Author Topic: Airbnb hosting  (Read 5158 times)

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Airbnb hosting
« on: 29 September, 2017, 11:21:47 am »
We're thinking of listing our annexe on airbnb - could be a tidy earner if the figures quoted by airbnb are reliable.

Anyone have any experience as a host? Any pitfalls we should be looking out for? I've heard various horror stories* but I'm more concerned with the everyday practicalities and the little things that we might not have considered that would make it a less attractive proposition and/or more work and expense than envisaged. My wife's best friend looks after a couple of properties that are listed on airbnb so she has given us lots of useful advice already but would love to hear about any other experiences, good or bad.



*our 'annexe' is a self-contained extension to our house, with its own front door, bathroom and kitchen, but we would be on site (next door) any time there were guests staying, so that should discourage anyone intending to hold an illegal rave or use it for porn shoots or as a pop-up brothel.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #1 on: 29 September, 2017, 11:50:35 am »
Pop-up brothel?  :o I'll leave this to the usual punsters.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #2 on: 29 September, 2017, 11:53:14 am »
Pop-up brothel?  :o I'll leave this to the usual punsters.

It's an actual thing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39528479
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #3 on: 29 September, 2017, 12:51:42 pm »
AirBnb generally works pretty well, or at least better than the rival offerings. I'm not sure about "tidy little earner", it is plenty of work and unless you are in a particularly desirable area not as lucrative as you might expect.

A few random thoughts:

If they offer a photographer, take it up.
The place has to be spotless, and has to have wifi. Make sure there are towels, bedding, shampoo, bog paper; everything else is optional.
Guests expect to be able to book late, and for short periods. Think about whether you can be bothered with one-night stays. They will book random dates, which leaves you with voids all over the place. If you only let for a minimum of a week expect only one booking a year.
AirBnb will hassle you constantly to reduce the price. Ignore it. If there really are "other hosts in your area getting bookings at £22/night" for a four bedroom property, that's their problem, they will soon learn or go bust.
Respond to enquiries within an hour, it affects future enquiries.

As for pitfalls, only the usual minor issues. Someone lost the remote. Someone clipped the wall with their car. Occasionally a guest will use every item of crockery and glassware and not wash up. Overall virtually everyone is pretty good, and no-one's tried to have a facebook party. Airbnb have insurance for that, but make sure you inform your own insurers too.

Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #4 on: 29 September, 2017, 01:06:25 pm »
it is plenty of work and unless you are in a particularly desirable area not as lucrative as you might expect.

At the moment the annexe is sitting empty, so any income from it would be a bonus. We're probably a bit too far away from the beach to count as being very desirable but it's close enough, and there is a definite shortage of decent hotels and traditional B&Bs in this area. There's another airbnb just up the road from us so it might be worth asking them what business is like.

Quote
has to have wifi

Hmmm. Wifi shouldn't be a problem but internet connection speed will be. Nothing we can do about that, unfortunately.

Quote
Respond to enquiries within an hour, it affects future enquiries.

Sound advice. Also about notifying our insurers. Does it affect your premium?
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Airbnb hosting
« Reply #5 on: 29 September, 2017, 02:22:36 pm »
I work for a client who has turned their 'forge' into an Airbnb listing. It has had almost no interest. They think it may be the fact it is on a main road and despite the village being 'alright' there is nothing nearby of any great interest.

Location, location, location.

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #6 on: 29 September, 2017, 02:37:25 pm »
Can't help as a host, as an airbnb user can I suggest a couple of things:

1 - Stay in your own place first. See how it really works
2 - Little touches that cost not a lot can make a place feel a lot more luxurious and value for money
3 - Take time to meet your guests and advise them of things like decent restaurants and pubs

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #7 on: 29 September, 2017, 03:10:53 pm »
My friend in Shetland lets out her Lerwick flat for stays of >3 nights. She seems to add nice touches and gets rave reviews and touching gifts from happy travellers. Seems win/win all round for her but her situation is geographically unusual.

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #8 on: 29 September, 2017, 04:41:34 pm »
Location is important but guests can also use Airbnb for 'niches' which well located hotels might not do as well.

As a pertinent example, I stayed in an Airbnb room in Sturry before your Thanet Platinum event - cheaper than a hotel room and crucially the host was happy to store my bike!

Good communication is vital (both ways). If a potential host was rude or unhelpful I would definitely swerve booking with them.
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #9 on: 29 September, 2017, 08:27:11 pm »
A friend runs an AirBnB service in a foreing land, providing an interface between the english speaking world (the majority lessees) and local owners (non-english speaking in the main), handling the changeovers, cleaning etc. Seems to scale well.

I'll be doing my first AirBnB stay next week. One night in Derby. Will let you know.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

ian

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #10 on: 29 September, 2017, 08:43:09 pm »
One night in Derby is one night too many.

A friend of mine is a host. Apparently she had a guest who (and these aren't my words) 'frantically masturbated everywhere.' I didn't delve into the detail of 'frantic'. Maybe she meters the internet or something.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #11 on: 29 September, 2017, 09:02:56 pm »
It is for a funeral. I'd have done a day trip if I could.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #12 on: 03 October, 2017, 12:42:52 am »
I now look for airbnb first, hotels second.
My list:
-*clean* bed linen and towels.  The place doesn't have to be spotless, but the linen does.
- Wifi - enough for checking email, facebook,etc. I never expect to be able to stream video.
- Small decorative touches go a long way.  Small supply of coffee/tea is nice too. Often after a long journey, it's really nice to get a cup of coffee without having to go out shopping.
- Small tourist guide. Local places, directions, taxi numbers, etc. Last place in Montreal didn't have that and I kinda missed it. Granted, everything was on the doorstep, but there was almost too much choice, so suggestions would have been nice.
- Small manual. Where's the cleaning supplies, bin bags, etc. Do I have to sort for recycling and where to put it.
- Reviews: Be reasonable? One place in Edmonton, we left a a 6 pack of beer in the fridge and host considered that 'not cleaning up properly'. We were just trying to be friendly!

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #13 on: 03 October, 2017, 01:24:02 am »
A friend of mine is a host. Apparently she had a guest who (and these aren't my words) 'frantically masturbated everywhere.' I didn't delve into the detail of 'frantic'. Maybe she meters the internet or something.

But wouldn't it be in some way worse if she knew it had been leisurely masturbation?

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #14 on: 03 October, 2017, 03:04:14 am »
Airbnbukakke.
It is simpler than it looks.

ian

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #15 on: 03 October, 2017, 08:19:27 am »
A friend of mine is a host. Apparently she had a guest who (and these aren't my words) 'frantically masturbated everywhere.' I didn't delve into the detail of 'frantic'. Maybe she meters the internet or something.

But wouldn't it be in some way worse if she knew it had been leisurely masturbation?

I think she was more concerned with quantity than quality.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #16 on: 04 October, 2017, 09:50:08 am »
3 - Take time to meet your guests and advise them of things like decent restaurants and pubs

We didn't meet the host of the airbnb we stayed in recently - the key was left in a secure box by the front door. That's fine. We just wanted somewhere to stay, we weren't looking to make new friends. All communication was via airbnb messaging and that suited us perfectly, but I guess other people look at it differently. In our case, since it's an annexe of our house we're planning to let, we'll be around anyway so will find it hard to avoid meeting the guests.

Totally agree about providing advice on local restaurants, pubs etc - in fact, knowing me, I'll probably go over the top and end up spending a lot of time creating a highly detailed information pack...
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #17 on: 04 October, 2017, 09:52:13 am »
Location is important but guests can also use Airbnb for 'niches' which well located hotels might not do as well.

A friend who works at the uni, just a few miles down the road, reckons we'd get good business from visiting lecturers.

Quote
As a pertinent example, I stayed in an Airbnb room in Sturry before your Thanet Platinum event - cheaper than a hotel room and crucially the host was happy to store my bike!

 :thumbsup:
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #18 on: 04 October, 2017, 10:00:27 am »
- Small tourist guide. Local places, directions, taxi numbers, etc. Last place in Montreal didn't have that and I kinda missed it. Granted, everything was on the doorstep, but there was almost too much choice, so suggestions would have been nice.
- Small manual. Where's the cleaning supplies, bin bags, etc. Do I have to sort for recycling and where to put it.

Two things we felt were missing from the airbnb we stayed in recently. There were some limited instructions on putting out the recycling but everything else was pretty much a case of feeling your way round. Some instructions on how to use the cooker and the telly would have been especially welcome (telly should be obvious but we couldn't make the one in the bedroom work). The host was quick to reply to any messages but it would have been nice not to have to ask!

There's also the thing that you're staying in someone's home and never quite sure what it's ok to help yourself to - I think you need to make it explicit if it's OK for guests to help themselves to stuff (eg the Nespresso).

I suppose it's sometimes it's hard to predict what guests will consider obvious/easy, and it's only once they ask that you realise...
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #19 on: 04 October, 2017, 10:28:21 am »
We stayed in two Airbnbs last summer, one in Prague, one in Vienna. The couple running the place in Prague were lovely, driving out to pick us up from the airport at some unearthly hour. The only problem was we didn't know they were going to do this, so we'd already got a taxi! Communication in that case was mostly by text, which probably works better than via Airbnb once you're on the move, but phones always take so long to wake up after flights. I see they know have WhatsApp, which might work better for international guests.

The place in Vienna was an amazing old flat in the city centre but the bloke was a bit odd. He insisted on coming round to pick up the key when we left (the people in Prague had had somewhere to leave it) and checking the flat "to make sure we hadn't left anything behind". He was obviously making sure we hadn't stolen anything, which is fair enough but we'd have preferred if he'd simply said so. We reckon he didn't actually own it but was subletting it on Airbnb without the owner's knowledge, which is why he was so dodgy about it. Also, we arrived on a Sunday evening and found all shops are closed in Austria on Sundays; coming from lands of 24-hour shopping, this was something we hadn't bargained on. I walked miles to get some teabags and stuff! So that kind of background info can be useful for foreign guests.

An annoyance we found in the Airbnb system is that you can only leave reviews within 14 days of checking out. We wanted to leave a good review of the place in Prague but by the time we got home, it was too late.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

ian

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #20 on: 04 October, 2017, 10:42:25 am »
I think I'd be weirded by staying in someone else's house. I sort of like the anonymity of hotels. I do get weirded by a lot of things though, so that's probably just me.

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #21 on: 04 October, 2017, 10:49:36 am »
We only ever go for the "whole apartment" option, avoiding the someone-else's-house creepiness and providing a much more comfortable* and private space than a hotel for the same or less money.

* Bed and bathroom dependent, obv

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #22 on: 04 October, 2017, 11:05:01 am »
If I were a young person travelling alone, I might go for the room in someone's house, but I'm not, so it's whole apartment/house every time.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #23 on: 04 October, 2017, 11:18:27 am »
Yes, never really thought of it as staying in someone else's house, though I suppose it is; and if the host were present, it would certainly feel like that.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

ian

Re: Airbnb hosting
« Reply #24 on: 04 October, 2017, 11:34:07 am »
Even so, I still wouldn't trust them not to be hiding in the wardrobe. Dressed as clowns. With axes.