All Forum Posts by: Patricia Andriolo-Bull

 Is that for AC or heat?  My range is now set (and locked) from 68 - 76.  As much as I don't want the AC below 68, I also don't want it above 76 to prevent mold and mildew.

I'm in a beach vacation area so I stick to bright whites and neutral tones but have some pops of coastal color.  I focus on higher end so I try to bring in some higher end design as well but keep things very free of clutter with only the staples available.  People seem to like this.  A couple of photos as examples.  

I know a lot of hosts try to bring guests direct.  Frankly, I don't care if someone books through Airbnb, VRBO or direct. Most of my direct bookings still use a credit card and I pay 3% regardless (with higher commission platforms, I have that baked into my fee).  Any marketing I do is for the guest to return to my property (or new guests to come to my property), however they want to book (they may prefer to book direct given the OTA fees, but some feel safer doing that, even as return guests).  

Combining several prior threads, not necessarily saying that they are related but...

Thermostats-recently someone asked if we lock thermostats.  I hadn't but do include a minimum of 69 in my Welcome Guide.  Reason being - I'm in SWFL and replaced one of my AC units last summer because it froze from a contractor running it with all the windows open in the summer.  My HVAC company recommendation was above 70.  Today, I checked my thermostat in all 3 units.  I normally don't do this but 2 are vacant and was making sure the AC was set at my standard 76.  The guest in the occupied unit had the AC set to 50 DEGREES!  The only reason it reset to 74 is because a guest must have put that on a schedule for Sunday otherwise it would have been a solid 50 the entire time.  Basically, from the moment they got there, almost 4 days ago!  It shows the AC running 24 hours every day!  Photo for a visual...

-This is my first Booking.Com guest in some time.  I generally have great guests as I have said on here before.  Maybe 2 or 3 in the 9 years I've had vacation rentals guests I would want to rent to again.  I have found BDC guests a bit needy and they don't communicate but nothing like this.  

I am not looking forward to getting my electric bill this month.  What is wrong with people?  Does anyone actually set an AC to 50 in their own home?  And yes, I see that people have been setting it below my recommended 69 previously, well, now I am locking it.  I hate to be one of those hosts...

 I agree, with some exceptions.  I stayed at an Airbnb last summer, they made me log into their portal after reserving and had to use it several times to access the property.  It was a clunky portal and not easy to use.  They also did a terrible job communicating.  I indicated I had a dog but they didn't charge me a pet fee until I was trying to get into the unit and of course, through their app.  I couldn't get my info until I paid the separate (previously unstated) pet fee.  The entire thing was a bit of a hassle.  They also collected a security deposit.  I hate to say there are bad actors out there, but there are.  They use the security deposit for every little thing and then you have to fight them and not Airbnb to get it back.

However, I had to pay for parking onsite.  I wouldn't expect this to have to go through Airbnb but according to the new policy, I would have to pay that through Airbnb as well.  I've discussed this personally with Airbnb for my situation and they said somehow, I need to pay this on behalf of my guests through the resolution center.  The money doesn't even come to me.  Oh, and now it is eligible for tax collection, also!  Not a benefit to the guest as typically, parking does not have taxes added.

 The downside (to the guest) of that is that if you have longer stays, they end up paying much more, and if they have shorter stays, you don't have enough to cover.  I prefer the separate per stay fee - especially now that Airbnb doesn't show ANY fees, it calculates perfectly.

Updating my last post...I did add this as a community fee but went into incognito mode to check on the new pricing.  Guests see nothing but total price so it really doesn't matter how you add it.  Even when it shows detailed pricing, the breakdown is only the total for the stay, less any discounts, airbnb fees and taxes, then the grand total.  That's all.  

My HOA also charges a fee per stay but they charge the guest directly upon arrival as a registration where they also get a parking pass (I recently posted this in another thread). Given the recent changes, I now have to write my association a check prior to each guest's arrival and will be adding this as a community fee in Airbnb.

Personally, I cringe when I hear that people don't wash them after every turn.  Our set up doesn't allow us to get them done each time so we have an extra set and our cleaners take them offsite to wash after each guest.

So glad to hear given all of the weather issues the Tampa had in the Fall.  SWFL did much better over the same time period also, guessing as people had to cancel trips to Anna Maria Island and Sanibel and move further south.