r/airbnb_hosts

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 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.

A guest stole or discarded our rug. Our cleaner never said anything so we have no idea which guest.. (yes we took this up with our cleaner too)

Twice this week a guests asked to leave their bags and come back later - we said yes leave the keys in the lock box... They then proceeded to take the keys and the cleaner couldn't get in the house to clean. Both act like it wasn't a big deal! I said leave the keys very clearly to both. Never before had guests do this.

Now having a guest asking me how to get from the airport. I say Google it. There's 3 airports for the city. I said depends on which airport Google it . Then they asked 3rd time. I told them train and the bus... Now they are asking how long it takes. FFS.

99% of guests are great to us. This week the 1% decided to show up.

And random stranger stole our door bell cam.

And backup cleaner cancelled on me last min so day before trying to find a cleaner.

It's one of those weeks, needed somewhere to vent.

I'm setting up as a host for the first time. Airbnb is asking for an EIN. When I try to get one from IRS, there are a bunch of options. Is it sole proprietorship?

I have a "Minimal Acitivity Business Tax License" from the county.

What are your thoughts about outdoor cameras and STRs? I’m thinking about an outdoor camera that records vehicles arriving. It is a semi rural property. The camera points away from the house toward the driveway. when people park under the carport, they will not be seen. Not always booked out. It’s handy to know when vehicles rock up as we don’t get people walking from the road.

Our Airbnb is a 4 bedroom home. We have a 65” TV in the living room. We don’t have TVs in bedrooms at home, so it never occurred to us that guests might expect it.

Nobody has left a bad review and we have a perfect 5 star rating. But we’ve now had 4 private notes suggesting more TVs out of ~40 stays.

It seems like if 10% of people are specifically asking for something, we probably ought to do it.

The issue I have is that only the master is laid out to where a television would make sense. There’s no way to put a dresser or TV stand opposite the bed in the other rooms- either we’d need to free-float them on a wall and hide cables, or the guest would be looking sideways at the screen.

How many TVs is actually the norm? And what size are you putting in your bedrooms?

Successful launch of a 1bd cottage in hcol coastal area with weekly bookings ytd. Owners live onsite in separate quarters- there is no shared living space. The carport is dressed and offered as a funky outdoor place to hangout. Sometimes the guests will see them accessing the perimeter, taking the bins out, etc..

Underneath the carport is a door that leads to an adjoining studio space that we’ve spruced up into what equates to a 500sqft art gallery with vaulted ceilings and bathroom. Big art on the walls and reading bench with windows facing the carport with no drapes so you can see in/out. Its vibey.

We’ve typically rented the studio and carport for one-off events when the 1bdrm isnt booked. However, we’ve started renting the studio space to a dancer who uses it to practice during the day a few times a week and now a photographer wanting to use it for headshot shoots. Meaning they will need to access the carport door to get into the studio.

Our listing is clear about owners living onsite but how best to disclose this studio dynamic in one or two sentences? tia

I rent out a 2 bd 1 ba apartment in Madison WI. My long-term tenants are moving out soon. I'm considering making the unit an Airbnb and listing it for 30-day minimum stays.

I've had success with Airbnb'ing a studio unit (also with 30-day minimum stay) in the same building. But, I realize a 2 bd is a different scenario. The studio is nice since it attracts working professionals and people visiting family. Not sure if the same would be true for a 2 bd.

Anyone else doing this? How did it go?

Hello Airbnb hosts,

I’m asking I guess advice as a customer of an Airbnb - I left an IPad in an Airbnb I visited but was not the booker of.

The host messaged my friend who booked, saying it was left and he is happy to post but is very busy. I have since gotten his contact on Revolut (a money transfer app) to say my apologies and to discuss postage prices, which he hasn’t responded to. I can see my tablet on find my iPhone so I have the location at least.

How would you expect customers to deal with forgotten property? Any advice as hosts or as people in general on how I could deal with this situation?

We had a couple take their first trip as a couple and stay with us. When folks book for a special reason we try to do a little something for them, so we left them a little card, champagne flutes and a bottle of Martinelli’s. Not only did they leave the place pristine, but also left a sweet note and a tip!

I wanted to share a positive experience since this sub usually deals with challenging situations.

Any feedback on my response to the below query?

Hi there! Two couples coming to visit Nashville for the first time here! Ur place stood out because there's flexible early check in, and we land super early. Is it possible to check in around 8am on June 4th? We would check out on June 6. Let us know, thank you!

Here’s when responded but now I’m not sure I was clear? Want your all’s thoughts, I might be overthinking:

Hi there! Thanks so much for reaching out—your trip sounds exciting, and I’m glad the place caught your eye!

An 8am check-in is quite a bit earlier than our standard check-in time, and because guests may stay until 10am the morning of checkout, I’m not able to guarantee access early unless you all also reserve the night before (so the home is fully available and ready for you).

If you’d like, you’re welcome to book the night of June 3rd to secure that early arrival. Otherwise, I’m happy to offer early check-in times that enable other guests to check out at 10 am and the cleaning team t complete turnover.

Let me know what you’d prefer, and I’d love to host you!

I did not approve the inquiry. Just sent the message. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Hi! First timer.

Our space is a basement suite in our 1940’s home. We have done a cute little reno, and put a lot of thought and love into the space.

Everything in the space is new- area rug, beds, couch, tv, kitchen supplies… etc

She sent a message right away saying the space was too cold.

We turned up the heat and provided a space heater within 2 min of her message

In her review she said the space is very cold, and mentioned it being dirty and filled with animal hair! This is not possible. And I realized it must be the fibre from the new area rug!!

She also mentioned the space is smaller than the pictures make it seem?! The pictures haven’t been altered. And in our listing title we call the place “cozy” not alluding to a grand space by any means.

Anyways. Feeling bummed and trying not to lash out at her review lol.

Help I guess? Does it get easier?

Oh! And to top it off my husband rated her a 5

Had my first experience with guest throwing a party. I tried reaching out to guest but did not get any response, then I reached out to support and got reservation cancelled and finally had them vacated after involving law enforcement. When I went inside the place was completely trashed, chairs, sheets, blankets, comforter, multiple dings on the wall, enormous amounts of food on the ground. How should I go about contacting the guest/airbnb support to get compensation for this?

Edit: To add, I am the one who cleans the home.

Guest booked a two night stay with two adults. Day of arrival they message letting me know they brought their ESA dog along and asked if dog is allowed on bed/linens. We are pet friendly so this request was just fine. When my cleaner arrived to check in she said the smell of urine hit her as soon as she opened the door. (1bd/1ba small house) She was able to locate the smell of urine on the area rug and move outside which caused her to be there extra long cleaning/spraying the rug and had to return shortly before guests to bring the now dry rug back inside and move the couch and furniture back on top of it.

We are pet friendly and almost never have issues like this when the fee is paid and people are upfront about the animals.

This was an ESA which is supposed to be more trained like a service animal not a pet. Since there was no pet fee for this dog and it’s not a service animal but IS an ESA I’m not sure how to proceed. Can I charge them a pet fee for the urine on the carpet and cleaning time? I’m in Florida if that makes any difference

I knew that hosts using property management software would be switching over to the single fee structure. However, on April 14, I was switched to it even though I do not use a PMS. I noticed this when I got a booking on 4/17 and it was showing the full % coming from my payout. The booking just before that, on April 11, had 3% deducted.

Of course, Airbnb is telling me how to adjust my rates moving forward, or advising me I can still choose the split fee, but they are seemingly unwilling to budge on adjusting my payout for that 4/17 booking.

Support has told me ALL hosts were switched to it on Apr 13 or that because I am using the "professional hosting tools" that is considered PMS, hence the change. They also told me I made the change on Apr 14, which I absolutely did not do. I cannot get a straight answer from anyone.

Did this happen to anyone else?

I have a STR guest booking via VRBO platform. The guest claims he is a cinimatic photographer that wants to use my property for scenes for n a movie. Is this a scam or something to be cautious of? I’ve been hosting over a year and have never had a request like this before. What are the concerns, if any, for this and to consider? Guest also asks if they can do this at “no extra cost”. Are there additional costs for allowing guests to shoot films? Sorry for the plethora of questions but this one caught me off guard.

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.

A guest reached out after checking out asking for a refund because he only stayed in the house for a 4 hours besides sleeping at night.

Have things really gotten this bad with entitled guests? Like… are people not aware that once they book a home, whether they stay one second or the full day, it blocks me from renting it to someone else?