r/AirBnBHosts

I am absolutely fuming right now and need people to know this is happening.

I’m an Airbnb host in Toronto. Someone booked my condo, and I just found out they turned around and posted it on Facebook Marketplace as a long-term rental. They have been holding VIEWINGS in my unit. Collecting deposits from people who think they’re about to sign a lease. Those people are going to show up with their boxes and their first month’s rent and there will be nobody there.

I feel sick. My home is being used to steal from people.

If you are apartment hunting in Toronto right now, PLEASE. If someone shows you a furnished condo that looks like it could be a short-term rental, ask for proof they actually own or manage the property. If the price seems too good for the area, it probably is. Do not hand over a deposit until you have verified who you are dealing with.

And fellow Airbnb hosts — go search your address on Marketplace and Kijiji right now. Seriously. I never thought this would happen to me.

I’ve reported it to Airbnb and the police. Apparently this is a massive scam in Toronto and I had no idea. People are out here losing thousands. Just needed to get the word out.

Hi there, We have a cabin in a small NC mountain town. I have been renting on Airbnb/VRBO for about 5 years. I'd say typically we get 2-5 bookings per month consistently. I have 119, 5 star reviews and have been a "Superhost" for years. Our bookings have DIED! I had one 2 night booking at the beginning of March and literally NOTHING since and nothing booked out? I'd say typically we have bookings 2-3 months in advance. I have tried everything I have read online.. I have updated pictures, descriptions, lowered prices significantly, adding all types of promotions, etc. and still nothing.

I tried going to an incognito window and searched for our town (very small town) and I'm not even seeing the listing and there are other listings showing that are 30-40 minutes away from the town I'm searching? Under Insights I see we are getting views. I called Airbnb yesterday and of course they weren't a ton of help. They just said.. yep it is showing. So I know the market is down but just curious if anyone has any suggestions. Has anyone seen success with using Pricelabs or other type software? I'm a bit at a loss here.

I am losing sleep over one of the few bad guest experiences. The problem is NOT the guest brought two extra guest, an extra dog or an extra car and refused the change reservation request presumably because there was a minor extra person charge. The problem is the son of

The booker who joined the reservation listed on his airbnb profile that he is an employee. In addition to trying to skirt the rules during their stay the internet provider notified me of more than 60 blocked potentially malicious and dangerous web sites. It seems some of them are hacker sites and access to dark web. Also immediately after contacting the guest to remind them that all guest and pets need to be registered I got a flurry of the internet provider caution messages and another group of notifications of doors opening and closing, pages and pages. I was wondering if that is why some of the security images that I had already saved elsewhere were disappearing from my feed. I also am getting more phishing than usual and am have challenges using my phone and computer. Airbnb senior ambassadors are not returning phone calls but sent canned messages about filing for fees and damages through resolutions and the process of sending in a second request to have the retaliatory review removed. I am uncertain about how much I can share with a guest’s employer even if that company is airbnb. I am also heart broken to be afraid of the company itself.

Hi everybody. I am a new host in AirBnB and I am finding pricing a little confusing right now. While the location that I'm operating in has a lot of options, I have ensured that my property has somewhat of a more premium experience for guests.

Do you think I should keep Smart Pricing on for this?

My housekeeper friend cleans STRs. She said today her workload dropped 50% this year. HOs are converting to LTRs or selling properties completely.

What's your perspective on this comment?

For properties based in the uk, in your opinion and from your personal experience, which dynamic pricing tool/software would you recommend?

I am helping my parents with their AirBnB. They recently downsized and put some of their things in the AirBnB. I think this actually makes it more home like and cozy.

We are Italian American and at some point some relatives started collecting Christopher Columbus things, and my parents have some of my relatives' things and some of their own Columbus memorabilia.

So there are different historical paintings on the wall in the AirBnB. A little bust on the shelf, and a sort of statue in the entrance (which you sort of just walk past anyway and don't really see when in the main part of the unit).

The guest was very polite and nice writing to us upon booking. Him and his wife checked in no problem.

But then my parents received a rather rude and abrupt message from the guests complaining about the decorations. We think he even implied he would destroy them!

I think one issue (so this is probably the answer) is that it's true that the photos in the listing do not show this. We recently added things, because my parents recently downsized and were making space in their own house. So the photos we put up a couple years ago don't show these things. But the main things: bathroom, kitchen, kitchen appliances, bedroom etc are shown.

My dad is so angry he doesn't even want to deal with the guy. My mom isn't saying too much and I think just hopes it'll all work out after a couple days pass and the guests checkout.

I'm a bit concerned about a negative review. It's a bit hard to move all that stuff out (have to be careful with paintings, the statue is rather heavy and just for two nights? and on principle, those are our things and this is our cozy spot we're providing...). It's been more stressful than it should be. Any thoughts?

hi 👋 I have a question in r regards to when interest and bookings tend to pick up for new listings. I recently listed my 2 bedroom home on Airbnb at $220 per night, plus a $140 cleaning fee. I only have three reviews at the moment, and bookings have been really slow. I have 5 stars and my booking rate is 1.8% after being active for 1 month. I’m in a fairly large city on the West Coast, tourist hotspot. How long did it take for your bookings to pick up you started out? how far in advance to people tend to book, or is last min more common?

My photos are top notch and the house is on the high-end with full kitchen/laundry room/hot tub/designer furniture/entire home and great curb appeal. To me it seems like it could be a top contender, but I’m aware I might need to adjust my price to get people in the door as it’s new.

The guest initially booked for 2 nights and is now asking to stay an additional 5 nights by paying in cash at a discounted rate. The unit is technically available as no one is coming.

How do I handle this and what are the risks?

It’s like it disappeared in my settings. Can someone tell me the steps to get there on desktop or app. I’ve done this many times and I can no longer find it. I go to on my desktop account settings, payments, and the only thing there is payments, payouts and donations. I feel like previously there was a tab that said service fees.

I’m a newer host (second year) and looking for some perspective from more experienced folks.

We recently had a 3 night group stay (golf trip). We provide very clear check-in instructions, but they had difficulty following them and called multiple times for access.

During the stay:

– my Neighbor reported guests walking across their private property to get to an adjacent home.

– windows were left open and the home and outdoor storage room was left unlocked/unsecured.

– Thermostat was left at 62 with windows open, which caused the HVAC system to freeze.

– This resulted in a leak in our laundry room ceiling and required HVAC service after checkout.

We do provide a lot for guests (snacks, coffee, pool heating, etc.), so I try to be fair and not overly strict—but this felt like more than normal wear and tear.

My question is:

Would you:

A) File a damage claim and leave a review

B) File a claim only

C) Let it go

Also—if you would leave a review, how direct would you be?

I welcome any advice/support, thank you!

Hey folks. I’m about to close on a property in CA that is currently an active Airbnb. I intend to continue running it as an Airbnb, and want to get a cash flow going asap. Has anyone been thru this process recently? I understand there are some pitfalls, like having your listing suspended cause Airbnb thinks it’s a duplicate. I’ve been digging around the internet and not finding great info on this. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Nobody told me and I wish they had.

Currently at 14 listings across two markets. When I was at four trying to figure out how to scale I couldn't find anything that talked honestly about what breaks as you grow. Most advice assumes one or two properties and falls apart after five.

For those who have been through it, what was the first thing that actually broke when you scaled and how did you fix it?

A guest just ruined a beautiful Smeg kettle by boiling cream in it.

While I’d like to understand the psychology behind putting heavy cream in a water boiler, I’m more so looking for advice on how to approach charging the guest—as Smeg appliances aren’t cheap, replacing this kettle will cost ~$200CAD, significantly more than the average kettle.

Would you charge for a full replacement? Charge the cost of a regular kettle? Something else I’m not considering? Thanks in advance for the advice.

I have a question in r regards to when interest and bookings tend to pick up for new listings. I recently listed my 2 bedroom home on Airbnb at $220 per night, plus a $140 cleaning fee. I only have three reviews at the moment, and bookings have been really slow. I have 5 stars and my booking rate is 1.8% after being active for 1 month. I’m in a fairly large city on the West Coast, tourist hotspot. How long did it take for your bookings to pick up you started out? how far in advance to people tend to book, or is last min more common?

My photos are top notch and the house is on the high-end with full kitchen/laundry room/hot tub/designer furniture/entire home and great curb appeal. To me it seems like it could be a top contender, but I’m aware I might need to adjust my price to get people in the door as it’s new.

My mother owns a rental property in my city. I am considering taking over management of the property from her as she's getting older and it's hard for her to do herself. However, I'm hoping to involve any potential pitfalls, so am hoping someone in a similar situation could offer advice (family owner/manager relationship).

So my biggest concern is that my mother an I have a somewhat strained relationship for various reasons, and I don't want to create a situation that adds significant stress to either of our lives. I do have two siblings, but neither of them live in the same town, nor have the time/skills to do this work.

My goal is to have all expectations and financials written out in advance to avoid any potential arguments in the future. However, I have no idea where to start in creating a management contract of this nature. Any advice?? If you're in a similar situation and have a contract with your parent, I'd love to see the details! Thanks!!!

Summary of situation:

Negatives:

• My mother is well meaning, but an elderly narcissist: she's frustrating, has a terrible memory, wants things to go her way, and doesn't understand how much things cost
• There is LOTS of potential avenues for argument, and/or me getting screwed on the financial end of things
• I would presumably take a large pay cut by quitting my job to manage the property (no I can't do both)
• She has both asked me to do this, and simultaneously doesn't think I can do it 🫠
• In general, there's lots of potential for family drama

Positives:

• The property won't need to be sold, and will stay in the family
• She doesn't live in the same city, and visits rarely
• I'll be able to repair the family property (which needs work due to deferred maintenance issues)
• I will be able to quit my stressful job, and have more time to focus on all the things I can't while working full time
• There's a lot of potential to increase revenue (provided I get the control I need to do it)
• My mother has mentioned the possibility of giving me the house as part of my inheritance (I probably want to get this in writing?)

A week ago guest requested to change their dates for this upcoming Friday. I responded back right away and said if they made the date change request, I would approve it but to do it soon because it’s a peak weekend where I live and I want to be able to rebook the space. The next day I still hadn’t gotten a date change request so I reached out to check in on them and they said they were getting aligned and would take care of it right away. They also stated when they said they were going to change their date that they were going stay for more than a week (current stay is 3 nights during a peak weekend)

A full week later (just now) they submitted their date change request and it’s for three days and it’s for about half the amount of their first stay since it’s an off week. It’s just under three days before the original stay I’m inclined to deny the request because the likelihood of me being able to rebook at this point is low and also it’s an overall loss based on the time they reserved for their new stay.

They chose the non-refundable options.

What would you do? Does Airbnb ding hosts for denying change requests? Is there anything I should be concerned about and denying this request?

Also, I don’t see an option to add flair to this post but it says it’s required?

Hi everyone, I have a quick question. I’m a new host and this is my first booking. Should I check in with guests by sending a message the next day after they arrive? Also, do hosts usually clean the room during a guest’s stay, or only after check-out? I’d really appreciate any advice 🤍