Airbnb To Require 24 Hours Between Rentals

Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

6y

@Jonathan Mueller

Well have to see, other platforms let the host choose what they want to do as far as cleaning protocols during this crisis. As I stated in my last comment to John, there are going to trade offs.

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Anand S.

Plantation, FL · Member since 2009 · 329 posts · 119 votes

6y

I suspect AirBnB will create a button so guests can quickly filter for hosts who adhere to this new cleanliness/72 hr gap policy, much like how they do for hosts that adopted a flexible cancellation policy. I wouldn't be surprised if they also create a badge or something similar.

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Carlos H DeOliveira

RI · Member since 2019 · 64 posts · 48 votes

6y

VRBO/Homeaway isn't as popular as Airbnb but it is definitely a viable platform, I have 3 properties that are rented year-round with 95% occupancy. About 70% of my reservations come from Airbnb. I notice the key difference is the platform used to make the booking, most people using cellphones/tablets to make their reservations use Airbnb, when they are using their computer the ration is more like 55/45. Also Airbnb is far more successful at achieving last minute bookings. I usually get longer reservations, 90 days in advance.

I use a channel manager to manage my properties, and since Airbnb started hurting hosts with their policies that in my opinion are completely one sided, I have adjusted my prices. I increased prices on Airbnb by 8% and reduced my prices on VRBO/Homeaway by 7%.

All properties are available on both platforms, but I'm giving homeaway a competitve advantage.

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Ken Latchers

Hatfield, PA · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 629 votes

6y

95% means you are underpriced. And you should add booking .com

Originally posted by @Carlos H DeOliveira:

VRBO/Homeaway isn't as popular as Airbnb but it is definitely a viable platform, I have 3 properties that are rented year-round with 95% occupancy. About 70% of my reservations come from Airbnb. I notice the key difference is the platform used to make the booking, most people using cellphones/tablets to make their reservations use Airbnb, when they are using their computer the ration is more like 55/45. Also Airbnb is far more successful at achieving last minute bookings. I usually get longer reservations, 90 days in advance.

I use a channel manager to manage my properties, and since Airbnb started hurting hosts with their policies that in my opinion are completely one sided, I have adjusted my prices. I increased prices on Airbnb by 8% and reduced my prices on VRBO/Homeaway by 7%.

All properties are available on both platforms, but I'm giving homeaway a competitve advantage.

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Carlos H DeOliveira

RI · Member since 2019 · 64 posts · 48 votes

6y

Originally posted by @Ken Latchers:

95% means you are underpriced. And you should add booking .com

I disagree on being underpriced, I have a different set of tools adjusting my rates and minimum stays to achieve 95%, not all 95% of my nights are booked at the same rate, I have discounts that adjust dynamiacally and seasonally to increase occupancy. I also subscribe to one of the data providers that allows me to check performance around my area.

I agree I should add booking.com, I also have my own website that I do some bookings. Biggest issue with booking.com was that I really felt their interface was terrible and took too long for a property to go live. I also didn't get enough interest because my houses were always rented.

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Stacey Lancaster

Real Estate Agent · Member since 2020 · 7 posts · 4 votes

6y

There is absolutely ZERO point to this. Some viruses can live for multiple days depending on the surface, so adding one day is 100% for show on AirBnB's part. @Luke Carl and @Avery Carl, you should build a hosting platform...I'll be the first to sign up! :)

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Villy Ellinger

Real Estate Agent · Fort Walton Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 219 posts · 275 votes

6y

Based on what I read and the way I understand it, the new cleaning protocol and buffer time will be an "opt-in" choice for hosts, where they get "preferential treatment" by Airbnb if they do so, but not a mandatory situation. I understood this to give owner the option and a higher ranking on the site if they do this, but not to actually block off the booking dates for everyone. Am I misinterpreting this?

Also, I'm thinking even if Airbnb rolls a mandatory "buffer time" they will probably be forced to only do this in certain markets. If they do this in all markets VRBO/HomeAway and others will kill them as far as picking up bookings. I know that will definitely be the case here on the Florida Panhandle.

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Nic S.Pro Member

Danville. CA · Member since 2017 · 313 posts · 220 votes

6y

Unsubscribe

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Ken Latchers

Hatfield, PA · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 629 votes

6y

True, but the vast majority the virus is gone much quicker than that.

Originally posted by @Stacey Lancaster:

There is absolutely ZERO point to this. Some viruses can live for multiple days depending on the surface, so adding one day is 100% for show on AirBnB's part. @Luke Carl and @Avery Carl, you should build a hosting platform...I'll be the first to sign up! :)

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Autumn Russell

Wilmington, NC · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 5 votes

6y

Has anyone thought about possible lawsuits from "improper cleaning" and guests getting sick? We don't have a STR yet but we run a charter catamaran with guests a week at a time. If guests get sick after visiting a property or our boat, and they blame the owner for not sanitizing correctly, will they be able to sue or anything? Logically they could have gotten sick from literally anywhere they went but if they choose to blame the rental property will that stick and can we be in trouble?

I know it’s intense and impossible to prove.

But what are shopping places that have had confirmed cases doing? I’ve seen Facebook posts like “if you were inside this gas station, on these days, monitor yourself”. But will it go further do you think?

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Cliff H.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 587 posts · 477 votes

6y

By the data alone, the safest means of ridding yourself of COVID-19 in your STR is to buy one that's all copper. You could call it a themed James Bond Goldfinger reboot: "CopperToe" and turn over your STR in just hours since COVID-19 can only live on copper surfaces for 4 hours and even that's a worst case scenario that's not realistic to how this thing transmits itself. Specifically, Johns Hopkins has already clarified the "several hours to several days" study, which suggests a far lower likelihood of anyone contracting COVID-19 from a hotel or STR stay versus riding a crowded bus, having someone cough on them while buying 80% off tiger shirts at Wal-Mart, or getting takeout from the local fast food joint that just happened to have one of their employees sneeze as they were packing up your food (which by the way, are all still businesses and experiences we are all exposed to).

From Carolyn Machamer, a professor of cell biology whose lab at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has studied the basic biology of coronaviruses for years:

What's getting a lot of press and is presented out of context is that the virus can last on plastic for 72 hours—which sounds really scary. But what's more important is the amount of the virus that remains. It's less than 0.1% of the starting virus material. Infection is theoretically possible but unlikely at the levels remaining after a few days. People need to know this.

2 Reply

Michael Greenberg

Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 533 posts · 433 votes

6y

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

I'm sad to say I don't see how Airbnb can survive this.

Airbnb.com says that Brian Chesky is making an announcement tomorrow (4/28/20) at 3pm pacific. We were hoping for good news. I guess we can assume this is the news.

Click Here For More Info

USA Today - "Airbnb is about to go on a cleaning binge.

The home-sharing service, under pressure from the coronavirus crisis, said Monday that it is establishing a new "cleaning protocol" with the goal of reassuring both those who rent their properties, which it calls "hosts," and their guests.

Airbnb said in a statement that the protocol will offer guidance on the best and safest practices for cleansing a residence's various rooms. It will include a manual more than 40 pages long establishing the standards, as well as specifying particular chemicals and other products to do the job."

Sad Lucas? I wish them everything that is coming to them, and then some. This has been a lesson in "dancing with the devil". They created a false circle of trust, but are now having to show their true colors.

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Airbnb To Require 24 Hours Between Rentals

Airbnb To Require 24 Hours Between Rentals

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