All Forum Posts by: Rachel Hughes

@Michael Baum thanks for the feedback. The written reviews are actually all positive, some guests just left low numeric ratings. I imagine it is hurting my ranking in the search results, which is my main issue.

When I use Airbnb as a traveler I typically won’t even look at anything with less than a 4.5.

I also should mention that I have some law school students that will be living there for the next 3 months - moving in pretty soon. So there isn’t much opportunity to improve my rating. Hate to think my listing will just sit with that low rating for the next few months.

I probably shouldn’t sweat it... I was just curious if Airbnb had any way of preventing this.

Has anyone ever deleted an Airbnb listing and then re-listed it? 

Some background...

I recently launched a listing that now has 5 reviews and a shameful 4.2 overall rating. 

I had a string of bad guests that resulted in some less than fair reviews in my opinion. 

Will Airbnb recognize the address was previously listed? More importantly, is this unethical?

@Chase Hoover "No fees" might grab some attention in the list view but you also have to consider a lot of people search in map view where you can only see the nightly rate - and yours would stand out as being much higher. 

People that are new to Airbnb are often aghast when they see a big gap between the advertised nightly rate and their total out of pocket cost - so I think your question is a valid one. 

Perhaps you should try it out and let us know how it goes :)

@Chase Hoover not a bad idea - but now Airbnb shows the actual trip total right under the advertised nightly rate when guests search for specific dates, so differences in fees should already be more obvious to potential guests. 

@Melissa Bovee Great advice. How do you compensate your handyman? Do you agree on a price for a certain task up front or does he/she have an hourly rate?

@Nathan G. This is a very fair approach but seems like a nightmare to manage.

Have you had any issues with cleaning staff taking longer than needed? Do guests ever get upset when they are charged extra for cleaning after the fact?

I would prefer to charge the guests the max amount for cleaning and then refund them if it takes less time.

I see how this approach could work in certain markets/with certain clientele.

I tend to agree with @John Underwood. I’d say 80% of the time my guests leave the place in great shape and my cleaner benefits ($70 for 1 or 2 hours of work).

The other 20% leave a big mess which can be frustrating for a cleaner who has become accustomed to an easy job.

I clean my own places frequently and also get annoyed when there’s a big mess. Just part of the business.

Sounds like you're in an awesome position. I wish I could find a well-located 3-unit property in my market. My husband and I had to fight tooth-and-nail to acquire both of our 2-unit properties. 

Not sure if you're asking...

1) How long it takes to set up a STR in terms of getting it furnished/stocked or..

2) How long it takes for a STR to realize it's full revenue potential (given whatever seasonality occurs in your market)

If 1) - It took me about 1 month to setup and furnish each of my 3bed/1bath Airbnbs. This is me working basically all day everyday with little to no help. I also have a 200 sq. ft. studio that only took me about 2 weeks. 

If 2) - This is probably very market specific. I am in a metro market and exclusively list on Airbnb. In my experience, my 1st month revenue is about half what it should be. This is mainly due to intial discounts (20% of for first 3 guests), having to cancel reservations because of unexpected repairs, and less bookings since you don't have any reviews. Once a listing has 3 positive reviews it is smooth sailing (on Airbnb, in my market). 

I second the Zinus Green Tea. People love them. Get the 12 inch depth. Comes vacuum sealed in a box. Super easy to setup. 

I've also been having tons of problems with Airbnb lately. I was double checking payouts for May and noticed they completely missed a $300+ payout. I called and they basically just said "oops". 

They ultimately corrected it but it's still aggravating. 

Seems like we're all feeling the effects of them laying off 25% of their workforce.