AirbnBS: Customers Want the Cheapest Option

I had several listings in central Sydney. The idea was to ‘test’ Airbnb at a few different market levels ranging through cheap, mid-market and high end. My experience has been that the only successful listings are the cheap ones. The reason for this is because Airbnb guests are inherent cheapskates.

Listings at the cheapest end of the market (a share room, backpacker style dorm) show a constant demand and high occupancy and as long as the photos and description are accurate and specific, the guests do not have any grounds for high expectations and, equally, any sustainable grounds for complaint. Alternatively, the opposite is true of mid-market and high end listings.

To attract bookings you have to be highly competitive and provide a full range of amenities, all of which are grounds for some kind of complaint by an asshole cheapskate trying for a free nights accommodation. My advice is keep it cheap and keep it simple and decline any guest who asks any question to which the answer is detailed in the listing preview. The enemy of profitability is time – don’t waste it. Stack ’em high, sell ’em cheap and don’t take any shit from guests or management.

Airbnb Closing my Account after Fake Review

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“In my experience communication with the host tends to be limited.”

What do other hosts think about? Would you allow someone into your house who doesn’t communicate? Even Airbnb encourages hosts to prepare a set of questions for the guest asking about their arrival time, reason for visiting, number of guests, luggage, house rules, etc. I literally copied and pasted the questions from the Airbnb site, but this guest used it against me.

I moved to a freshly renovated luxury apartment a month before this guest’s arrival and asked him to take care of it like his own home. I mentioned I had a guest who painted her hair black in my brand new white bathroom – leaving black stains – and told the guest I’m not into drama. This means if he doesn’t feel comfortable with my cleanliness he’s free to book other accommodations.

I spent too much money on this apartment and couldn’t afford further damages in my first month. I’d rather cancel and was open about it. I was sure I was polite and professional with my communications, therefore I didn’t understand this guest’s aggression towards me and it really upset me.

“Upon arrival in the city I reached out to the host to arrange a meet (something I’ve never had to do with any other host)”

Let me specify ‘the meet’ in the apartment. The correct term would be “meet and greet.” What do you think, hosts? Is it bad thing to meet your guest in person? Even Airbnb commercials shows hosts and guests meeting. Again, I didn’t understand my mistake.

“She provided me with a different address to the apartment.”

My building has two entrances: the north and south side. You are allowed to put only one address on the listing. Therefore I always ask my guests which side they’re coming from to give them a better address. I even send the map to Airbnb team showing it was the same place. This was ignored.

“I think she could tell by my facial expression, I knew something was not accurate.”

Well, what a politically correct way to cover the fact he looked at me with disgust, assuming I’m Russian upon first meeting face to face. I felt horrible and very uncomfortable, but couldn’t identify the feeling. I was thinking the guest thought I was from a third-world country and he was concern about the cleanliness.

I reassured him everything was clean and showed multiple cleaning supplies. I encouraged him to feel free to use them during his stay – whenever he wants. He attacked me again, saying I asked him to clean.

The apartment was sparkling clean; I put a lot of effort and heart in my new home. I’d never expect someone would want to clean it. Therefore I admit I left only one (thick ) roll of paper towels alongside several different types of clothes, but I didn’t expect guests would want to clean the whole apartment.

I felt like he wanted to clean after me… clean out my presence. If he asked about paper towels, I would have simply bought them, but he didn’t.

Finally, he complained about the ‘sparsely’ furnished apartment. Before I moved in, I checked approximately thirty luxury apartments with a real estate agent. I took pictures of furnished model apartments, I was collecting catalogs with recent home decor trends.

My style would have been named ‘urban minimalistic’ by an agent, but not the guest, who used it as another occasion to attack me, suggesting I was poor minded, maybe even mentally challenged (as he mentioned in further conversations due to my origin) and couldn’t afford furniture? Obviously he didn’t expect I would know any trends; he prejudged me and my place. This was a disgusting experience, but that was just the beginning.

Host Taking Deposits Outside of Airbnb

Be very careful if staying in an apartment in Copenhagen with some Airbnb hosts. One is asking people to pay her a significant deposit outside of the Airbnb website. I made the mistake of trusting her and doing this. I am aware Airbnb’s website says not to do it… my mistake and stupidity.

Since she is a Superhost, I trusted her and she told me she had done it before. I paid her $2500 since she said she has very expensive furniture. I stayed in the apartment for a month for work after staying at another Airbnb for three months in Copenhagen.

The week after I moved out, I got a series of texts from her claiming I had broken her glassware, broken the plug in the bathroom sink, and stained the walls and doors. She also accused me of having other people stay. I do not recall breaking glasses but since it was a chip maybe it happened unintentionally. I definitely did not break the plug in the sink and the marks on the walls and door could have been from blue dye from my jeans.

It’s been two months since I moved out. In that time, she has apologized for the accusations of having others there, saying she found out it was a different apartment. She did not check her facts prior and should have before laying blame on anyone. She delayed getting me quotes for the other claimed damages and now says I will not get anything back since its costing over $2500 for all these repairs.

I ended up taking the matter to Airbnb, who finally came back and said they can’t do anything since I paid her outside of the website. What shocks me is Airbnb is still allowing her to list her apartment and potentially do this to other people. She even went as far as lying to Airbnb customer support, claiming I wanted to pay her a deposit outside of the website. She then apparently retracted this once I submitted email proof of her asking me.

I have full proof of all our communications over the past two months of my attempts to get my deposit back and happy to submit that to anyone who needs it. I will not be using Airbnb again and certainly will not stay at any apartment from this host. I am very professional and was staying in Copenhagen on a four-month work assignment, so I would not be so stupid to lie about everything that happened, risking my reputation and potentially my job.

Poorly Managed Safety from Airbnb Corporate

My story is how poorly Airbnb as an organization is run and how dangerous it is for hosts and guests. I have been an Airbnb host for the past two plus years. I have about 15 listings of homes in Los Angeles.

I was very excited to join Airbnb up until last night. Yesterday I had a booking from a guest who threw a huge party with over 80 guests. The house is ransacked but the most troubling part was I almost got hurt by these individuals. The police were called several times last night.

There was a young girl carried out unconscious from my home in a hurry by these partygoers. I called Airbnb several times but only got a call back from a safety person who barely spoke English and made it a more frustrating experience.

I sent several emails. I called and asked for a supervisor but no one called back. I messaged an individual who said he was a supervisor from Airbnb at least 20 times if not more to get the person to call me. Another customer service person advised me that per Airbnb policy a senior management person never gets on a call or deals with an issue. This truly surprised me: that a company of this magnitude is not involved in such a serious incident.

From my experience I find that reply to be negligent and unacceptable. I just emailed their top management to see if they would care, waiting for a reply. While this happened at my property I had other guests, an older family that was staying in the same building who happened to be hosts in Vegas. They shared similar stories.

I feel our story, including possibly the footage my camera captured, might be an opportunity for other people looking to get into this business or thinking about renting an Airbnb. Or possibly getting more serious rules and responsibilities placed on these booking sites to make sure this does not happen to others.

There are too many Airbnb Reviews, Period

Here’s my beef: the reviews. Every time a guest checks out, I review the guest, and I’m asked, “What could the guest do better?”

Now, the guest is my customer and a customer of Airbnb, so Airbnb asks that I criticize this person who has just come to stay the night and doesn’t want any trouble. Likewise, the guests review me and must be asked a similar question because every single review I get, there is an area for personal comments and the guest always leaves a little nastygram, telling me what I can do better.

Whereas an occasional host might take that question seriously, and the guest gets some feedback – Like what? “You shouldn’t leave your snot in the shower drain” – all guests take it seriously, and put themselves in the position of Reviewer of the Year.

There are many things I provide to be nice. These are things I don’t have to stock. I get complaints if the bar of soap is small. I was providing one Fiji water per guest (in their private little fridge) and they were complaining there was not enough free water.

I’ve received complaints about the snacks: about some of the plates arcing in the microwave, not having a hand towel, having to stir their coffee with a knife. Someone found a hair on one of the towels. Someone complained the ceiling was dirty. The window sill was dirty. There was a suggestion to wipe out the shower (make sure it’s dry for guests). The shower drips for a while after it is turned off.

A bug was found under the couch. A cricket came in under the door. There are tiny spiders in the corners of the ceilings. There’s a musty smell. I’m too noisy upstairs (it’s just me and I tiptoe). Buy a Keurig (there’s already a coffee maker, and free coffee and tea). Buy new nightstands. Buy a coffee table. Put in a TV. Make it lighter, use LED lights from now on. Keep the computer turned on or make it easier to turn on or take it out altogether.

Change the electrical wiring. Get new pillows. Get a luggage rack. Provide a place to hang clothes. Give more heat. Give more parking space. Love my emotional support pet. Did you slam the toilet seat or was that the heater?

Two naturally-oriented guests left the double doors open during a rain storm and put the couch in front of the open space to look out. When they were done, they didn’t close one side completely and for a while, worms were coming in to die, seeking the cool tile floor. Complaints from the next four guests because I couldn’t figure out why they started coming in so much.

I internalize and act on the comments. After being fully booked for a year, all those complaints I listed? They’re all fixed. I’ve made the place better and better. There are new floors, a new TV with all the channels you can get, a dehumidifier, a new heater (which two guests say is too loud and one even suggested buying a second new heater), new nightstands, the luggage rack, the LED light bulbs, plenty of plastic silverware, unoffensive everlasting snacks, lots of water (no longer Fiji), new paint on the walls and ceilings, and even a strictly regimented cleaning process, which I would happily attach if it would make dear reader happy.

My suggestion is, if they have a complaint, let them leave a complaint. But don’t encourage them. Hosts get worn out by constant suggestions and complaints. A guest might get one suggestion in a year. I have received more than one hundred. And that – on top of cleaning the place 120 times (they don’t all leave reviews) and having strangers in my basement.

I know it’s helpful. I should unpack and cherish every complaint like the little gift (of crap) it’s meant to be. But it hurts my heart. I am caring about these people and making the place super nice (it’s five stars, I’m a Superhost, and it’s a three-room suite in my very nice basement area for $45/night in a touristy area) and yet the complaints keep pouring in with every review. It’s not public (although some guests can’t help themselves) but it still undermines my joy in the experience, considerably.

Could Airbnb maybe only ask half of them to tell me what I could do better? Let the other half think for themselves whether they want to tell me what I can do better. I have many other tangents I can run down regarding Airbnb, Heaven or Hell, Depending on the day, but I will save that for another time. Until then, enjoy the host experience…

Airbnb Admits There’s an Unfixed Bug on their Site

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When we first starting hosting a year ago, I noticed that when you put the name of our city into the Airbnb search engine, you get zero results, even though there are dozens of hosts in our city. When I complained about this, I was told there was nothing that Airbnb can do, that they rely on Google Maps.

Fast forward several months. I started looking into Google Maps, and noticed that the map is correct for our city. Airbnb put up the wrong map. The one they put up was for a city called Capacabana instead of Copacabana. Armed with this new information, I was sure Airbnb would finally listen to me.

Each time I wrote to Airbnb customer service, they acknowledged the error. They said they had reported this to the tech department and then closed the case. I finally got furious and insisted they not close my case until this was fixed and I got this response: “I apologize for my previous colleagues, but if you have any other inquires you can message me here and I will personally answer you. I won’t close this ticket until the issue has been fixed. I give you my word.”

The next message I received: “This support case is closed. Still need help? Visit our Help Center.”

I’m sorry but what is wrong with Airbnb? Not only do they not care, now they lie to me. A customer service representative gives me his word that he won’t close the case and several days later, case closed, with no resolution. You can imagine how much fun it is finding guests when your city doesn’t even exist on the Airbnb search engine. I have been complaining about this for a year and Airbnb does nothing to fix it.

Airbnb Didn’t Exercise the Host Insurance Policy

We had a bad experience with our Airbnb case manager. Our Airbnb guest used an iron on the sofa bed and burned it. We contacted the guest, and they denied causing the damage. They said they didn’t do it. We contacted Airbnb to exercise the host insurance policy. Airbnb asked for some documents like an “invoice or offer of the repair, age of the damaged item, photos, etc.”

We provided all the information. After a few days, they asked for a “repair offer letter” showing the stamp of the company. It was Ramadan season in Turkey, and I told them that, during Ramadan, documents are always delayed. 31 days after the damage occurred, I received the letter and forwarded it to Airbnb team. They said, according to the policy, all documents should be received within 30 days. I told them I sent them everything they needed, and the only thing delayed was a “stamp on an already sent letter”.

They didn’t accept it. They didn’t pay for the damage. I sent them the letter before the 30th day, and this was the only additional document they asked for. I even told them about the delay in advance, and they ignored it.

Airbnb Guest Brings 34 People to a House Meant for 6

I would like to share my story with everyone. I recently published a listing on Airbnb that can accommodate six people. I had many guests who sent me inquiries asking if my place was available and many more questions.

After evaluating all the guests, I finally accepted one reservation as she had good reviews from other hosts. I immediately told her that my place can only accommodate six people and that she needed to pay an extra $30 for each guest she brings after the six confirmed guests. She agreed and promised me that only six people would be in my place.

Since I go to work every day, I was not there when she checked in but my caretaker welcomed them. Four hours after they checked in, my caretaker called me saying that there were 34 people in my place and that the guest told him not to tell me as she would be charged for such a big amount.

I called her right away when this was told to me and she admitted that there were 34 people in my place. I requested money from her via Airbnb but she refused to pay me and deleted her account. I called Airbnb and asked them to collect the money but they never helped me. They even gave me a deadline of 24 hours to send documents confirming that there were extra 28 people in my place when the guest already admitted it and even contacted Airbnb saying that she did not know what to do and how to pay me since she didn’t have enough money.

The case manager from Airbnb told me that they will not help me unless documents are sent when I told them a million times that I won’t be able to send documents as I live in a different place and that I had a business flight that day. Indeed the worse experience and customer service on earth.