All Forum Posts by: Kristine Batra

@Bruce Woodruff, my better half absolutely agrees with your sentiments, as well! I guess I just wanted to feel philanthropic I suppose - but perhaps a waste of time…

@John Underwood, I should take a deeper look at VRBO! Thanks!!

@Shannon Paxton, that’s great info! Thank you so much. I’ll be doing some research on that. :)

I have had one heck of a time trying to get paid out from the AirBNB Host Guarantee. It is basically a guarantee to be a pain in your neck. My advice: keep calling, over and over, and over and over. Try to find a rep that sounds informed and helpful, they are about 30% of those who answer the calls. The resolution center is a pain too. Take lots of photos and make your rules extremely clear.

With persistence you can usually prevail. The last time I asked for funds from airbnb it took nearly 4 weeks to actually get a resolution!! I got the money and the guest was understanding - luckily that guest did not actually leave me a review so it wasn't negative, otherwise they were great guests who simply broke a piece of furniture.

Persistence is key and don't give up. @Alex Nicholson, do you require a deposit on your listing? That has been my saving grace each time. I require a $200 deposit so that I can at the minimum get that amount and the guest knows they may lose it.

And yes, they can remove some negative reviews I have been told - but again, you have to really work hard to get them to do it.

Hello all,

Has anyone had an experience with a listing through AirBNB.org? Are there are any known tax advantages to giving your space out for free or for a discount?

I have registered my listing through their nonprofit site with a discounted rate (I have a 2-bedroom apt here in Portland,OR) rather than offering for free. Anyone list is for free? Or for a discount fee? Have you had any case workers reach out and facilitate a stay? I recently attended a host2host.com zoom meeting, AirBNB Presents-Product Updates & Refugee Program. They reviewed their 501(c)3 platform (to encourage more listings I presume) and talked extensively about their efforts to resettle refugees.

I know it's fairly new to the platform and I don't see any tax advantages.

Any other thoughts on this new nonprofit from publicly traded airbnb?

My understanding with the AirBNB and AirBNB Luxe programs has been in the past years is that AirBNB actively seeks out these listings, and are invite only. I met a gal a few years ago from CA who was traveling in the EU working with a team to verify listings for Plus. She had said it was a bigger push outside of the US and that AirBNB was devoting much of the Plus resources in the EU and South America, etc, at that time and it seems it still is.

@Lucas Martinez, you have probably already seen the info in this link, but if not: https://www.airbnb.com/help/to...

It may give sticker shock at first glance, but I recently attended an AirBNB forum on host2host.com (specifically about AirBNB.org) and the folks from AirBNB were in the zoom meeting (4 employees) and gave us attendees better insight into the pricing changes we are seeing. They indicated that in other parts of the world it is a requirement that the full price be displayed, as in the EU it was considered to be a deceptive practice. It will take some getting used to and yes my fees also appear higher, but I have still been getting bookings and am hopeful it will be well received by guests.

Have any of you had to describe the fees to a guest after they booked? I personally have, and it is not even clear to me what exactly they paid out. I told them to call AirBNB and gave them the phone number, but it was completely unclear what the nightly price was (with week/month discount and higher fees for holidays, etc).

Thanks for bringing up this topic @Trish Mccoy! A great talking point worth further exploration.