Hosting During The Pandemic

[Ammar37]

Good Day Airbnb Community!

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy!

I am extremely new to Airbnb. However, in love with the idea. I am looking to invest in a property near Niagara Falls/St.Catherine's area. However, I am extremely puzzled as to whether I should wait until the pandemic chaos dies down. Any suggestions/tips from a host in Niagara Falls would be very helpful and appreciated. 

Thank you!

Ammar Masud 

[丽萍0]

@Ammar37 My daughter is host since 2013. She had nothing but problems for the past 2 years. I started hosting and I got many problems. A guest brought extra person (unbooked) and probably would be hosting a covid party at our shared apartment, we had to removed him. Airbnb did not even get back, just say: 'Call police'.

[Debra300]

@丽萍0,

It's great that you were very observant to mitigate potential incidents with unauthorized visitors.  What did you expect that Airbnb would do?  Airbnb is a reservation booking platform, and has no authority to remove anyone from someone else's property.   It is the hosts who accept the guests, and as a result it's also their responsibility to control who stays at their properties.

[Helen3]

I would only look at investing in a property if you are confident you are able to pay for all the costs of running the property if you don't get the level of bookings you need to pay for your property costs. @Ammar37 

Bookings are down massively in many areas. You can look at Airdna to get an idea of what bookings are like in your chosen area. And see if there is tourism footfall figures you can check with the local tourist board.

Also see if there is a local host group for the area you can join and speak to hosts there.

I wouldn't look at making massive investments like building a pool until you have worked out whether you can have a profitable business model.

Have you checked what pricing other hosts with comparable properties charge with/without a pool.

Perhaps see if there is a local host

[Fred13]

1. Get the facts what is really happening where you intent to offer your listing.

2. Start cautiously with an exit strategy; especially during these times.

3. Depend on no one (specially Airbnb) to solve 'problems' - meaning make sure you look after your place and you solve any issues with guests on the spot - no theoretical thinking - personal ingenuity  is the key. Be prepare to be flexible.

Do the three things above and it will probably work nicely; do not do #3 and welcome to Hosting Nightmare 101.

[Danielle476]

Well I'll chime in as a Canadian host and someone who frequents the Niagara region often.

Yes, you will get bookings, regardless of COVID.  I hosted in Toronto (recently quit) and my requests never stopped coming during the entire pandemic, even in the beginning with everything shut down.  Niagara region is currently open for business and in stage 3 as I'm sure you already know, so things are currently quite busy as they would be during any other tourist season.  Our provincial daily rates are the lowest they've ever been and people are ready to start living their lives again.

On the plus side, you'll be close to attractions like the Falls & Clifton Hill, and also a wide array of wineries, craft breweries and Niagara-On-The-Lake.  On the downside, these attractions operate mostly during summer and fall, so you'll likely see a dip in rentals and revenue during the winter months.  This is where you would need to get creative and try to offer something that other BNB's in the area do not.  Keeping this in mind, I'd suggest you price your high season rental rates high enough to carry you comfortably through the winter.

My advice for off-site hosts with entire home rentals (I only had a condo so the potential for damage was limited):

1. Cameras, cameras, cameras.  Put them at the front and at the back, so you can actively monitor who is present and know if any issues need to be addressed.  (You must disclose these in your listing, FYI.)
2. Noise monitoring devices.  Coupled with cameras, this will help you monitor the potential for parties and disturbances to your neighbours.  The Niagara region has no shortage of groups looking to party, given its proximity to alcohol-based tourism, Brock University, Niagara College and a plethora of pub crawls.
3. As stated above, do your research.  Understand that AirBNB is a booking platform; despite their numerous assurances, you are not protected by them under any circumstance.  Get proper rental insurance.  Mitigate any risk factors as much as possible.  Don't buy high-end furnishings.  Monitor your property as much as possible.  Calculate your monthly costs and figure out what booking rate you need to stay afloat.  Figure out how much you'll be paying out of pocket should another wave hit and all of your bookings were to be lost.  There are real risks to renting out your property short-term.  You may want to consider 2 or 3 night minimum bookings as a result.

Good luck & all the best!

Danielle

[Sarah977]

@Ammar37  One phenomenon that has been reported here on the forum extensively by many hosts is that since the pandemic, the demographic of guests who are booking has changed considerably. Not only because there are travel restrictions and hosts are getting more regional guests, but there seem to have been a whole lot of guests who have just signed up and don't necessarily understand how Airbnb works or what the expectations, both from host and guest side are. 

Hosts have been reporting the worst guests they've ever had, guests who expect it to be just like a hotel, down to 24 hour reception, guests who leave the place a pigsty, ignore house rules, ignore messages,etc, etc. This is always something that happens occasionally, but it appears to have proliferated lately. Also guests who have a perception that hosts are now desperate for bookings, so will accept all takers, and think that hosts should give them 50% discounts "because you should be grateful to get a booking right now".

New hosts and new "entire house" listings are targets for the type of guests who lie about their intentions and throw rager parties, so it's important for you to be aware of this. Guests will have to be vetted extensively and it's probaby best not to use the Instant Book feature until things get back to normal and you have more experience vetting guests and hosting.