First time hosting and not having a good experience...

[Pete129]

We have a brand new, 4 bedroom, whole house air bnb rental. It is beautifully decorated, with an amazing atmosphere. We thought investing like this would draw people in that wanted to experience an enjoyable, relaxing vacation. Our first rental included kid pee and vomit and a hole in the wall. Our second required 12 hours of cleaning, a broken furnishing and dog hair and funny smells on the comforters. Last night (our third guest ever) I got a phone call at 3:30 am- the renter had locked himself out of the house, so I had to go over and let him back in. We have very strick "no smoking" "no animals" "no partying" rules and language about deep cleaning issues. The reality is that we don't want smoke coming in the house (even if they aren't smoking in the house), animal hair/smells in the house (even if animals aren't coming in the house) or partying (I understand if some alcohol is consumed but we don't want them having to clean up loads of beer bottles on the lawn- even if they clean them up themselves). The bottom line is we aren't having a good experience and we would like a different clientele. We don't want their money if they are not going to respect our place. How do you say this respectfully, without discriminating???? 

Frustrated and wanting to quit

Pete

[Paul1255]

Hi @Pete129  I hope you are well!

Your listing looks stunning, and your first review is an amazing start to your hosting journey.

Have you considered your pricing?

I don't know about how other similar listings are proced in your area- but I have had a look at your calendar and I can book a trip for 10 guests for £100 per night- that's £10 PP, which feels like an absolute steal to me!

Adjusting pricing- upwards or downwards really does change the type of guest you attract, so I would consider upping your price to attract a better quality of guest, or even playing around with the base price and then adding an extra guest fee after a certain number of guests to increase your overall price.

Best wishes

Paul 🙂

[Mark1412]

You say you have "very strick 'no smoking' 'no animals' 'no partying' rules", but if you don't enforce those rules they are just requests. You will have to do a better job and screaning guests and people here who have learned through the school of hard knocks will give you some good advice. Once the guests check in, you will also need to to a better job and managing the property.

Do you drive by the property to insure there is no party going on? Do you knock on the door and introduce yourself and ask them if they have any questions on the property (it gives you a hands on look at what might be going on)? Make sure you have a good relationship with your neigbhors who can help keep an eye on the property.

There will always be issues because you are renting to people and the public will never respect and value your property the way you do. Some clean up adn some repairs will be required from time to time... but not three times out of three rentals. Get an Ozone machine to remove odors and run it while you are cleaning after the guest leaves. It will not prevent orders from cooking, pets, smoke, etc, but it will help you forget about that past guest and focus on the next one.

[Mark116]

@Pete129   I think your pricing is too low, $209 a night for 10 people is going to encourage people who want to 'party'.  You could change the price structure to start to charge more after maybe the 4th guest.  

Airbnb makes it very difficult now to really screen guests in any effective manner in terms of trying to weed out potential bad apples, but you could consider increasing your communication with potential guests, if you don't check them in personally, consider that.  Alternatively, you can check them out personally, which might motivate them to keep the place cleaner.

I don't know what the competition is in your area, but your price feels too low for as many people as you accommodate. 

[Pete129]

All these suggestions are very helpful, thanks so much! I just raised our price a bit. I was lowering it significantly right before open dates, which made it far too good of a deal for anyone to pass up. We did make some money on the bookings, but 12 hours of cleaning isn't worth it.

I do need to be a little more firm and not be afraid of my air bnb "reputation" or getting a bad review. Last night at 3:30 am, the guy said he was going outside to take a "drag." I reminded him that there was no smoking "on the property" and he said that was why he went outside- outside is still on the property. The bottom line is I don't want smokers to rent the place (can I say that in the listing?).

We do live right next door, so it's easy to get over to the property- and check up on the guests.

thanks, all for the helpful advice

Pete

[Mark116]

@Pete129 

Yes, put it in the house rules that there is no smoking allowed on the property, inside or outside.  You can also put in the rules that no one who isn't on the reservation is allowed on the property without your permission, this will help prevent parties.  Basically, anything you care about or want guests to do or not do....put in the house rules.  We finally put that guests are expected to recycle in the rules because too many people ignored it. And put in that no furniture moving is allowed for the same reason.

The rules are not particularly enforceable, in terms of getting $$ for them being broken, so think of them mostly as a preventative measure.  

[Lisa723]

@Pete129 -- take a look at your local competition. I think you are charging way too little. I think you should at least double your price and probably triple it. Also, don't know if your bad stays have been one-nighters, but having at least a two-night minimum will deter partiers.

(I use usewheelhouse.com for automatic pricing and am really happy with it.)

[Lisa723]

@Pete129 your listing at $125 stands out as a likely party house:

[Sarah977]

@Pete129  The way Airbnb shows our listings, the House Rules are buried at the bottom of the page, below the reviews and the map. Many guests hardly read through the listing description at all, let alone scroll all the way down the page to read the House Rules.

I suggest that when you get a booking or request, that you message the guest, reiterating all your House rules and asking the guest to agree to them, stating that if they have an issue with any of them, they can cancel penalty free within 48 hours and find a place which better suits their needs.

[Emilia42]

@Pete129, you allow 1 night stays in a big house that accommodates a lot of people at a cheap rate (when divided by 10)... .. all the must haves for partiers. I would switch to a two-night minimum. 

It is really important to tell people when they book that you live close by. Spin this off as a positive. You won’t be far if they need anything and you are readily available should a problem occur. People who intend to break the rules don't want you spying on them. To people who wouldn't think about breaking the rules, you are just a neighbor.

You may want to think about charging for additional people after 4 or 5, or whatever you believe to be a large group. You do run the risk of guests sneaking people in but you live close by so you it would be easier to police. More people mean more trash, more water/sewer usage, more laundry, etc.

Whenever a guest books I try to send them a message that makes me sounds like a real person (not some robot taking bookings.) I tell them something about myself or give them some advice if they let me know why they are in the area. I try to sound genuinely excited and happy that they are coming to visit my neck of the woods. I give my guests privacy but I let them know where to find me if they wanted to stop by and say hello, I would love to meet them. You probably already communicate like this but I think that people are less likely to disrespect people that they feel like they know rather than a complete stranger.