insights into people from hosting had benefited me the most where other doors have opened for me in past 4 years. I have keen insight on consumer spending and demand. If I was priced higher I would have no clue. 

I also wouldn't give a couple on their honeymoon from a different country, or my country and nevitive review. They sometimes give me a 4 in something, and I could have given them a 4 in something but would simply mention it to them, but not going to bother because they are on their honeymoon. 

It's already been a success for me and all my guest. Mine is completely open to anyone who simply sends a brief message. Just look at my reviews. I can't do zero communication. Also if it's a radiculous screen name, like T-rob as first name and "Daily News" as last name, who books. Also other host expect me to have the exact same approach. They are way overpriced then add discounts and extra fees. I can't accommodate everyone.