AirBnB Owners - How's Business?

[Anonymous]

I own two AirBnB's, one in the Shenandoah and one on the Eastern Shore. For most of the last 18 months, I have had guests non-stop, even through the dead of winter. But all of a sudden, it's crickets. I've got only about one third of my November dates full, and search traffic for my places is way down.

I'm trying to figure out what is going on - have people stopped traveling? Is less work-from-home affecting business? Did AirBnB change an algorithm somewhere? Have people stopped using AirBnB and moved to another platform? Or are my places suddenly not that interesting?

[Anonymous]

money is tight - extras are going first

[Anonymous]

WFH is dying. No more “work from anywhere” especially with high inflation

And people can fly now, whose going to go to the Eastern shore unless it’s summer and you mean ocean front.

[Anonymous]

I think lots of people are starting to opt out if AirBnB. So many stories out there now about scams, misrepresented properties, intrusive owners posting indoor cameras, and ridiculous add on and cleaning fees. What was once a good deal is becoming an expensive drag. Hotels are more reliable.

[Anonymous]

I’m a little burnt out of AirBnBs to be honest. We have stayed in some lovely places, that weren’t cheap, only to arrive and have a binder waiting for us with dos and don’ts and a mile long checkout list that must be followed explicitly.

I appreciate information on the area or tips for things in the house. What gets me is tiny things that are required to be done. Or not having extra toilet paper, beyond a roll or paper towels. I feel like some owners were so booked they didn’t need to up their game to entice visitors.

[Anonymous]

I had a bad experience of a host who clearly spied on my family and left a really unwarranted bad review

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the invasion of privacy stuff is going to be the death of short term rental sites.

[Anonymous]

We just looked for one for last weekend...too many rules and restrictions for our needs. We ended up with a couple of large suites in a hotel.

[Anonymous]

It’s not the quirky arrangement it once was.

[Anonymous]

The extra fees are ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a little burnt out of AirBnBs to be honest. We have stayed in some lovely places, that weren’t cheap, only to arrive and have a binder waiting for us with dos and don’ts and a mile long checkout list that must be followed explicitly.

I appreciate information on the area or tips for things in the house. What gets me is tiny things that are required to be done. Or not having extra toilet paper, beyond a roll or paper towels. I feel like some owners were so booked they didn’t need to up their game to entice visitors.

Unfortunately, if the owner provides extra paper, many guests will take it home with them. The "marketing" of Air B&B was that you were borrowing someone's home, but people don't treat it like a home (they trash it), so you get those detailed lists and cameras and lack of supplies.

(I don't own one but know people who do, and it seems stressful. I prefer hotels.)

[Anonymous]

Terrible guest who try to host parties and don’t care how they treat someone’s home together with greedy, uptight hosts who want to tack on a zillion fees and rules have made the whole industry awful and have ruined it for the decent, honest guests and hosts. We can’t have nice things.

[Anonymous]

When I recently went to book an AirBnB in a popular tourist city, 90% had a very restrictive cancellation policy (48 hours after booking). I ended up staying in a hotel, even though I prefer having an AirBnB. I need more flexibility when I'm planning travel.

[Anonymous]

Personally I prefer all the amenities that come from staying in a hotel/resort, for example breakfast, pool, housekeeping and availability of restaurants/ food onsite. The last thing I want to do is have to bring paper towels detergents and go grocery shopping, I already have those chores at home. When I travel it’s for vacation, and when I vacation I don’t want chores

That and the prices of rental homes aren’t a good deal, and no, I don’t want to run the dishwasher or take out the trash
(I’ve done it when I’ve stayed in rentals, I just hate how stressful check outs are)

I’d suggest you lower your price and have fewer cleaning rules before check out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally I prefer all the amenities that come from staying in a hotel/resort, for example breakfast, pool, housekeeping and availability of restaurants/ food onsite. The last thing I want to do is have to bring paper towels detergents and go grocery shopping, I already have those chores at home. When I travel it’s for vacation, and when I vacation I don’t want chores

That and the prices of rental homes aren’t a good deal, and no, I don’t want to run the dishwasher or take out the trash
(I’ve done it when I’ve stayed in rentals, I just hate how stressful check outs are)

I’d suggest you lower your price and have fewer cleaning rules before check out.

+1 to this and the other PP. I liked rentals when my kids were small and needed a place to nap and go to bed early. It was worth the other hassles for good kid sleep. But the second that was no longer needed we are back to hotels without looking back. It’s the cancellation policies, the checkout procedures and all the items we must bring/buy. Hotel is just easier and not any more expensive, and sometimes cheaper!