I'm an Airbnb host, AMA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since the crazies have already asked, can you please comfort them and assure them that no, you don't have hidden cameras everywhere watching their every move?

Because they would actually say yes.

[Anonymous]

I pay income taxes on the profits. My county doesn't tax Airbnb, although the nearest city just passed a licensing requirement that produces revenue. There are no hotels nearby - people who stay in my Airbnb choose it because it is not in the city.

But I understand your concern. If/when my jurisdictions decides to tax Airbnbs, I will comply, and I think Airbnb as a company should be working with governments to collect taxes on their behalf.

[Anonymous]

I would never and have never discriminated against anyone in accommodation.

We do disclose that our property is not child friendly or suitable for people with certain mobility issues because it has several steps and uneven ground, but if guests want to book it anyway, I would never deny them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since the crazies have already asked, can you please comfort them and assure them that no, you don't have hidden cameras everywhere watching their every move?

Because they would actually say yes.

Because it's absurd. Running an Airbnb is a lot of work. If I want to watch people taking showers or undressing or having sex or taking a crap, I have the internet. I don't need to start a business that involves cleaning the sheets and showers and toilets every other day.

[Anonymous]

Op, if I message back-and-forth with an Airbnb host - on the Airbnb site - can those messages be seen by other Airbnb hosts? I mean, I know "reviews" are seen, but how about conversations and (past) price paid. Sometimes I'm negotiating and I'm not sure it's private between me and just that one host.

[Anonymous]

We use Airbnb all the time and are so glad hosts like you are out there!

- How many nights per week or month is it usually rented out?

- How much net profit do you make?

- How do you coordinate cleaning between guests if you yourself are out of town?

- What has been the positive biggest surprise about being a host? Most negative surprise?

- It sounds like you have had mostly good experiences. Any red flags you'd warn either other hosts OR guests about to watch out for from listings or guests?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've never had any damage or problems. Most people make the bed before they leave. It helps if you create a nice environment -- people respect that.

Eww. You don't have a professional linen service? You know, leave towels and sheets by the door before you leave?

[Anonymous]

Messages between you and your host are private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've never had any damage or problems. Most people make the bed before they leave. It helps if you create a nice environment -- people respect that.

Eww. You don't have a professional linen service? You know, leave towels and sheets by the door before you leave?

Don't be ridiculous. I change the bed after every guest and wash the linens in hot water with bleach.

I was saying that most guests are so respectful of our property that they actually feel compelled to make the bed before they leave. I don't ask them to do anything with the linens, and I actually prefer they not pile wet towels on the floor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use Airbnb all the time and are so glad hosts like you are out there!

- How many nights per week or month is it usually rented out?

- How much net profit do you make?

- How do you coordinate cleaning between guests if you yourself are out of town?

- What has been the positive biggest surprise about being a host? Most negative surprise?

- It sounds like you have had mostly good experiences. Any red flags you'd warn either other hosts OR guests about to watch out for from listings or guests?

- In warm months, we are booked almost every night.

- We do everything ourselves, so our only costs are for consumables -- cleaning products, soap/shampoo, coffee/tea and laundry costs -- and we charge a $25 cleaning fee that more than covers that. So pretty much 100% profit.

- I block dates when we are out of town, so we don't have guests then

- Biggest positive surprise has been how nice people are, how much they respect the place, and how nice it feels to have people telling you what a great place you live in almost every day.

- Biggest negative surprise has been how truly hairy people are.

- We made some adjustments to our requirements based on early experiences. We require verification, we have a strict cancellation policy, we bumped the cleaning fee and we stopped allowing pets. Where we are, many people travel with their dogs and we are animal lovers, but we had one too many bad experiences where people didn't clean up after their dogs outside and let them pee inside.

- We allow instant booking but only with several days' notice. Before we did that, we had a couple of same-day inquiries that gave me pause -- people that just seemed...off. I decided that if you can't plan ahead where you're going to stay tonight, you can stay at a motel. I prefer people who have a plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I had to cancel a reservation once because of a sewer issue that made the place uninhabitable. We arranged alternative accommodations for the guest and refunded their payment entirely. They actually gave us a great review.

We are thinking of using AirBnB and I see a host has a few cancellations and many good reviews. The cancellations were 50-70 days before travel. Should this worry me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I had to cancel a reservation once because of a sewer issue that made the place uninhabitable. We arranged alternative accommodations for the guest and refunded their payment entirely. They actually gave us a great review.

We are thinking of using AirBnB and I see a host has a few cancellations and many good reviews. The cancellations were 50-70 days before travel. Should this worry me?

I'm guessing your host neglected to block dates when he/she would be away or had something come up that made it impossible to host those dates. That tells me that are either new to hosting, or not fully devoted to the business.

Cancelling on a guest is the #1 no-no in Airbnb world. It instantly disqualifies you for Superhost status. If you want to book places where the hosts are more dedicated to their business, search only for properties with a Superhost using the filter. It means you have 95% 5-star reviews, always respond to inquiries within 24 hours and have never cancelled on anyone. Superhost status is renewed every 3 months and it takes a year to get a cancellation off your "record."

[Anonymous]

Do guests ever leave little gifts or thank-you notes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
- Biggest negative surprise has been how truly hairy people are.
...

- We allow instant booking but only with several days' notice. Before we did that, we had a couple of same-day inquiries that gave me pause -- people that just seemed...off. I decided that if you can't plan ahead where you're going to stay tonight, you can stay at a motel. I prefer people who have a plan.

LOL - I'm always shocked at how much hair is all over my house too. WHERE IS IT ALL COMING FROM? How am I not bald?

Great point on Instant Booking, filing that away in case we ever decide to get into hosting.

Thanks for the answers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do guests ever leave little gifts or thank-you notes?

We get handwritten thank you notes about half the time, and texts another 25% of the time. Many people leave stuff they don't want to take with them that's still usable -- shampoo, magazines, books, travel guides, edible leftovers (half a bottle of wine, open box of crackers, etc.) Little perks!