Industry Conversations

I still rather routinely have alteration request errors. For example, a recent guest is trying to alter the reservation from one guest to three guests, and the Airbnb platform is saying this will result in $111 decrease in the price of the reservation. There is nothing in our policies about this at all, and it makes no sense. I have two different reservations that are having issues like this. Anyone else?

Hi everyone,I’m posting here because my support ticket is currently stuck in the queue, and my Booking.com listing is completely dead in the water (showing as Closed/Unbookable on the Extranet), I really need a Hospitable staff member or engineer to take a look at our connection mapping.Here is exactly what happened: The Background: We had multiple mapping issues with this specific Booking.com listing previously. To fix it, we created a duplicate listing, muted it, disconnected it from Booking.com, and then reconnected the muted one. It initially looked perfectly fine. The PriceLabs Trigger: The next day, we integrated PriceLabs. As required, we unpublished the listing temporarily to finalize the pricing settings. The Glitch: After doing this, the Booking.com listing completely vanished from our Hospitable properties dashboard. Simultaneously, on the Booking.com Extranet side, the listing’s status flipped to "Closed / Unbookable." Where it stands now: We called Booking.com suppor

Has anyone signed up for the top rated guest discount? Did you raise the markup for Airbnb to account for this? Does the discount stack?  

Curious to see what other operators out there are using for damage waiver protection for their homes. We have used Truvi the past two years and we have seen their process change alot lately. They used to be known for replacing damaged linens and towels, etc...but any damaged linen, towel, bedding, etc that we have reported lately they have declined it saying its normal use. Even after being washed, time stamped, and before and afters. We have been declined every time lately.Are there any operators that are satisfied with alternative companies?

Apart from JottoGo… what are your top 3 Hospitable integrations? 👀Obviously I’m going to say JottoGo for mine, so let’s put that one aside. 😄If you were setting up a brand new hosting business tomorrow, what are the first three integrations you’d connect to Hospitable?I’m interested in hearing about the tools you genuinely couldn’t live without.Bonus points if you tell us why each one made your top three.I’m secretly collecting ideas for a Top 10 Integrations Every Short-Term Rental Host Should Know About article, so your recommendations might end up helping a lot of other hosts too.

Hi Hospitable hosts,I’m starting a separate thread based on Petra’s recommendation so this does not get buried in my longer Hospitable/Smarty/Vrbo messaging incident thread.Bottom line up front: I’m looking for practical Vrbo host experience with review moderation, Owner Grace Period timing, technical escalation, and whether Vrbo can reopen a host-review window after inaccurate support guidance.Questions for Vrbo hosts Has anyone had Vrbo’s technical team roll back or reopen the host-review timeline so the host could still submit a review? If Vrbo support gave you inaccurate deadline guidance, were you able to get the host-review option restored? Were you able to escalate a review/moderation decision before or after the Owner Grace Period ended? Did Vrbo ask for your side of the story or any host evidence before approving the guest review? Did you submit your host review while review moderation was still unresolved, or did you wait? Did a Vrbo supervisor, review specialist, o

Hi All - would anyone be willing to share their pet agreement language that they use with guests who are bringing their pets with them? This is new for us so am looking for example language that ensures the renter respects the property and cleans up after their pet before leaving etc. Appreciate anyone willing to share. Thank you! 

Is there a way to set the minimum age of 21 for guest to rent a room ? 

Does anyone know how we can add monthly upsells for a property to that property’s end of month statement? For example, I have a co-host client and we offer upsells for pool heating. However, these purchases do not show on the end of the month statement and therefore have to be manually calculated creating some confusion. 

Hi hosts! INNdirectly.com is a centralized, searchable listing hub where you can list your properties with all their booking options including your direct sites and social media so guests can book with you however they want or reach out directly.It's free to sign up and actually $50 per property per year, but Hospitable hosts get the first year for only $5! 💕Use coupon: HOSPINN45 at check out. 

Hey everyone!Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to put into words something I’ve gradually learned after more than ten years of hosting.It eventually turned into an article.It’s not about JottoGo, and it’s not about selling anything.It’s simply my attempt to explain a way of thinking about the relationship between hosts and guests that has genuinely changed the way I run my own properties.I’d love to know whether it resonates with other hosts, or whether you think I’ve got it completely wrong.https://jottogo.com/resources/why-goodwill-is-the-secret-to-better-airbnb-reviewsI’d really be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Because of a threat of fire, I am asking my guest to cancel in the next few weeks. Is it better that they initiate the cancellation or is there a better way to do it?

We presently have upsell link being sent in guest messages based on calendar availability which provides a link to guest portal link. Are other hosts doing this? Will this trigger any violation of off platform policy from Airbnb?

Hi fellow hosts! I got tired of tracking supplies on spreadsheets and guessing what my cleaners had in stock, so I built STRcomms. It's a simple short-term rental inventory management system to help other hosts eliminate these supply headaches.To make it easy to try out, I set up two discount codes for the launch: STRSTART25M: Gets you up to 3 properties completely free for your first 2 months ($25 off each month). STRSTART50Y: Takes $50 off an annual plan if you want to lock it in. Take a look, save yourself some supply stress, and let me know what you think. I am always looking for feedback from other hosts to make it better.You can check it out at https://strcomms.com.

I would like to receive text messages from Hospitable when someone books or requests to book my property on VRBO and AirBnB.  I have searched and searched for how to do this and have found nothing helpful.   I checked all my settings on Hospitable and on my Samsung S26 phone.   I chatted with the AI BOT earlier this week, but that was just frustrating and worthless.   Hospitable really needs to have some LIVE personal chat options when the AI Bot cant assist.   

hi. Im wondering if people do review swaps?Once your listing gets under 4.8 rating, it can have quite a devastating effect on your visibility. Whos interested in review swaps? If we keep the price the same, then theres no difference except airbnb fee for each host. 

I am sometimes really frustrated that great new features Hospitable invents prevent old features from working properly: a lot of things are only flawless in theory, but often not well thought through, and therefore not easy to use – that is my criticism. The examples below make this completely clear.Regarding all of these following everyday problems and missing, obvious mini-features, I have opened tickets over the last 12 months, and virtually nothing has happened. I don’t need new features if the old ones aren’t at least thought through the end.Examples:To this day, I cannot decline or delete Airbnb inquiries. I have to go to the Airbnb app to decline them, but the inquiry still doesn't disappear in Hospitable. Discussions with ai hlep chatbot follows to delete this. Changing a booking (alter reservation) via the internal Hospitable tool does work, but to this day, the amounts are incorrectly labeled. I mean… without words. There is an app, but it is still just a web app loading all

I’m curious what QR codes other hosts have found genuinely useful.We currently use them for things like Wi-Fi, guest guides and extras, but I’m wondering what else people have experimented with.Some ideas I’ve seen or considered:Wi-Fi Digital guest guide Direct booking website WhatsApp contact House manual Local recommendations BBQ instructions Wellness bookings Late checkout or extrasI’m less interested in what could work and more interested in what guests actually scan and use.Have you found anything that gets used surprisingly often? Or anything that sounded like a great idea but nobody ever scanned?

Hi- I am looking to move over one of my properties to direct booking with our Hospitable Widget. I’ve had a few guest who have done it, tell me how cumbersome it is to do. Is there any tips that I can say to guest to let them know the process and to encourage them? Seems like that is my biggest bottle neck as they would rather just use Airbnb because of the ease of booking. 

My email box is flooded with Hospitable messages because I run 16 very busy properties.  Its polluting my email and making me very ineffective.  I only one want the new reservation messages but I get everything else that is an auto message setup.  I know my auto messages are setup, I don’t need hospitable to remind me that its going to send it out.  Also is there anyway to add the reservation details(especially money) to the new reservation emails?  I like to get a quick snap picture of the what/how/when/house of the reservation when it happens.  I don’t really need a screen capture of the “new reservation” email it sent to the guest.Thanks always for your help.Lance​​​​​​​

VRBO. offered improved calendar and pricing but when I follow the link, it says it must be done in Hospitable. How do we do that?

Chicago Hosts: How are you handling taxes across Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, and direct bookings?I manage short-term rental listings in Chicago and am trying to make sure I'm handling taxes correctly across all channels.Airbnb currently collects and remits the following taxes on my behalf: Hotel Accommodations Tax (Chicago) Hotel Accommodations Tax (Cook County) Illinois Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax MPEA Hotel Tax Shared Housing/Vacation Rental Surcharge Illinois Sports Facilities Tax Chicago Municipal Hotel Tax However, for Booking.com reservations, I receive the tax amounts and am responsible for remitting them myself. Guests are currently charged: TAX: 14.5% City tax: 4.5% I'm also researching the exact tax setup needed for direct bookings and want to make sure I'm not missing anything.For those with Chicago STRs: Which taxes are you remitting yourself for Booking.com reservations? How are you handling taxes for direct bookings? Which taxes, surcharges, registrat

I have a 1000sf cabin in Mammoth Spring, Ark. near the Spring River. It’s a tourist destination because of floating and trout fishing, but the economy is depressed. I had difficulties keeping good cleaners until Chloe started 2 years ago. She’s so good I pay her $75 each cleaning. Being afraid of running some renters off, I subsidize the cleaning by only charging $50.  Am I crazy?  What is “Average” for cleaning?

Got an inquiry today (not booked yet). The guest's first message was literally: "Has this unit been used for escort and prostitution services?"I answered honestly tht nothing like tht has ever happened at my place. She pushed back with "so you're not even sure, even as the host?"It's a tricky one. My place is full self check-in, so I never meet guests in person, and realistically no host (or even a hotel) can promise what someone does behind a locked door.How would you guys handle this? Do you give a firm flat "no," or stay honest tht you can't control wht happens in private? Have any of you had a guest ask something like this before?

I have been self-managing my property since April, 2026.  I cannot believe how often guests do not disclose that they are bringing pets.  Can anybody provide some insight on how to handle this?  Should I request my $125 pet fee?  It is really tough and unfair on the cleaners to have to handle the pet hair and accidents.  BUT, I am getting resistance from the guests.  I don’t want to jeopardize my reviews.  My sites say that we are “pet friendly” but it doesn’t actually say that the guest needs to disclose pets during the booking process and that there is a $125 charge to bring their pet.  Maybe the guest doesn’t understand that they need to include the pet number in the booking?  Any insight would be appreciated!