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This is a stupid article. I just can't see that many people who are interested in snooping in someone's apartment, with questionable hygiene on a questionable bed and a chance to just ruin your vacation to save a few bucks. It has it's appeal to someone and to others it's the antipathy of the point of a vacation.

The quality of the hotels... may suffer if the prices go down too much and that will be the problem, because when you try to save money you often neglect properties.
 
What WILL drive down the price of the hotels around me is the sheer number of rooms - more are being built right now. We had a dearth of rooms for a while due to the oil/gas workers demand BUT with the price of oil, gas, and coal going in the tank, there have been lay-offs. There are now vacancies.
Will I lower my prices? Not as long as my expenses keep going up.
 
Charlie said:
This is a stupid article. I just can't see that many people who are interested in snooping in someone's apartment, with questionable hygiene on a questionable bed and a chance to just ruin your vacation to save a few bucks. It has it's appeal to someone and to others it's the antipathy of the point of a vacation.

The quality of the hotels... may suffer if the prices go down too much and that will be the problem, because when you try to save money you often neglect properties..
Click to expand...
I think you might rethink that thinking. Just an example is the proliferation of home improvement shows. People are nosy. They want to see how other people live. The number of people who go to open houses who aren't buying houses (or casing the joint) is pretty high.
For people who like being in other people's houses, rather than a hotel, this is the grail. For people who would never stay in a stranger's house it's the weirdest thing they ever heard of.
We occupy an intersection of those two groups. (No one in my immediate family would stay at a B&B or use air to make a rez. We've had 4 couples stay from our air listing, mostly 20-somethings.)
As the people who are most impacted by someone in the house next door renting out their spare room for $50 we have to pay attention to what's being written. (BTW, here, our former state Rep is renting out rooms and sees nothing wrong with it. That's an indication of how fast things are not going to happen at the legislative level.)
 
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back.
 
Morticia said:
Charlie said:
This is a stupid article. I just can't see that many people who are interested in snooping in someone's apartment, with questionable hygiene on a questionable bed and a chance to just ruin your vacation to save a few bucks. It has it's appeal to someone and to others it's the antipathy of the point of a vacation.

The quality of the hotels... may suffer if the prices go down too much and that will be the problem, because when you try to save money you often neglect properties..
Click to expand...
I think you might rethink that thinking. Just an example is the proliferation of home improvement shows. People are nosy. They want to see how other people live. The number of people who go to open houses who aren't buying houses (or casing the joint) is pretty high.
For people who like being in other people's houses, rather than a hotel, this is the grail. For people who would never stay in a stranger's house it's the weirdest thing they ever heard of.
We occupy an intersection of those two groups. (No one in my immediate family would stay at a B&B or use air to make a rez. We've had 4 couples stay from our air listing, mostly 20-somethings.)
As the people who are most impacted by someone in the house next door renting out their spare room for $50 we have to pay attention to what's being written. (BTW, here, our former state Rep is renting out rooms and sees nothing wrong with it. That's an indication of how fast things are not going to happen at the legislative level.)
.
Click to expand...
I've had air guests as well. The low end is mostly people's unknowns. The high end is full apartments. I'm neither. Frankly, I hate the fact that Air doesn't have a way to highlight that breakfast is included or that this is professional rather than amateur hour.
What I sell is a house that you can't get into in any other way other than pay to stay. It's 130 years old and not something you really get to see anymore. Nothing around here like it... most of the stately homes of this age aren't accessible and if they are, they have been converted to condos and split into pieces.

Which is why what I offer on Air are your equivalent of the "plague" rooms. The smallest rooms. And we cut their value by not providing full breakfast, full housekeeping and don't offer our parking at all. Too many places to compete with and no proper way to compete other than price. Because there is no real way within their system to highlight anything and I'm at a disadvantage because I'm legal and need to collect sales taxes.
 
Charlie said:
Morticia said:
Charlie said:
This is a stupid article. I just can't see that many people who are interested in snooping in someone's apartment, with questionable hygiene on a questionable bed and a chance to just ruin your vacation to save a few bucks. It has it's appeal to someone and to others it's the antipathy of the point of a vacation.

The quality of the hotels... may suffer if the prices go down too much and that will be the problem, because when you try to save money you often neglect properties..
Click to expand...
I think you might rethink that thinking. Just an example is the proliferation of home improvement shows. People are nosy. They want to see how other people live. The number of people who go to open houses who aren't buying houses (or casing the joint) is pretty high.
For people who like being in other people's houses, rather than a hotel, this is the grail. For people who would never stay in a stranger's house it's the weirdest thing they ever heard of.
We occupy an intersection of those two groups. (No one in my immediate family would stay at a B&B or use air to make a rez. We've had 4 couples stay from our air listing, mostly 20-somethings.)
As the people who are most impacted by someone in the house next door renting out their spare room for $50 we have to pay attention to what's being written. (BTW, here, our former state Rep is renting out rooms and sees nothing wrong with it. That's an indication of how fast things are not going to happen at the legislative level.)
.
Click to expand...
I've had air guests as well. The low end is mostly people's unknowns. The high end is full apartments. I'm neither. Frankly, I hate the fact that Air doesn't have a way to highlight that breakfast is included or that this is professional rather than amateur hour.
What I sell is a house that you can't get into in any other way other than pay to stay. It's 130 years old and not something you really get to see anymore. Nothing around here like it... most of the stately homes of this age aren't accessible and if they are, they have been converted to condos and split into pieces.

Which is why what I offer on Air are your equivalent of the "plague" rooms. The smallest rooms. And we cut their value by not providing full breakfast, full housekeeping and don't offer our parking at all. Too many places to compete with and no proper way to compete other than price. Because there is no real way within their system to highlight anything and I'm at a disadvantage because I'm legal and need to collect sales taxes.
.
Click to expand...
I play up the legal, inspected aspect. Make sure the guest knows we have all the safety features. That the room is clean, we have great reviews, have been doing this for many years.
But. For the person wanting the real, in-home experience, we're not it. The person who thinks I'm going to make them breakfast whenever they want it didn't read the info. The person who didn't read what time they were supposed to arrive, or let us know, is not going to get the gracious host at 11pm when they call asking how they are supposed to get in.
However, that is rude guesting. You don't show up at someone's house 4 hours after they asked you to be there and then get upset when they can't extend breakfast into check out just for you.
 
Morticia said:
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back..
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back.
Click to expand...
I NEVER undercut my site price. It's always the lowest or equal to the others. I constantly tell guests "you won't find a lower price (never say 'cheaper') than on our website. You'll find lots of higher ones, but never a lower one."
 
Morticia said:
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back..
Click to expand...
I notice a lot of folks on airbnb add on an additional $20 or so for housekeeping and/or $10 for extra person after the first one. Is that a possibility?
 
PhineasSwann said:
Morticia said:
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back..
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back.
Click to expand...
I NEVER undercut my site price. It's always the lowest or equal to the others. I constantly tell guests "you won't find a lower price (never say 'cheaper') than on our website. You'll find lots of higher ones, but never a lower one."
.
Click to expand...
I didn't adjust it seasonally. So it's actually higher than my own rate off season.
This was our test to see if anyone would book. I don't think any of the other places had any reviews when I put our listing up.
 
charlie may said:
Morticia said:
My rate on air is $10 lower than on my site. It's not the $100 lower air suggested. And the guest gets all the same amenities.
Another place in town is charging $40 more than their listed rate to get the commission back..
Click to expand...
I notice a lot of folks on airbnb add on an additional $20 or so for housekeeping and/or $10 for extra person after the first one. Is that a possibility?
.
Click to expand...
charlie may said:
I notice a lot of folks on airbnb add on an additional $20 or so for housekeeping and/or $10 for extra person after the first one. Is that a possibility?
Click to expand...
Yes. There are options to add on whatever extra fees you want. Cleaning fee and a couple of others.
 
Charlie said:
Morticia said:
Charlie said:
This is a stupid article. I just can't see that many people who are interested in snooping in someone's apartment, with questionable hygiene on a questionable bed and a chance to just ruin your vacation to save a few bucks. It has it's appeal to someone and to others it's the antipathy of the point of a vacation.

The quality of the hotels... may suffer if the prices go down too much and that will be the problem, because when you try to save money you often neglect properties..
Click to expand...
I think you might rethink that thinking. Just an example is the proliferation of home improvement shows. People are nosy. They want to see how other people live. The number of people who go to open houses who aren't buying houses (or casing the joint) is pretty high.
For people who like being in other people's houses, rather than a hotel, this is the grail. For people who would never stay in a stranger's house it's the weirdest thing they ever heard of.
We occupy an intersection of those two groups. (No one in my immediate family would stay at a B&B or use air to make a rez. We've had 4 couples stay from our air listing, mostly 20-somethings.)
As the people who are most impacted by someone in the house next door renting out their spare room for $50 we have to pay attention to what's being written. (BTW, here, our former state Rep is renting out rooms and sees nothing wrong with it. That's an indication of how fast things are not going to happen at the legislative level.)
.
Click to expand...
I've had air guests as well. The low end is mostly people's unknowns. The high end is full apartments. I'm neither. Frankly, I hate the fact that Air doesn't have a way to highlight that breakfast is included or that this is professional rather than amateur hour.
What I sell is a house that you can't get into in any other way other than pay to stay. It's 130 years old and not something you really get to see anymore. Nothing around here like it... most of the stately homes of this age aren't accessible and if they are, they have been converted to condos and split into pieces.

Which is why what I offer on Air are your equivalent of the "plague" rooms. The smallest rooms. And we cut their value by not providing full breakfast, full housekeeping and don't offer our parking at all. Too many places to compete with and no proper way to compete other than price. Because there is no real way within their system to highlight anything and I'm at a disadvantage because I'm legal and need to collect sales taxes.
.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you have something unique and historical to offer. That should allow you to not compete on price.
Airbnb might not be the solution for you.
What I would be asking myself is where do the people that really appreciate what I have to offer look for and book rooms OR why aren't more people booking directly through my website?
 
brandon said:
Charlie said:
Morticia said:
Charlie said:
This is a stupid article. I just can't see that many people who are interested in snooping in someone's apartment, with questionable hygiene on a questionable bed and a chance to just ruin your vacation to save a few bucks. It has it's appeal to someone and to others it's the antipathy of the point of a vacation.

The quality of the hotels... may suffer if the prices go down too much and that will be the problem, because when you try to save money you often neglect properties..
Click to expand...
I think you might rethink that thinking. Just an example is the proliferation of home improvement shows. People are nosy. They want to see how other people live. The number of people who go to open houses who aren't buying houses (or casing the joint) is pretty high.
For people who like being in other people's houses, rather than a hotel, this is the grail. For people who would never stay in a stranger's house it's the weirdest thing they ever heard of.
We occupy an intersection of those two groups. (No one in my immediate family would stay at a B&B or use air to make a rez. We've had 4 couples stay from our air listing, mostly 20-somethings.)
As the people who are most impacted by someone in the house next door renting out their spare room for $50 we have to pay attention to what's being written. (BTW, here, our former state Rep is renting out rooms and sees nothing wrong with it. That's an indication of how fast things are not going to happen at the legislative level.)
.
Click to expand...
I've had air guests as well. The low end is mostly people's unknowns. The high end is full apartments. I'm neither. Frankly, I hate the fact that Air doesn't have a way to highlight that breakfast is included or that this is professional rather than amateur hour.
What I sell is a house that you can't get into in any other way other than pay to stay. It's 130 years old and not something you really get to see anymore. Nothing around here like it... most of the stately homes of this age aren't accessible and if they are, they have been converted to condos and split into pieces.

Which is why what I offer on Air are your equivalent of the "plague" rooms. The smallest rooms. And we cut their value by not providing full breakfast, full housekeeping and don't offer our parking at all. Too many places to compete with and no proper way to compete other than price. Because there is no real way within their system to highlight anything and I'm at a disadvantage because I'm legal and need to collect sales taxes.
.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you have something unique and historical to offer. That should allow you to not compete on price.
Airbnb might not be the solution for you.
What I would be asking myself is where do the people that really appreciate what I have to offer look for and book rooms OR why aren't more people booking directly through my website?
.
Click to expand...
Which is the real reason that only my worst rooms are on Air. All summer long they can't really manage to book because my rooms are sold out before they generally book. And if they want one of the great rooms, they can't get it there anyway. But it means my name is on there and they can look up our website and call us. And some have.
 
The guests from air are charged a fee by air on top of what you charge (and the booking fee air takes from us) so even if you are less money on air they can still book at your own website for less.
After they say how much they enjoyed their time we hand them a business card on their way out and say, "Here, save the air fee and book directly through us."
By the way we charge more on air.... No chance on lower rate because of air!
 
Charlie, I used some of the wording Breakfast Diva used to make it quite clear we were a licensed B&B with 16 yrs experience in welcoming guests.

So far no takers but this is our slow season. Price shown is for a single with an additional cost for 2nd person. I did that so my shown price is in line with some of the other places offered in the area. My hope is that my wording & experience will reel them in apposed to the 'stay in my house' type listings.
I did some changing around of pictures per my DH's request.
 

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