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.

First guests from Turkey!

I had my first guests from Turkey, a really nice group of four economic students who were here for a conference.

A few months ago, we hosted a couple of Russian anthropologists.  Next up, a group from Iceland in town for a soccer coach's convention.


How else other than Airbnb would you have a chance to meet such a wide range of people?

Hosting burnout

Happy new year and all that.

The new year finds me suffering from the remnants of a cold and ENT infection and a serious case of hosting burnout.  Maybe the two are related.

Just before I got really sick I downloaded the .csv of my hosting data from Airbnb. Holy c***!  I thought I was busy this year and the data confirms it.  No wonder I'm so worn down!

The symptoms of burnout hit before the cold virus. A string of problematic guests in November was the last straw and I dealt with it in the following ways: I increased my minimum stay to 3 nights and now require at least one positive review from another host before a guest can stay.  Reservations had already become slow (as widely reported on Airbnb's Hosting 911 group) so I also slashed my prices hoping to compensate for my new requirements.  The result?  Only one new reservation during the past month.  And you know what?  It's okay, because I can really do with the break.

Next week I'll post some numbers and analysis from my hosting data. In the meantime, I'll catch up on some rest.