Industry Conversations

Hi Community!  Question...As of 10/27, it appears Airbnb’s fee’s for hosts will be 15%.  I just need clarity on where we are now and where we are going and what this means….Today = Guest Service Fee = 11-14%.   What will this be on 10/27 or does this stay the same?Today = Host Service Fee = 2.4%.  What will this be on 10/27 or does this stay the same?Or will there be a new Fee line added with an additional 15% starting on 10/27?Thanks so much for the clarification.-Jen

In the early days of me rolling Security Deposits out to our Airbnb operation it has been an interesting ordeal, filled with a lot of explaining and arguing.  This makes me want to hear from others in the community about these thingsHow has the guest reception to you rolling out Security Deposits on OTAs like Airbnb been?   How do you preface the deposit and how it works? Practically speaking, if we are paying a 2% handling fee for the deposit then how does THAT allow us to comply with the general idea of trust accounting?   Do we need to disclosure that the GUEST is responsible for these fees? Do we need to be responsible for these fees as a business operating expense? I look forward to hearing how others in the community are handling this prudent evolution of the industry. 

Hi, I have 3 properties that I own, in Galveston, TX and are on Airbnb and VRBO. They are in my personal name. I want to move these into a LLC that I recently formed and move my business to LLC. Any suggestion how do I do this on Airbnb & VRBO Platform ? Should I create new listings there & block any new bookings ? Appreciate any suggestions from someone who has done this before. 

VRBO has been working to grow their market share through a variety of strategies like partnering with companies like Rakuten and Capital One Shopping, SEO, traditional marketing, and even some influencer marketing. The effect?  Well for my operations we’ve seen a 47% growth in the revenue from VRBO in the past two months compared to the same timeframe a year ago. BUT .  . .  While a 47% growth in VRBO originated travel is nice, what we’ve also found is that a year ago we had  issues with about 5% of VRBO guests.  Now it’s surging towards the 30% mark. Did VRBO simply snipe the shadesters from Airbnb and Booking.com, or is something else awry (like my operations?!) What are you seeing?  P.S. thank you Copilot for the assistance in compiling data and seeing this more clearly 🙌

I live in Toronto, Canada. In the Province of Ontario (our state equivalent), there is a governing body called the Travel Industry Council that requires anyone who is an accommodations booker (has their own website advertising and enabling travel booking) to register with them. Their goal is to ensure the travel booking public is not scammed by bad actors/operators (not a bad goal).  The challenge for us is that their registration process is costly and onerous.Just to start, its a $3000 non-refundable payment simply to review the application.  Then, a $10,000 surety will be held by them for up to 2 years to ensure good operations Trust accounting must be set up and the Travel Council must be set up for visibility on the accounts Other assorted requirements https://tico.ca/travel-

I need some tips to book quickly or adverting tips to get more booking any help and support will me much appreciated 

I have recently moved from a cleaner I hired on Turno to one who I hired privately.  My question is there an integrated app or way to have them be able to complete a checklist similar to what my previous cleaner was doing on Tunro.  I am aware there is something you can build inside hospitable but my current understanding is the are unable to actually check things off or provide pictures or feedback.Thanks in advance. -Jay

We've been successfully managing our own 5 properties for several years and have decided to expand into full service property management for other owners. As we prepare to take on our first couple managed properties, we're working through the logistics of setting up the best systems/structure from day one. I assume some of you have made this transition or are seasoned property managers, so any insights, experiences, or "wish I had known that earlier" advice would be very appreciated. Here are some specific general questions we’ve been pondering:Should we maintain our existing Airbnb/Vrbo accounts and simply update the business entity on the account to our new LLC for management, or should we create separate accounts for managed properties for other owners? If we decide to use our existing accounts, are there any implications of continuing to use our personal name on the hosting account as opposed to our brand name?

What is the best way to complete this? Does Hospitable have a native integration with GHL? I’m considering using Webhooks of Zapier. Curious as to if anybody has done this yet. Thanks in advance. 

We had a guest that booked for 2 days and communicated well and gave a 5 star reveiw. However the left adult diapers laying around in 1 of the restrooms and broke a hinge on a cabinet door and took a pillow. I dont want to give them a 5 star review but most important ly how do I let other hospital hosts know this is not a good guest?  

Hello, I have a personal direct booking site and it has been ages since I have received a direct booking even though I have had visits to my site. I am looking to see what others experiences have been with the premium direct booking website and if there have been any friction or pain points for others.

We currently use VRPlatform for our owners statements but have been hearing about TopKey as a superior option. Anyone have first hand experience? https://www.topkey.io/bookkeeping

We are interested in learning what accounting software PM’s are using? We see a strew of options and have found it difficult to choose.

HI , Does anyone have feedback on the Better STR app?

Hey! I’m curious how y’all handle compensation for upsells like early check-ins or late check-outs. Do you keep it the same split as regular booking income, or do you handle it separately since it’s a bit more work on the co-host/property manager’s side? Just wondering what others are doing, and especially how you explain it to owners.

I am looking for a robust scheduling app to use for mainly cleaning.  Turno does not seem to be very smart when it comes to scheduling so I am looking for an alternative. What I am looking for is something that can manage many properties and be smart enough to know if a cleaner is already scheduled on that day so that it doesn’t schedule them for 2 same day cleanings at a minimum.Basically I want to assign a “Main” cleaner and if that one is busy it goes down a list of cleaners till it finds one to do that job.  I want this to happen automatically and then alert the cleaner of the job with some way for them to look at a calendar to see their jobs and potentially decline it...then the system would assign the next cleaner on the list.Has anyone found something  like this?

Unfortunately Hospitable doesnt let you allocate cleaners to particular days for check out cleans. So for example, I have a cleaner who is available for two days a week and another one that is available the other 5. I cant automatically send all cleaning jobs on the two days a week to one and the rest go to the other. But, I have been told that other platforms do this, like Turno. Then when I investigated Turno, it became obvious that they will try to encourage my cleaners to go onto their marketplace - potentially poaching my very hard to find cleaners!  So no, I wont be using Turno. I am now looking at Breezeway. Which costs $20 per month per property (first one free if you apply within hospitable).  Has anyone had experience with Breezeway?  Or is there anything else I should look at? Thanks!Jay

We recently installed a Level 2 charger in one of our vacation rentals and have been toying around with different ideas. Who else has EV chargers at your properties? Do you assess an additional charge for usage?  How has your experience been with having EV chargers at your property?

Which automations are saving you the most time right now in day-to-day hosting? 👀P.S. Have you seen that Hospitable is hosting an AI Power-Up Workshop this Wednesday? Check it out and register here: See you there! 💜

What is your go-to camera doorbell and why? If you could provide a link to your fave, muchly appreciated. 

How far out do you keep your calendar open?  Pros and Cons please.  I currently am at 9 months and wondering if should open for one year or even 2 years.Thank you 

What are your management fees and how often do you get paid or bill the owners for the folks that are managing properties for others?

I’m a Superhost with a new high-end retreat property with 4 units. A recent group threw a party, caused nearly $1,500 in damages (covered by Airbnb), and then left a one-star review. Airbnb refuses to remove it!Should I consider “rebooting” the listing? 

Is it better to ignore the spam from Airbnb or use AI to reply? Requests to rent for a month and take convo off platform.  

I’m co-hosting a new property that will be putting exterior cameras up soon. How can I let upcoming bookings know? I will go in and add cameras to the listing, but wondered how to tell guests.  Thanks!