Airbnb to give Attorney General renter names and addresses?

Maybe.

Hooked on Airbnb?

Bed and bonkfest: Hookers abuse Airbnb website to turn your home into a brothel

Prostitutes use Airbnb for Sex

Airbnb reputation takes a hit from prostitution scandal

Can you give me a discount?

Found this image on a blog called CottageMe
 that has a much better post than mine about the same subject.

Every once in a while I get people asking for a reduced rate.  The answer is always no.

It's not like I'm the only game in town. If they want to pay less there are always plenty of other Airbnbs where they can find a better price. The thing is, they really prefer my place but don't want to pay for nice.

The last time this happened was back in February. A woman from England was looking
to stay for 2 days and wanted me to reduce the price from $70 a night to $65.

I explained that I had already lowered my price to account for the off-season and that the price I was charging for an entire apartment was competitive with what others were charging for private rooms.  She decided not to book.

What I found especially irritating about it was this: she's British, paying in pounds. How much was she really saving here?  With the dollar worth about $1.60 pounds, she was offering to pay £38.83 instead of £41.82.  Big difference.

Get a smoke/co2 detector or get delisted

Airbnb is offering U.S. hosts free safety items.

Airbnb expects all U.S. hosts to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors by the end of 2014. Once you have them installed you must indicate it in your listing. If you don't comply they say they will remove your listing from the site.

To help get hosts on the road to safety they're offering to send you one free detector, a first aid kit, and an emergency numbers card.

Not a bad idea.  I had them installed years ago in all my rental properties.  Each kitchen also had a fire extinguisher (still does) and I'm surprised they're not requiring that too.

Smoke/CO2 detectors aren't very expensive and you should have more than one in a property. If you want to spend some money,  NEST has one out with one that costs about $130 and can be silenced by waving your hand at it (in case you burn the roast.)

Airbnb makes smoke and carbon monoxide detectors mandatory

Bad weather, cancellation policy change

The weather in Philly, and elsewhere on the east coast has been terrible.  In the neighborhoods the roads are barely plowed, many sidewalks are not shoveled and parking is non-existent. I mean, people are sledding down the Art Museum steps fer christ's sake!

Normally, my cancellation policy is set to 'Strict.' However, given the weather conditions, I've temporarily changed it to 'Flexible', which enables guests who can't make it to cancel and get their money back.  The only thing they won't get back is Airbnb's fee. I've also emailed guests to let them know of the change and the reason for it.

So far, the only guests to cancel were the ones who were do to arrive tomorrow.

It's my hope that Airbnb will understand cases like this and agree to waive their fees.

Year-end analysis, or why I'm so tired

As I mentioned in a previous post, 2013 was a busy year. Let's look at the numbers.

Increases from 2012 to 2013

Avg. guests per stay: 58%
Total number of guests: 112%
Avg. nights stayed: -2%
Total nights stayed: 32%
Total number of reservations: 33.33%
Revenue: 80%

Percentage of nights in 2013 that were booked: 71%
Percentage of nights in 2012 that were booked: 54%

For most of 2012 the maximum number of guests who could stay was 2.  Then, near the end of 2012, I furnished the second bedroom and added an air mattress, increasing the number of guests who could stay to 6.

The end result was an increased number of bookings, since I could now accommodate both large and small groups, and an increased number of guests per stay.

But it could be exhausting.  Here's an example.  In June I had this run of 2 night stays:
3rd-5th, 2 guests
5th-7th, 5 guests
7th-9th, 5 guests
9th-11th, 5 guests

And June was the quiet month. July and August was that pattern continue for those entire months. Whew!

Keep in mind it could have been worse.  When I was out of town I blocked off my calendar. If I hadn't done that I could have had an extra 45+ days of reservations.

I do all my cleaning myself although I am reconsidering that decision.  I've since added a cleaning fee in anticipation of hiring some help.  Since adding the cleaning fee I've noticed that most of the inquiries I receive are for 4+ days stay.

What was your year like?

Something for nothing for newbies

Don't know how I missed this but Airbnb is offering a free night's stay to first-time Airbnb users when you stay more than 2 nights.  Hurry, you need to book by Jan. 17 and travel my March 31!

Hotels try to cope with rival Airbnb and other news

Is Airbnb really a rival of the hotel industry?  In the past I would have said no.  That was until a conversation I had at a holiday party.  The conversation was with a woman who is a well known (in the industry), well reviewed, legit B&B owner.  We'd spoken about Airbnb a year and a half ago, shortly after I started hosting.

This time when we spoke she asked if August had been slow for me.  No, actually, it was one of my busiest months ever. She went on to say that her business was very slow with few bookings.  Things were so bad for conventional lodgings that she even had some local hotels calling to see if she was as slow as they were.

I'd always guessed that my guests were people who only stayed in Philly because Airbnb made it affordable. Wrong.  Looks like Airbnb is starting to siphon business off the hotels.  That could spell big trouble.

Airbnb takes a bite out of the hotel market
A Boston University study finds that low-end hotels are especially vulnerable to being replaced by Airbnb accommodations, while hotels that cater to business and luxury travelers have less to worry about.

Hotels 'disadvantaged’ by web rivals, claims IHG boss

Richard Solomons says startups such as Airbnb should be regulated in the same way as traditional firms

The Hotelier’s Invisible Enemy
Many hoteliers assume that only backpackers or very budget-conscious consumers will consider using these sites, but they would be incorrect. 

In other news

Top 5 Ways to Protect Yourself When Renting Your Home to Airbnb Users

As Airbnb scales, the traveler experience needs work
Now that Airbnb has grown up, has a huge valuation, and is causing fear in the hotel lobby in cities across the world, can the traveler experience get a little better, please?

To Airbnb or not Airbnb?
In the end, it comes down to cost. Going "off-piste" is cheaper. But, sometimes, you get what you pay for. Hotels are predictable. Reliable. Certain.