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Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

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Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#351

Post by ilrwbwrkhv »

sschueller wrote: post #256

I find it sad how Airbnb has taken a market that worked (in many places) and re introduced all the problems that have been resolved through decades of regulations being put in place for hotels etc. Chances of finding a camera in a hotel room are near zero while at Airbnb you have no idea what kind of pervert the renter is. At this point prices for Airbnb have rissen so high why not get a hotel? It's like we don't lea…

Most people these days get a hotel anyways.

Also I only took a airbnb once in my life.

Anybody who takes airbnbs regularly has for sure slept on somebody else's dried body fluids.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#352

Post by scarface_74 »

klinquist wrote: post #266
mholt wrote: post #22

I'm worried this ban will only affect honest hosts. Anyway, what Airbnb should really ban is hosts charging a mandatory cleaning fee when also requiring their guests to do the cleaning. We just stayed at one this weekend, and like almost all our previous bookings, the host asked us to: - Take off all bedding and towels and start a load of laundry - Do all the dishes and start the dishwasher (but required to hand-wash…

I'm a host. I charge a $200 cleaning fee and my cleaners charge me $250, so I lose money on cleaning. I ask guests to: * Strip the beds (otherwise, I find that people re-make beds and it's hard to tell if they have been slept in), * Load and start the dishwasher (the dishwasher takes 4 hrs, and the cleaners travel to my remote house, and I want to make sure they can finish in about that time) * Take the trash down to…

Why wouldn’t you clean the sheets regardless after each stay?

But everything else seems reasonable. If a host left a note explaining the reasoning behind the dishwasher and the trash, I would understand completely.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#353

Post by therealdrag0 »

MissTake wrote: post #341
klinquist wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given my airbnb rating and constant positive feedback, I'd say that my existing solution is sufficient.

Give it time. I'd not be surprised to read that Air BnB are going to curtail this behavior next. The only reason you're doing this is to game the system. Be honest and charge more.

No the logistics and economics don’t work to run an Airbnb the same as a hotel. Why would Airbnb add regulations that make their customers less profitable or financially viable?

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#354

Post by barbazoo »

FireBeyond wrote: post #312
barbazoo wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hasn't been a problem for me. I apply common sense and do the absolute minimum, usually starting the dishwasher. They can ask me to do whatever they want but it has no teeth. I've never seen one of our hosts complain in a review either.

Which also shows you how little oversight they have - I guarantee that there are a sizeable number of places that are not inspected after each stay, let alone clean.

Wouldn't that be obvious though? You know, the bed not being made, dishwasher full, towels on the floor...

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#355

Post by ghaff »

archagon wrote: post #296
nox101 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used Airbnb 25 times. 12 of those times had issues. Issues like "parking space included" - show up, no parking "wifi included" - show up, wifi is sitting next to window and stealing from neighbor listed on quiet road - after booking address is changed to unit on busy road heater is so loud it sounds like a vacuum cleaner making getting any sleep hard I no longer use AirBnB period. Hotels have extra rooms, recept…

For what it’s worth, I’ve used Airbnb around 60 times and found it a much better experience than a hotel 9/10 times. Even putting aside amenities such as kitchen and washer/dryer access, hotels always feel like unnerving liminal spaces to me. Very few hotels I’ve stayed at have felt “homey,” which puts a significant psychological damper on my trip.

I guess I don't expect a short-term rental in an urban locale (especially) to be "homey." I'm looking for well-located, clean, and comfortable (enough). There are some brands that I find more welcoming than others but, in general, I'm not really looking for the hotel to be an important part of my experience with some exceptions.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#356

Post by swatcoder »

linehedonist wrote: post #334
swatcoder wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your family was asked to do about 17 minutes of convenient, easy preparatory tidying that most considerate people would do even without being asked (as in a hotel or when visiting a friend). Yet you benefited from coming into a home that, presumably, had all of its floors vaccuumed, its kitchen and bathroom surfaces sanititized, its linens folded and/or readied, etc. Whether it was the host or a service, somebody fol…

You empty the trash from your hotel room? Really?

If there's an appropriate place for me to do so, yeah.

And if there's not (as often), I at least gather all the trash together and make that task as easy as possible for whoever's stuck with the thankless job of cleaning up after me.

It's wild and disheartening that people here feel justified in not doing basic tidying of whatever mess they made when traveling or that it's some big demand of a host to ask them to.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#357

Post by archagon »

ghaff wrote: post #355
archagon wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what it’s worth, I’ve used Airbnb around 60 times and found it a much better experience than a hotel 9/10 times. Even putting aside amenities such as kitchen and washer/dryer access, hotels always feel like unnerving liminal spaces to me. Very few hotels I’ve stayed at have felt “homey,” which puts a significant psychological damper on my trip.

I guess I don't expect a short-term rental in an urban locale (especially) to be "homey." I'm looking for well-located, clean, and comfortable (enough). There are some brands that I find more welcoming than others but, in general, I'm not really looking for the hotel to be an important part of my experience with some exceptions.

In contrast, some of my favorite travel memories involve unique Airbnbs. People around the world have created some incredible living spaces, and hotels don't let you experience that aspect of travel.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#358

Post by klinquist »

MissTake wrote: post #340
klinquist wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a host. I charge a $200 cleaning fee and my cleaners charge me $250, so I lose money on cleaning. I ask guests to: * Strip the beds (otherwise, I find that people re-make beds and it's hard to tell if they have been slept in), * Load and start the dishwasher (the dishwasher takes 4 hrs, and the cleaners travel to my remote house, and I want to make sure they can finish in about that time) * Take the trash down to…

I find that abhorrent myself. What YOU pay for your cleaners is up to you. Stop nickel and dimming your customers - if you charge a cleaning fee then there's zero moral rights in my mind that you have to ask customers to also clean. Just up the nightly rates and build it in. When's the last time you stayed at a Hotel and found you got hit with a 'Room Cleaning" fee? What's next - a fee for allowing Heating to be used…

My cleaners travel 25 mins each way to my remote home and spend 5 hours cleaning. In a hotel, with identical setups in each room, they can do a lot more work in that time.

My checkout list is clearly defined in my listing, which is doing great based on my ratings and bookings. The cleaning fee is not hidden.

I would re-evaluate if I were not successful.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#359

Post by klinquist »

MissTake wrote: post #341
klinquist wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given my airbnb rating and constant positive feedback, I'd say that my existing solution is sufficient.

Give it time. I'd not be surprised to read that Air BnB are going to curtail this behavior next. The only reason you're doing this is to game the system. Be honest and charge more.

How am I not honest? The listing shows my cleaning fee and checkout list. Everything is transparent.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#360

Post by klinquist »

scarface_74 wrote: post #352
klinquist wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a host. I charge a $200 cleaning fee and my cleaners charge me $250, so I lose money on cleaning. I ask guests to: * Strip the beds (otherwise, I find that people re-make beds and it's hard to tell if they have been slept in), * Load and start the dishwasher (the dishwasher takes 4 hrs, and the cleaners travel to my remote house, and I want to make sure they can finish in about that time) * Take the trash down to…

Why wouldn’t you clean the sheets regardless after each stay? But everything else seems reasonable. If a host left a note explaining the reasoning behind the dishwasher and the trash, I would understand completely.

6 beds (comprising of 4 different sizes of beds/sheets) make it quite wasteful if a bed is not used. It already takes ~5 hours to clean the home.
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