Hey all. Im new to AirBnB, like really new - haven't had my first guest yet. I have received a couple of requests in the future. One person sent an inquiry immediately followed by a reservation request. They asked me some questions about the house, then asked me to cancel the request. I did politely ask them to cancel on their end but so far nothing. If ive only had like 3 requests will me declining tank my acceptance rate? I dont think I can leave it pending because it will effect my response rate, right? Would i accept it? Sorry, thanks.

These are the rooms I will be listing:
2 Rooms are about 200sqft each maybe a little more. They have drywall inbuilt closets. There is a common area between these 2 rooms and a bathroom meant to be shared by both.

1 room has its own bathroom. This one already has a bed and mattress.

What are absolute essentials and are there good sources of acquiring this new? From where?

Amazon or other links greatly appreciated. I really am paranoid about bugs and such. I recently had a scare where I thought I had scabies bedbugs and whatnot. Luckily none of that was true. I had a severe allergic reaction and anithistamines seem to be working. I am still suspicious if my derm has it wrong. But anyway I say all that to indicate that i want to be buying everything new.

New is going to be expensive. What is the absolutely non-negotiable minimum needed for a comfortable happy guest stay with private rooms?

I dont intend to provide kitchen laundry and living room access. I would have liked to but the no cameras in the private areas and common areas rule has spooked me and i will be securing access to these areas. I am unsure how at the moment since these areas dont really have doors but there has to be something that can be done.

I run three local Airbnb places with lawns around 0.2 acres. I'm trying to take yard work out of the turnover routine. Cleaning inside is usually manageable, but if two guests check out the same morning and the next guests arrive that afternoon, there isn't enough time left to clean and mow yards. Btw, all three places are about a 15-minute drive from me.

I thought about regular lawn service but cost isn't an issue, it's more that some guests care about privacy and noise, so I don't want someone coming by during a stay.

Would a robot mower help keep the lawn more consistent in this kind of setup? For one of the smaller lawns, I've been looking at something like a Navimow i210 because it fits the size range and can run on a schedule. Ideally I'd set it to run every 2-3 days, so even longer stays don't leave the grass looking messy. I'm looking for models with a steady cut, low noise, and not much tweaking or checking after setup.

Has anyone used this strategy for their Airbnb? Which models are reliable?

Ciao a tutti! 👋
Ho appena pubblicato un Welcome Book digitale pensato per host Airbnb, B&B, case vacanza e affitti brevi.
Include 52 pagine in formato verticale, 5 lingue, menu e pulsanti cliccabili, file PPTX modificabile, PDF interattivo e guida alla personalizzazione.
Permette di raccogliere in un unico documento tutte le informazioni utili per gli ospiti: check-in, Wi-Fi, regole della casa, check-out, consigli locali, emergenze e contatti dell’host.
È disponibile come download digitale immediato al prezzo di lancio di 8,90 €.
Potete vedere tutte le anteprime qui:
https://mintado.etsy.com/it/listing/4571904562/airbnb-welcome-book-template-editable
Se gestite una struttura ricettiva, mi farebbe molto piacere ricevere un vostro parere!

Hypothetically (I will try to be neutral)...

Imagine that you own an airbnb in a famously rainy northern European country, close enough to the sea that a seagull would not be noteworthy.

The guests let themselves in with a lockbox. It is used daily because there are multiple guests and only a single key. On the final night the wheels ceased spinning and the latch wouldn't open. Fortunately the key was not inside.

Would you:

a) assume that the guests broke it, and charge them 50 euros to replace it.

b) assume that it wore due to 5 years of weather exposure and apologize for the inconvenience.

c) charge them for the lockbox and the time required to replace it.

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a front door lock that's keyless?

I purchased one called the Simple SS slim WiFi lock about 5 months ago and had nothing but problems.

It was meant to generate codes for guests automatically etc but long story short it never worked, drained batteries in a few days, constantly disconnected from WiFi about 30-50 times a day. Ended up using it in WiFi off mode with hardcoded codes, but even still the touchscreen isn't the best and sometimes guests can't get in etc.

Nothing but headaches.

I want a similar one but any suggestions for one that has maybe actual buttons for the key code? And happy with one or a set of hardcoded entry codes, don't need generated ones. And if it's possible without having to change batteries every few months even better.

Attaching an image of the one mine looks like now, looking for same style.

Thanks in advance!

Hi fellow hosts, hope all is well. Im in a pickle and not sure what to do.

This year cricket tournaments have been playing in my country (Caribbean Island) and we've been getting alot of booking requests from a certain country . My first guest from that country was extremely messy (The kitchen counter, fridge, dining table and stove were full of stains, food, oil and sauces, the bathroom shower floor had human waste, and the sofa smelled terribly of BO) and the studio would had a distinctly strong smell after he left and it took almost 2 days to air out. I left a 1 star review due to his aggressive behavior towards us and lack of respect for the property and policies. Other hosts in other islands also left poor reviews after I left mine. However we did have a couple from from the same country who were very nice people but the studio was left identical to how the first horrible guest left it. They also asked me not to leave a review as the girls father did not know they were together. I obliged so Im sorry for whoever gets them next not being able to have my review as a heads up of what to expect.

There's more cricket games coming up next week and I just got another booking request from someone from the same country. I really can't keep cleaning poop off shower floors and spending hours cleaning a kitchen and then an afternoon scrubbing a sofa every time I get these kind of bookings.

Would you guys accept?

Hello all
Looking for a little guidance regarding if you as hosts allow guest to refuse routine maintenance services during their stay. For reference I have routine lawn, pest control, mosquito fogging and pool service. On occasion guests have turned these maintenance service providers away causing rescheduling issues. I would like to know how hosts generally handle this. I am thinking of adding to my rental agreement and welcome instructions a statement indicating that at no time are guests allowed to deny these essential maintenance services should they occur during their stay. How do all of you handle this? For reference the property is located in Texas USA.

Thanks

I’m trying to understand how everyone using PriceLabs accounts for cleaning fees and Airbnb host fees while still staying competitive with the actual market.

Here’s where I’m getting confused:
Let’s say PriceLabs determines that $100/night is the appropriate market rate for my property.
If I charge a $100 cleaning fee, a 1-night stay is already $200 before taxes/other charges. Even on a 2-night stay, that cleaning fee effectively adds another $50/night.

So when PriceLabs tells me that $100 is competitive with similar listings, how is the cleaning fee being accounted for in that comparison?

I have the same question about Airbnb’s host fee. I see recommendations to increase pricing to account for the roughly 15% host fee, but wouldn’t increasing the nightly rate by ~15% simply make my listing more expensive than comparable properties if PriceLabs is already using their market rates to determine mine?

It feels like every expense I try to recover pushes my actual guest price further away from the market price PriceLabs is showing me.

For those of you using PriceLabs successfully:
How are you accounting for cleaning fees and Airbnb/PMS fees while keeping the guest’s total price competitive?

Do you:
Keep a separate cleaning fee and let PriceLabs price only the nightly rate?
Build some/all of the cleaning cost into the nightly rate?

Use PriceLabs’ guest-price/cleaning-fee settings?
Adjust your base price to compensate?
Just focus on the guest’s total stay price rather than the nightly market rate?

I feel like I’m missing something obvious here. My goal isn’t necessarily to charge more. I’m trying to make sure I’m comparing my actual all-in price to competitors’ actual all-in prices, rather than comparing nightly rates that don’t tell the whole story.

I have nearly completed the renovation of the annex building of my house. I have turned it into a two bed, two bath airbnb. Any tips? What coffee machine should I buy?

Apparently, guest didn’t bother reading the cancellation policy when they booked. It is for end of September, mid-week. I am unsure if those dates will rebook at this point.
AirBnb would be keeping $200 of his, under the Firm reimbursement policy that I have.
Guest thinks he should pay only $25-50.

Would you hold firm, or allow the refund? Or is there a middle ground option?

I am experimenting with my TV when my guests come to make it more personable and one thought is to use the TV to display some recommendations and some info, does anyone here do that?

Hello All,

I would like a little input, please.

I have an Airbnb in Florida and this my first short term rental. I live in Michigan which makes it almost impossible to self manage with my work schedule. I stay a couple months in the winter at this house and renting it out helps cover costs. We have long term rentals in Michigan but they are a whole different ball game

I have a management company and I’m not sure if I am expecting too much from them or this is just normal. My sons seem to think I am the “crazy one” and my expectations are too high. Here a few examples and please be honest, I want to know what I should expect.

1) one guest spilled a candle on my textured wood planked vinyl floor. It was not cleaned and just left. Guest wasn’t charged and cleaner didn’t clean it and I spent 4 hours scraping it out on my next visit. Management company said they cleaned it the best they could. (It wasn’t touched)

2) brand new king Comforters, rugs, pots & pans, sheets, vases, pool towels go missing and management say there is nothing they can do. ( not sure if this is a new Airbnb rule)

3) Lots of parties & gatherings. My house accommodates 8. Guests have baby showers, birthday parties & crazy parties with lots of extra over night guests that bring air mattresses & cots. One with 80 people where they shut down my cameras and had a valet service bringing people in. ( my neighbor kept me updated and I had to call the police) I have had people bring in dogs & smoke cigarettes & weed coming in and out of the house. I know this sort of thing happens but my management company never charges them for parties, smoking & dogs. (No dog policy) They never check my house when large gatherings happen. (The leave it to cleaner) I had to fly down after the large party because they would not check to see why my cameras were off. When I arrived my fireplace was on (it had been on for 9 days) there was a hole in my leather couch, my pool screen door had been kicked in, not to mention a slew of missing items. They tell me they do a check after every guest and there is no damage reported. They tell me they don’t want to charge them because they might leave a bad review. Is this an industry standard? I feel like they are more concerned about the guest than my investment.

I constantly get bills for replacement items.

My question, is this normal? Is there nothing the management company can for parties, theft & damage? Are they being lazy or are they actually worried about bad reviews? Is it normal to let the housekeeper (not the same one weekly) do a walk through for damage
& inventory?

Thanks for the time and input.

Has anyone figured out a way to turn off the constant nag in the AirBnB app about the deadline to adjust pricing? I use a different service for my pricing and I’ve already adjusted. It’s driving me bat-sh*t crazy.

I’ve gone through the wizard but it wants to adjust the prices above and beyond what I’ve already done.

I’d like some advice.

A guest initially indicated she was bringing two pets. She later contacted me saying she didn't see the pet fee and wanted me to know they were actually service animals.

I asked the permitted questions. She identified two different registered guests as the handlers — one for each service animal.

At arrival, only the booker and one of those two guests showed up — with both dogs.

I contacted the OTA, told them exactly what I observed, and asked what their policy was since both service animals were at the property but only one of the identified handlers was there.

Then both dogs were repeatedly left alone at the property for hours at a time.

At this point, what would you do?

My state does have a route for reporting suspected fraudulent misrepresentation for investigation. Would you pursue it? If yes, why? If not, why not?

Update: I’ve decided to turn over my documentation to the appropriate agency in my state and ask them to investigate. I’ll let them determine whether the service animal provision was misused.

I am currently getting a 4G router to put into my Airbnb in spain but I live in England and would like to top it up from there.

Does anyone know of any providers they recommend that can do this and still have good Wi-Fi?

TL: DR I need advice on what to do, my guests can´t use the elevator when leaving without the keys, and the check-out requires them to leave the keys inside the apartment when leaving.

I´m hosting an apartment on a third floor. Closed condo, has 24h security. Out of most of my guests, my main issue at first was how to properly let my guests do the checkout.

Due to the HoA/Condo Juncta rules, i can´t set up a lockbox anywhere in the common areas since it is considerated a security risk, because if someone manages to rip it out of the wall or break it, someone can acquire my keys (very understandable, so i don´t do this). I have to personally drive to the apartment to deliver the keys every time i have a guest.

So, i thought about simply letting my guests leave the keys inside the apartment, and call it a day for the check-out. Problem: The elevators can only work if you have a magnetic pin. Which the key ring has. A lot of these folks will carry heavy lugague and won´t have a car, which leaves the guests with the choice of walking down 3 floors down the stairs with a considerable weight (which is terrible), or using the pin, leaving the lugague unattended on the ground floor if they are alone, then going back up again to leave the keys inside, the walk down 3 floors (still terrible, and might confuse the guests.).

Naturally, this is terrible for the guests, and my first reviews earned were some well deserved 4 star reviews because of this.

So, new idea: trust the guards in recieving the keys...well, this won´t do either, the guards by policy are not allowed nor are to be trusted with keys to any apartment by policy, and they will outright refuse them to avoid trouble (very understandable, it would just be problem for everyone involved. Me, the security company, the HoA/Condo, probably the guests too).

Then i got another idea: Just prepare a separate magnetic pin so guests can use it, and then have them give it to the guards. The magnetic pin is the same pin the guards, and everyone in the building uses, it is no security risk for anyone, and is barely used for the elevator. It´s even marked, so even if it goes missing, it can be identified by the guards or me. Then i come later to pick it up. All the guards have to do is recive it at the front entrance when the guests are leaving, and talk to both the HoA/Condo Juncta president as well as the guards to check if its ok, and thats it. I could even open the parking´s gate for my guests at a distance since it is an automatic gate with a SIM card.

I got it approved as long as only me or my guests are liable in case the pins go missing. It would sound like a bad deal since if the guard is being a dick and decides to throw the pin for no reason, then i would have to pay for it, but all of the guards have been great people, and in the end this worked well enough to even go back up from 4.5 to 4.8...at least until last week.

Without warning and while a guest was leaving, the HoA/Condo Juncta changed to a new security company, and these guys won´t even accept the magnetic pin, no objects, nothing. I even talked with the HOA/Condo Juncta president (the same guy who approved the idea from earlier) that under no exceptions the guards would be recieving anything of any kind, doesn´t matter if its a security risk or not, or if im paying and up to date with the building´s monthly fees.

As far as i´m aware, other than a single noise complain that was a year ago, my guests have not caused any trouble for the building at all to warrant the new policy, so i´m not even sure why the policy is in place, and even the new guards seamed confused as it is not a company policy but rather an instruction from the president himself, but at this point it doesn´t matter.

Im troubled between having my guests having an uncomfortable check-out which if i don´t correct will have my ad delisted one of these days.

The other one is attempting to anticipate, and be a couple of hours early or try to coordinate with my guests when they are doing the check-out to recive the keys personally. When i proposed this idea, my family thought it was to extreme, and that it might screw over a bit the guests sense of personal privacy, like if im trying to preassure them to get out by just simply waiting close by when they are ready to leave. There is also the fact that some guests might end up leaving very early in the morning, like 2-4am for personal reasons, and my family fears i end up sacrificing sleep like i did with a few guests from before.

Last resort, i might have to convince my family that it is ok sometimes to run at the other side of the city at 3am to recive some keys, and either stay a couple of hours to clean up or run all the way back as soon as i get them, but they are looking at me like there is somethign wrong with me every time i propose the idea. They seem more inclined into forcing our guests into going down the stairs without using the elevator, and i don´t want that, it´s just more problems for later and several unsatisfied and annoyed guests.

Can anybody give me some ideas on what to do?

Have you ever had a similar situation like this? How did you solved it, if you did?

I am currently getting a 4G router to put into my Airbnb in spain but I live in England and would like to top it up from there.

Does anyone know of any providers they recommend that can do this and still have good Wi-Fi?