Setting up a quality Airbnb
I will start out by giving you a little history of my experience with Airbnb. I was a host from 2014 through March of 2022 when after the City of Denver changed the laws it did not seem feasible to run an Airbnb out of my house as I was running five listings out of the same house and living in the master bedroom. I also have a strong sense for quality furniture, quality supplies (towels, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.). Airbnb was started as a disruptor to hotel stays. Originally hosts were individuals who strived to have quality places with quality accommodations at a much lower price than hotels. What was once disruptive, now has hit economies of scale and reached the bottom of the barrel with property managers who are usually high school kids who didn’t go to college kids, or college kids who used to live in dirty dorms, so their level of quality and service is extremely poor and lacking any resemblance of the terms. In order to run a quality Airbnb, you MUST have standards for your business. That means quality furniture. I like Costco because they have the “highest quality goods, at the best possible price”. That means their furniture lasts five to ten years, unlike IKEA, Walmart or Target furniture. It’s safe to say that any Airbnd that has furnished their places with the latter is NOT providing quality, whatsoever. The next important thing is your laundry, linens and supplies. You can and should get everything you need from Costco. The linens have the highest thread counts (quality) and they’re super soft, reasonably priced and will last significantly longer than other retailers’ brands. The towels at Costco are superb (quality) compared to any other retailer. You should have plenty of towels for your quests (6-10 towels of all sizes). Now let’s talk kitchen supplies and toiletries. The Kirkland signature paper towels are not only plentiful, but also an extreme value and quality for the money. Buying anything else is purchasing poor quality products and frankly they’re cheap wasteful products anyway. Don’t do it! Let’s talk toilet paper! Even hotels mess this up, but an Airbnb using one ply toilet paper is insulting to your guests. To do it right, you buy Charmin in the large bulk size at Costco. It’s the best value for the quality and the money and you keep your guests happy. All of this may seem a little expensive as an upfront cost, but you win with quality and service and that’s the only thing that matters. On top of that, all the costs to do these things right are tax deductions to your end of year bottom line, so DO IT RIGHT! STOP BEING CHEAP!!! You’re only damaging your reviews by being CHEAP! Which will lose you guests in the long term. You may be charging large amounts now, but if your reviews go in the toilet, you’ll have zero guests in the long-term, so price your **bleep** right too. STOP PRICE GAUGING! You’re only hurting the market and your future earnings, because if you’re overpriced, I destroy your ratings! I DO NOT hold back! When you over price your product, to me you’re just a SCUMBAG OIL LANDMAN Salesmen! Those are the worst, BTW!
Third Party Hotel Airbnb Hosts
This one I have a real contention with. These ** don’t give a **bleep** about the guests. They’re real POSs! Not only will they fight you on everything, but they also don’t respond quickly whatsoever. Let’s talk about the real problem, though. The apartment complexes have decided to partake in the listings, but they don’t want to be held accountable for anything in the hosting process, so they hire a third-party property management company. Well, that’s great! You have no honor or integrity to be held accountable. The apartment complex staff gets to point the finger at the host because it’s not their fault (eyerolls) and the host gets to blame it on the complex, because it’s not their fault (eyerolls). Then, when you bring up an issue with the Airbnb support Ambassador for the area, they often refer you to get resolution with the host, because it’s not their fault! Again, no **bleep**ING ACCOUNTABILITY! This society’s weak behavior must end! Own your **bleep**, HOSTS! Own your **bleep**, apartment complexes! Own your **bleep**, Airbnb! You have NO integrity whatsoever and you now offer crappy bottom of the barrel products and services. What was once a disruptive product, is now fully sewer excrement for a product and service. Absolute **bleep**! No wonder hotels are coming back in a big way!
Why are hotels better than Short Term Rentals?
The first thing is you can cancel your stay up until 24 hours until the stay, unless you book on a third-party aggregate site like Orbitz, Kayak, Travelocity, etc. ** . I use them to find the best deals, then I book directly on the hotel’s app because it’s usually always the same price and I have the benefit of being able to cancel if I need to. The second-best thing about a hotel is you get daily cleaning, new towels whenever you want them and if you’re a regular guest you get a late checkout. They offer nice lobbies to hang out with. There is a person you can call for immediate service if anything is wrong with your room. On Airbnb you get this tech BOT runaround for 30 minutes until you finally can speak to an ambassador and then that ambassador passes the buck as if it’s not his/her responsibility (No Accountability). What kind of crappy service is that? Airbnb is an absolute JOKE when it comes to service and quality these days. I know because I was a host, I did it right and now as a guest I am absolutely disgusted with the abhorrent product hosts and Airbnb ambassadors are providing.
Cancellation Policies
Okay, let’s talk about hosting cancellation fees. If you’re not allowing 100% cancellation up to 48 hours before the listing and at least a 75% refund the day of, then your product is **bleep**! FULL STOP! If you’re in a high-density area like the city of Denver, you can get another booking within a week and will NOT lose any revenue, so STOP with the “NO REFUND” policy BULL**bleep**! It makes you look like an uneducated, immoral POS that has no understanding of the business! Frankly, I won’t book any place that has this policy ever again, and neither should anyone else for that matter. If you refuse 100% refund when the cancellation is 48 hours in advance, you have NO INTEGRITY, NO HONOR, NO SENSIBILITIES WHATSOEVER! You’re just a dirtbag host trying to scam people and you should NOT be in business if you have this attitude! This is about ethics and moral responsibility! Your review will suffer tremendously with this **bleep** policy in place.
**[Content removed as tone is against the guidelines]
