All Forum Posts by: Anand S.

I would hold my ground unless you feel strongly it will not be rented and need the income. There are many times I encourage lowballers to keep looking. Depending on my situation I'd rather let the home stay vacant than entertain a cheapskate that would not appreciate the exclusivity and would most likely put more wear and tear on the home. 

But now with being decimated by Covid, I've actually made some concessions I'd never dream of in normal times. 

 I do one better and get them kicked off the platform. 

I like your security monitoring solution. What happens if they notice a house with a party? Do they go in and break it up? What does that cost per home?

This is actually a very good question. We live close to our properties and had an incident where the city tried to reach out but did not get in touch (phone # changed). They escalated the issue and we were cited. Bottom line -- you can gamble with  some rando contact but you will pay the price if there is an issue. 

Try craigslist or ask your RE agent to recommend someone. I pay my guy a fixed price a month to be on call and then a set amount if they have to make a visit to the property. 

The post-Covid world will be very good for STR. This pandemic has highlighted the benefits of having your own private oasis; folks with single family homes that have private pools and other amenities will do very well. Right now the rural destinations are eating everyone's lunch but after a vaccine is available and herd immunity takes effect, I'd expect all destinations to pick back up. If you are strong enough to survive, the classic supply/demand will be in your favor.

I called and wrote everyday that they held my home hostage and nothing worked. That's what the problem is -- they appear to be understaffed, and the folks working are inexperienced and don't understand the challenges hosts face. Before, given my status and revenue level, I would call and speak with a high-level rep who would ask the right questions and would understand the situation from both sides and make a fair judgement. Now, they don't even reach out for clarification or follow up. 

VRBO allows you to do both

That sucks. Agreed that customer service and the training required to deal with these situations has nosedived since the pandemic and they laid off a significant chunk of staff.

We had a situation over the July 4th weekend, just after our county reopened after 3 months (and in desperate need of income), with a 7 night stay that was worth $6K. The Guest informed us at check-in of some minor issues which we were happy to resolve but instead they decided to leave. We notified ABB of the situation, so did the guest, and I asked them to at least open the dates so I could rebook, what is peak season during a time when hosts in this region are bleeding due to the pandemic, while they deliberated the case. Six days later they opened the dates (one day before the scheduled checkout) and notified me that they refunded the guest their entire amount. I was shocked! They did not even provide a specific reason just "After reviewing your guest documentation, we have decided to process the full refund based on our guest refund policy:

https://www.airbnb.com/terms/guest_refund_policy

Since we have already paid you out for this reservation, an adjustment of $6,134.28 has been added to your account and will be automatically deducted from your future payouts until it has been reconciled.

You can check the status of your payouts in your transaction history."

I called ABB and fumed for days but nothing could be done. Two weeks later the county shut us down again. 

I do both -- make them buy the $5K coverage for $99 AND collect a $500 deposit. The $500 deposit is there so they don't foolishly dispute claims that are made against the insurance, otherwise it comes out of their deposit. Also, the insurance doesn't cover items like not taking out the garbage as directed or other non-tangible items.

I'd relist. However, keep in mind that the previous reviews will stay under your profile with the name of the old listing and the old cover photo. Make sure to change the name and cover photo of the new listing so folks dont immediately make the connection. 

Hard pass. The niche that may not have in issue with this is probably only viable during Spring Break or Pride week. Every other month you're bound to have issues.