Airbnb Problems and How to Prevent Them

airbnb problems

By The Hospitable Team

Renting out your property on Airbnb can be a great source of extra income and allow you to meet great people from all over the world. In most cases, Airbnb hosts don’t encounter any serious problems with running their businesses.

But there are some situations when problems may happen despite your best effort. So you should prepare for them before you list your home or apartment on rental listing websites like Airbnb.

Keep reading to learn about the most common Airbnb problems and what you can do to address challenging moments as a host. Remember that successful Airbnb hosts always plan for the unexpected.

Airbnb Issues: Consider Local Laws and STR Regulations

First, let’s take a look at potential legal challenges when hosting on Airbnb. Before starting your journey to hosting, you should conduct due diligence to check laws and regulations in your local area regarding short-term rental possibilities.

Make sure you research the Airbnb housing regulations of potential areas beforehand to find out if there are any local restrictions preventing you from hosting your home. These regulations are primarily found in zoning codes, planning codes, or city ordinances.

Restrictions on hosting an Airbnb vary greatly depending on location. While some areas of the world welcome the opportunity of Airbnb, in certain cities, short-term rentals are limited or even illegal. Operating improperly in these areas could result that your business will be penalized, fined, or even shut down.

To avoid legal Airbnb issues, you need to have a good understanding of the kinds of laws that may apply to you. So you should also check business license requirements for Airbnb, building and housing standards, special permits, vacation rental tax rules, landlord-tenants laws, and other rules. If you have any questions, you should contact your local government or consult a local lawyer or tax professional.

If you are looking to buy a vacation rental property, you may want to learn about the best cities for Airbnb investment.

Airbnb Host Problems: How to Prevent Hosting Challenges

So you’ve done your research and know for sure that it’s legal to rent out your property on Airbnb for a short period of time.  But you should also keep in mind that managing the Airbnb account has its difficulties. For example, you may face Airbnb host problems connected with

  • Meeting and welcoming guests
  • Taking care of your home safety
  • Cleaning your property
  • Being available 24/7 to respond to your guests’ queries
  • Dealing with possible damage and repair problems, and more.

Here are some tips on how to handle challenging hosting moments.

Gather a support team of people who can help your hosting business run smoothly. You’ll need to have the contact info of a plumber, electrician, cleaner, and an Airbnb co-host readily available. That will make solving problems that may arise easier, especially when you’re out of town.

Perform routine maintenance that will help keep your rental space in great shape. This way, you’ll prevent such issues as a leaky pipe or broken heater from happening.

You should create a maintenance checklist and review it every year. For example, your maintenance checklist may include

  • Checking that all heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units are functioning
  • Clearing the gutters of leaves and other debris
  • Washing hard-to-reach skylights to keep your home or apartment well lit

If the pipe has burst or the garage door won’t close, you, as the Airbnb host, have to fix it. You need to be honest and realistic when you let your guests know that you are dealing with the problems they are encountering right away. It’s important to listen to your guests, be understanding, and show empathy.

Make communication with guests a priority. Be ready to respond to their inquiries fast and be available 24/7 when you have Airbnb guests staying at your property

Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep.

We will detect questions and answer on your behalf; send fully custom messages triggered by events, and much more!

Early guest arrivals, late checkouts, and cleaning issues can all cause challenges. But you can mitigate potential issues if you anticipate common pain points. Here are some suggestions about what you can do:

  • Provide your guests with clear check-in instructions. Tell them about check-in and checkout times and provide your reasoning behind them.
  • Provide a house manual with detailed instructions for accessing the WiFi and using tricky kitchen appliances.
  • Include key details in your listing description and check-in instructions, for example, how to get into your home, what your space looks like, etc. This can help set expectations.
  • As you set your reservation preferences, make sure you leave enough time for cleaning.
  • If you know your guests will be arriving early, you may consider offering to store their luggage.

By anticipating challenges before they arise, you are more likely to succeed in creating a great guest experience. And that means getting more positive guest reviews and more bookings.

Airbnb Problems with Guests

How to deal with bad Airbnb guests? You are a host, and you set the rules for your place. 99% of travelers obey the rules and mind their own business, so Airbnb problems with guests are not very common. All you have to do is inform them in advance of what is expected for the stay to run smoothly.

But what if a guest makes you uncomfortable? If you have a guest who has broken a house rule or done something to make you feel unsafe, Airbnb says you don’t have to take their reservation.

The best approach is to turn off instant booking and identify problem guests before you accept the reservation. You’ll need to perform some checks of each potential guest:

  • Check their profile to make sure it’s fully complete—there is a clear photo, the guest’s full name, a description of about 100 words, and a verified ID.
  • Check guest’s reviews. That will help you tell if they pose a hazard as a nuisance guest. If their rating is below two stars, it should be an automatic no.

And trust your intuition: If you don’t feel right about a reservation, don’t accept it.

You should also create a list of house rules that are easy to understand for everyone, even if your guests are from a different culture. And be ready to explain the rules in simple words if your guests have any questions.

Include anything you’d like travelers to know before they book—for example, whether (or where) smoking is allowed, whether certain areas are off-limits, where you allow parties, or if guests should take off their shoes before coming inside.

If you come across a guest behaving poorly by your standards, try to talk it through with them first. Tell them about your concern and how you feel, and more often than not, you’ll be able to come to a peaceful conclusion. If it doesn’t happen, you should involve Airbnb.

If a dispute arises, you should never judge or blame your guest. It’s important to remain professional and calm when dealing with a difficult traveler. Try to solve the problem together.

The best approach that can help you minimize problems from happening is to use effective communication and management strategies. Managing your listing requires time and effort, but with Hospitable.com, you can put your vacation rental business on autopilot.

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Final Thought

Now you know the potential Airbnb problems that hosts may face, so you can do your best to prevent them. But even if something goes wrong, we recommend you keep calm and be a responsible Airbnb host.

Follow local laws, perform routine maintenance, communicate clearly with your guests, and trust your gut instinct. Then, you’ll be able to minimize potential problems that could pop up.

Looking for more tips about starting an Airbnb business? You may want to check out our 101 guide.

airbnb complaints

Airbnb Complaints from Guests: How to Avoid Them

If you are planning to rent out your property on Airbnb, you should get ready to face Airbnb complaints from guests. Vacation rental issues happen even to the best hosts, but you shouldn’t forget that these problems, big or small, may quickly turn into bad reviews. Read the article to learn how to prevent those complaints.

airbnb requirements

Airbnb Requirements: Know your Paperwork

Local governments have been cracking down on Airbnb—with many outlawing (or severely prohibiting) it altogether. It’s a bit of a challenge to find the precise requirements to starting your Airbnb business. But don’t worry; this article is going to point you in the right direction and give you all the information you need to know (and where to get it) to be compliant.

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