Airbnb's Future into 2023

[Zachary Brown]

I'd love to hear from folks about what they think of Airbnb and it's use for STRs. As an avid user of Airbnb over the years, when it started, it was viewed as this amazing alternative to hotels that offered a very comfortable home type feel that you couldn't get with a hotel. I used it for years and always had very positive experiences as owners were very motivated to get five star reviews and build their value. However, more recently, I'm concerned that they've lost some of that charm and are going to suffer due to the structure of the platform/website. The glaring issue of course is the pricing. Airbnb's listing of properties at x price on the main page and then adding in sometimes outrageous fees when you click to reserve the property has to be the #1 issue I've seen from most folks as they find it frustrating and misleading. This coupled with the the fact that individual Airbnb Owners seem to have become jaded over the long term of owning properties, which has led to higher cleaning fees, hidden fees or exorbitant fees being threatened or charged to renters in an unprofessional manner I believe is going to cause a shift back to the hotel industry over time if they are not able to change course relatively quickly. 

One example I can provide of this is an Airbnb (3bdrm 2bthrm, $150 per night, 1 guest) I recently booked in Cary NC. Immediately after booking I received a message from the owner that was maybe a page or 2 long which outlined rules and potential fees we could get charged based on our activities in the unit. Some were reasonable, some were not, but here are a couple examples I found a little jaw dropping. $300-1000 fee for late checkout. Now obviously owners have risks with late checkout, that makes sense, but $1000? That seems extreme. $40 fee per person per night for any guests or visitors not listed on the reservation who are spotted by the properties external cameras. Again, management of the property to ensure abuse isn't occurring make sense, but external cameras feel very intrusive and uncomfortable. $2000 fee for pet damage, $3000 fee for any smoke damage. These are all threats made by the owner to let the renter know this is possible if damages are caused, so not flat rate fees, but implied. All of this coming after the booking is completed, not listed in the actual listing prior to booking, is so unfortunate and in my opinion so unprofessional. 

Finally, I'll just note that Airbnb has such strong market power that many folks don't see an alternative if they don't want to go to a hotel. I'm curious if that will change and we'll see another player de-throne Airbnb in the future. VRBO maybe? 

All of the above to say, what do folks think will come of Airbnb going forward? Are others seeing these issues as well? Forecasts/predictions? How will they impact the STR space in terms of investing? Appreciate thoughts from folks as this is on the forefront of my mind as I look at potential rental properties!

[Lauren Kormylo]

I agree that your host should have told you upfront about all of those fees.  Those are excessive.  It sounds like they've been burned before.  And at the low price of $150 a night for a 3 bedroom, there isn't much profit to cover damages.  Airbnb doesn't allow hosts to charge you a security deposit, unlike VRBO.  They also don't allow you to have a minimum age requirement for guests, unlike VRBO, to keep out the younger partiers.
VRBO is the OG in this space, and is now doing more advertising to combat Airbnb's market share.

Airbnb is a horribly run company.  They allow scammers and criminals as guests, which causes hosts to have outrageous fees like you cited above.  Airbnb won't protect hosts, so they've got to do it themselves.  And all it takes is a guest trying to get a refund by lying about a camera or bugs, and all of a host's rentals are frozen for weeks, and Airbnb won't even tell the host why.  So unprofessional.  They are causing more hosts to also have a direct booking site, which they can push repeat guests to.

As far as pushing people completely back to hotels, nope.  For 1-3 night stays, hotels may work out cheaper.  But for longer stays, or larger families, they can't beat renting a house and having all bedrooms under one roof, with a communal living room and kitchen where everyone can congregate.  Contrast that to a family staying in 2 or more hotel rooms.  Do you want to hang out in the other person's hotel room and watch TV?  Or have to eat out all meals?

In true vacation markets, VRBO and Airbnb are not the first to do this concept.  Real estate companies and direct-by-owner rentals have been done for 100 years, and they continue today.  I booked a beach vacation this summer through a real estate company in that market, for less than what was available on either VRBO or Airbnb.  I did have to sign a contract by email, listing all occupants.  And pay a deposit or damage protection fee.  So don't think Airbnb is the entire market, it's not by a long shot.