** Airbnb queries & info **

PLL

We are planning to go to Lisbon in September for our Anniversary. I have been researching Hotels and found a nice one with a pool (which is a must for us) which we will book if nothing else catches out eye.

Someone then mentioned to me about Air Bnb, they used it for a trip over to England for a wedding and found it great. So I had a look and was shocked to find a few fairly central apartments with a pool for only a bit more than the hotel.

What I want to know is if anyone has used Air BnB to stay somewhere on the continent? Is it safe/reliable? Will our booking be honoured. Any experiences?

Also if anyone has any Lisbon tips they would be much appreciated.

Louche Lad

I've used Airbnb a number of times on the Continent - not Portugal, but Belgium, France and the Netherlands. I have always found it reliable, and all places I've stayed in were safe. I only experienced one place that was below a reasonable standard of comfort. All bookings were honoured.

The thing with Airbnb is they ask people to give reviews of places they've stayed at, and you can read people's reviews before you book. Note that sometimes people praise places more than they should so you have to 'read between the lines' a bit. If places aren't as advertised, or hosts manage to grossly upset guests in some way, then they lose business.

JohnMearsheimer

Myself and my girlfriend have used Airbnb twice. I only have positive things to say about it. Apartments have been as described and it has saved us a bomb on hotels. Read the reviews and do a little bit of research about the areas where the apartments are and you'll be fine.

I booked a trip to Lisbon last tear for myself and my girlfriend and I used Priceline to bid on a hotel. There is an element of pot luck when bidding on Priceline though. I eventually got the Marriott in Lisbon for 4 nights for €220 through Priceline. It had a pool and all that carry on. It's another option to keep in mind.

PLL

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

Myself and my girlfriend have used Airbnb twice. I only have positive things to say about it. Apartments have been as described and it has saved us a bomb on hotels. Read the reviews and do a little bit of research about the areas where the apartments are and you'll be fine.

I booked a trip to Lisbon last tear for myself and my girlfriend and I used Priceline to bid on a hotel. There is an element of pot luck when bidding on Priceline though. I eventually got the Marriott in Lisbon for 4 nights for €220 through Priceline. It had a pool and all that carry on. It's another option to keep in mind.

Thank you for the tip about Priceline. I have never heard of it before. 4 nights in the Marriott for that price is a great deal.

finbarrk

The thing I don't like about airbnb is that the host can cancel without penalty, whereas if the guest cancells it's penalised. Make sure there are good reviews before you book.

keithclancy

finbarrk wrote: »

The thing I don't like about airbnb is that the host can cancel without penalty, whereas if the guest cancells it's penalised. Make sure there are good reviews before you book.

Well to be fair the same can happen with a Hotel/B&B also.

If a hotel or B&B cancels your reservation what exactly is the penalty for them other than bad reviews and their reputation ?

jjbrien

What i dont like about Airbnb is i made a booking then the host refused it as he said he had others coming the same day. It took my money and I then had to wait for my bank to return the money back to my card before i could try again.

keithclancy

jjbrien wrote: »

What i dont like about Airbnb is i made a booking then the host refused it as he said he had others coming the same day. It took my money and I then had to wait for my bank to return the money back to my card before i could try again.

Just send a message before hand asking if the dates are available.

Louche Lad

keithclancy wrote: »

Just send a message before hand asking if the dates are available.

Yes, that's the way to do it. What I do is simply ask 5-6 hosts "Is the room available Thursday-Sunday nights, 10th-13th April?", and then choose the best one of those that respond within a few hours. Unfortunately some hosts are a bit casual about keeping their calendar up to date.

Also, there are some rivals to Airbnb, such as Wimdu, using almost identical booking processes.

keithclancy

Louche Lad wrote: »

Yes, that's the way to do it. What I do is simply ask 5-6 hosts "Is the room available Thursday-Sunday nights, 10th-13th April?", and then choose the best one of those that respond within a few hours. Unfortunately some hosts are a bit casual about keeping their calendar up to date.

Also, there are some rivals to Airbnb, such as Wimdu, using almost identical booking processes.

Yes that's true I'm an AirBNB host myself, if you message them though it's in their interest to respond to you within 24 hours otherwise it affects their response rate and their bookings.

It's also better if you have some verification such as a passport logged with AirBNB, many hosts won't take bookings from non verified guests.

Also when communicating with your host your best off doing everything through AirBNB Messaging as the same response rate thing applies and if there are any problems its all logged via AirBNB.

Communication is the key really, the nice thing about AirBNB is that it's flexible for the host and for the guest.

finbarrk

keithclancy wrote: »

Well to be fair the same can happen with a Hotel/B&B also.

If a hotel or B&B cancels your reservation what exactly is the penalty for them other than bad reviews and their reputation ?

But if you book an apartment with airbnb somewhere that a big event is coming up, and the host doesn't realise it until some time after the booking is done, he/she will cancel as he/she knows they can get much more for the same booking from someone else. I got caught that way, hence I'm a bit sceptical about it. At least with the likes of booking.com your booking will be honoured.
Although I have an apartment booked through airbnb in Spain for this summers hols.

keithclancy

finbarrk wrote: »

But if you book an apartment with airbnb somewhere that a big event is coming up, and the host doesn't realise it until some time after the booking is done, he/she will cancel as he/she knows they can get much more for the same booking from someone else. I got caught that way, hence I'm a bit sceptical about it. At least with the likes of booking.com your booking will be honoured.
Although I have an apartment booked through airbnb in Spain for this summers hols.

I've had a hotel do the exact same.

finbarrk

keithclancy wrote: »

I've had a hotel do the exact same.

Never happened to me with a hotel.

keithclancy

finbarrk wrote: »

Never happened to me with a hotel.

Booked hotel in Dusseldorf around 6 months in advance, turned out there was a medical conference scheduled at the same time announced 3 months later.

The Hotel Cancelled my booking saying there was a problem with the booking.

When I went to re-book the price had gone from 49 euros to 650 euros.

Ended up staying on a mates couch as everything was more than 400 euros.

AndersLimpar

Is AirBnB suitable travelling with children?

Sam Mac

AndersLimpar wrote: »

Is AirBnB suitable travelling with children?

Yes, it is just like renting an apartment. Its not like Couchsurfing or anything.

ashvoucher

It's very safe and reliable. I have used it once before in Spain and our host was beyond amazing and helpful! Looking forward to an upcoming trip to Spain...

I have a discount code to receive 23euro off your first booking if anyone wants to avail of it - acoffey44 ....

Happy holidays!!

grimm2005

Used it once with 2 mates on a trip to Chicago a few years back. No issues at all, host was great and always contactable and it was really nice to have our own apartment where we could cook our own breakfast and just have more of a homely feel for the duration of our stay.

ScottSF

I think the confusion that needs to be cleared up is that Airbnb is a "space" booking service. It can be for an entire house or apartment or just a spare room in someone's place (while they are home). It can be for a sun holiday home or it involve renting out someone's apartment while they out of town. There is everything from luxury to rustic to budget so you have to search wisely, read the reviews, and email the owners with questions. It is more effort to book than a hotel but you benefit from an authentic stay, more space, and a kitchen to make meals if you wish.

If you are not looking to sleep in a spare bedroom and wish to rent an entire apartment/flat/house (a search/filter option you can check on Airbnb) then it is comparable to using HomeAway.com or HouseLettings.co.uk or VRBO for example. However those sites are for dedicated/permanent holiday lets (often managed by a property agent) whereas Airbnb includes both places that are holiday homes/apartments as well as places that are only rented out when the owner is away. I tend to prefer dedicated holiday lets only because you don't have to deal with someone else's stuff all around.

I do like the way Airbnb handles payment and security. You pay Airbnb and they in turn pay the owner once you arrive and help mediate disputes. You never have to pass along your credit card or wire money to a stranger to make a booking like many other sites.

One more plus of Airbnb is their European HQ is in Dublin, so you are supporting Irish jobs

zagmund

Sigh. My summer holiday is going backwards at this stage.

We had a great place (sole occupancy, not shared) booked on the edge of Lake Geneva for the end of June, but the owner just mailed us to say that "something has come up" and he is cancelling the reservation. To say I am unimpressed is to understate things significantly. I have learned a very valuable lesson in terms of the wonderful new world of free form rentals on the internet. At least I get my money back, but now I have to start planning almost my entire holiday again and unfortunately I know that there's no way I'll get anything near that value so it's going to cost me a fair whack too.

Knowing the way these things work, I have a funny feeling that airbnb will have some sort of T&C in place which says that the owner can cancel at any time without penalty despite the fact that the visitor will be hit with charges if they cancel.

Anyhoo, no real point to this other than to vent in general and warn others of the risk of this happening. At least with (most) hotels they will try to re-accommodate you if they have to pull the plug for some reason.

Sigh,

z

rowanh

I had a place booked in Santa Barbara on Airbnb and the host cancelled, she booked me in somewhere else and paid the difference in cost. I have used the site quite a few times over the last few years and only have had very small hassles from it. I know one person who had a bad experience where the person did not show up with the key and it was late at night in the middle of nowhere..

Gatica

Common problem and there have been other threads on this issue on Boards. Unfortunately that's what can happen when you're trying to rent someone's home...
You're not hit with extra charges by the cancellation as I'm sure Airbnb will refund you every penny. It's just isn't going to be a cheap for you to re-book elsewhere. Personally I wouldn't rely on them if it's for somewhere where the options are limited as we've been burned with it ourselves. It's grand in a city where there's lots of alternatives should it happen.

finbarrk

Thats the main problem with airbnb. Hosts cancelling without a penalty. But if the guest cancells, there is a penalty.

keithclancy

zagmund wrote: »

Sigh. My summer holiday is going backwards at this stage.

We had a great place (sole occupancy, not shared) booked on the edge of Lake Geneva for the end of June, but the owner just mailed us to say that "something has come up" and he is cancelling the reservation. To say I am unimpressed is to understate things significantly. I have learned a very valuable lesson in terms of the wonderful new world of free form rentals on the internet. At least I get my money back, but now I have to start planning almost my entire holiday again and unfortunately I know that there's no way I'll get anything near that value so it's going to cost me a fair whack too.

Knowing the way these things work, I have a funny feeling that airbnb will have some sort of T&C in place which says that the owner can cancel at any time without penalty despite the fact that the visitor will be hit with charges if they cancel.

Anyhoo, no real point to this other than to vent in general and warn others of the risk of this happening. At least with (most) hotels they will try to re-accommodate you if they have to pull the plug for some reason.

Sigh,

z

Did the host mail you outside of AirBNB ?

If so keep the correspondence through the AirBNB messaging service.

Make sure the host cancels the reservation and not you

More info:
https://www.airbnb.ie/support/article/170

You should mail your complaint to AirBNB as they may accommodate you.

finbarrk wrote: »

Thats the main problem with airbnb. Hosts cancelling without a penalty. But if the guest cancells, there is a penalty.

That's not true, it leaves a negative review on the hosts feedback saying the reservation was cancelled and if the guest does it more than once they will have to pay a penalty.

They also lose their superhost status if they have it.

So it can cost them future reservations and earnings.

sandra_b

Hi all,

I am going to Nice and I am looking for an apartment through AirBnb. I found the one I really like, but the host does not have any revews.
He is verified through Facebook, ID and phone and has 1 review as a guest.

Would you book an apartment with no reviews? How safe you think it is?
Thank you.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I'd try to pick somewhere that has a few reviews, but you should be fine.

Every user starts on the site with no reviews, when you think about it.

Yamanoto

Tell the owner you're really interested in their property & ask if you could have a quick chat on the phone about the rental process, the house & surrounding area. If they're amenable (and assuming their English / your French is up to it), then you can get some sense of whether it's a punt worth taking or not.

RainyDay

I had a similar situation when booking for Barcelona recently, and I just moved on to find one with reviews. To me, it was just too high risk, given the people who were travelling with me.

keithclancy

The thing is though, the price will be lower as the person starts out with a low price when they have no reviews and then raise the price when they have a few good reviews.

So it might be good value.

Celly Smunt

I'd have a chat with then and go from there. The review system is a little flawed on airbnb anyway since the host has to approve a review so basically negative ones can be filtered out.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Celly Smunt wrote: »

I'd have a chat with then and go from there. The review system is a little flawed on airbnb anyway since the host has to approve a review so basically negative ones can be filtered out.

That doesn't sound right at all. Sure then there'd be no negative reviews whatsoever!

Celly Smunt

Techmaster wrote: »

That doesn't sound right at all. Sure then there'd be no negative reviews whatsoever!

There are practically none, everybody is 4-5 star


The only negative ones you'll see are with hosts replying to it.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Celly Smunt wrote: »

There are practically none, everybody is 4-5 star


The only negative ones you'll see are with hosts replying to it.

If that is the case, that is a ridiculously stupid system.

Celly Smunt

Techmaster wrote: »

If that is the case, that is a ridiculously stupid system.

The whole airbnb system has become a joke in its entirety really in terms of verifications and not releasing money on expiries etc etc.

A host could cancel the day before you arrive and you won't get your money back for days leaving you up **** creek. That's the only reason I pick host with loads of reviews, not because of the reviews themselves but due to the fact that they do this almost on a full time basis meaning they aren't likely to leave you ****ed.

keithclancy

Celly Smunt wrote: »

I'd have a chat with then and go from there. The review system is a little flawed on airbnb anyway since the host has to approve a review so basically negative ones can be filtered out.

Not true, I was a host on AirBNB and you cannot do that, you can either leave a guest review or not leave a guest review, one of them or both of them get posted anyway.

There is no option to 'disapprove' of a review.

There are also many bad reviews on AirBNB, I got some and I left some as well.

sandra_b

How deposit procedure works? Is it paid to him directly or through AirBnb payment system?

Celly Smunt

keithclancy wrote: »

Not true, I was a host on AirBNB and you cannot do that, you can either leave a guest review or not leave a guest review, one of them or both of them get posted anyway.

There is no option to 'disapprove' of a review.

There are also many bad reviews on AirBNB, I got some and I left some as well.

Not anymore, the guest has to wait for approval of a review. Airbnb shook up all their rules after the verification restrictions

sandra_b

Thank you all for help. I am not going to proceed with this one. I asked for his phone num - to call him on Monday. He replied that he works on Monday (?) and I can not call him because AirBnb blocks presonal emails and phone numbers.

???

keithclancy

Celly Smunt wrote: »

Not anymore, the guest has to wait for approval of a review. Airbnb shook up all their rules after the verification restrictions

Nope, there's a period (two weeks) where you have a chance to post a review. There is no 'approval'

If the host doesn't post a review then your review gets posted anyway after the two weeks and vice versa.

I'm still a host on airbnb

If you both post a review then they both get posted before the two weeks.

sandra_b wrote: »

Thank you all for help. I am not going to proceed with this one. I asked for his phone num - to call him on Monday. He replied that he works on Monday (?) and I can not call him because AirBnb blocks presonal emails and phone numbers.

???

Yes, AirBNB block numbers and e-mails until you make a booking, it's to stop people making a booking outside of AirBNB

jaybee1957

Did you look to see how long his property has been listed on Airbnb? He might be a newbie just starting out. If you did book with him and you weren't happy, you can report it to Airbnb, but you would have to find somewhere else to stay. Some Airbnb hosts allow same-day bookings, so you could still use Airbnb as a back-up plan. Although the 'help' section of Airbnb is a bit long-winded, you can find the answer to your questions with a little patience.

My wife and I have hosted our B&B on Airbnb for over two years and, although we were reasonably happy at first, things have changed quite dramatically since they separated European operations, which are now run from Dublin. Only ever got a handful of bookings through Airbnb, but generated much more business on other websites. Glad we don't have to rely on Airbnb - we couldn't survive!

I will write a post in the near future to compare costs/fees on Airbnb Europe with other websites, e.g. Booking.com. These guys seem to have a mixed reputation, but we do a hell of a lot of business with them. Their website is far easier to use, both as a host and a guest, and their method of calculating charges is simple and transparent (unlike Airbnb's, which is very complicated). Also they do a mobile app for guests, which generates the majority of our business with them. More info on these aspects in a future post!

jaybee1957

I replied a short while ago to a post regarding using Airbnb for accommodation, and I also noticed a lot of posts with respect to charges. I said I would write a comparison of Airbnb with Booking.com, which seems to generate very mixed feelings from users (although, I feel, unjustly so).

We run a B&B in Askeaton and, besides our own website, we are listed on 5 other websites (plus all their affiliates) as well as Tripadvisor. Airbnb and most of the other websites have consistently failed to generate even a reasonable level of business, whilst our own website and Booking.com comprise well in excess of 90% of our bookings. I am sure that some of these are leads generated by Tripadvisor (you can't book on Tripadvisor, but they recommend links to other websites, and you can leave reviews there also). The amount of business generated primarily though Tripadvisor is difficult to quantify, but we do ask guests how they got to know about us, so we can get a rough idea of where our business is coming from.

Anyway, let's get to the point. Airbnb recently separated their European operation which is now run from new offices in Dublin. As part of this move, they sent e-mails to all European hosts (with properties both in Europe and abroad), and non-European hosts with property in Europe. What I'm about to tell you in respect of the contents of this e-mail ABSOLUTELY STINKS!

All the hosts which fall into one or both of the categories above have had their details reported to the Revenue Commissioners by Airbnb. These details include, if I remember correctly, host names, addresses, property addresses, all amounts earned through Airbnb from mid-2014, means by which payments from Airbnb were made including names and addresses of recipients and financial institutions (i.e. bank accounts, paypal acccounts, names and addresses associated with those accounts).

In addition to ratting out all these hosts to Revenue, Airbnb now charge 23% VAT on host fees, which are added into a complicated calculation making it difficult to ascertain how much Airbnb actually makes on each booking (I will, however, explain later).

It's also worth mentioning that, according to Revenue's own website, VAT charges in the Tourism Sector were dropped to 9% some years ago in order to stimulate the industry, and this lower charge has been extended indefinitely, therefore it's still in force today. Hotel and holiday accommodation (including B&Bs and folks on Airbnb renting rooms), if they are VAT registered, should charge only 9% VAT, but Airbnb has chosen to charge 23%! Any business which is not registered for VAT cannot charge it (but cannot claim back any VAT from expenses).

Airbnb state that they are obliged to report all the details to Revenue, but I have trawled through Revenue's website, and I don't agree. There are some instances where a business which is charging commission on certain activities is obliged to report details about its customers to Revenue but, the way I understand what I have read, Airbnb does not fall into any such category.

Because this post is already very long, I'm going to break off at this point and submit another post. This will include a price comparison, and will show how much Airbnb is actually making on each booking - you may be surprised!

gordongekko

Airbnb reporting potential revenue fraud. fair play to them.

jaybee1957

OK, lets look at what levels of commission some websites actually charge for bookings. It's not uncommon to see charges of around 10% or above being paid by hosts or business to websites featuring their properties. In my opinion, 15% is a bit on the high side but, if these websites are generating a healthy number of bookings, it's probably worth it.

One of the websites on which we are featured charges a flat 15%, no hidden charges, no complex calculations, just a fixed, transparent and easily understood 15%. The charges aren't taken until after half-way through the following month. This means that you get between 15 and 36 days (approximately) before the charge is debited from your account. Nice, simple, easy.

Airbnb, however, charges twice. The guest is charged a fee when their booking is confirmed by the host. Then the host is charged a fee (which is deducted from the advertised price before they are paid out by Airbnb). The guest fee also contains a VAT charge of 23% (but NOT 9%, which is Revenue's advertised rate for accommodation). And, just to complicate matters even more, the guest fee varies according to the amount the host is charging.

The best way to understand what the charges are is to show 2 examples (one with the lowest possible guest fee, and one with the highest).

Example 1 -
Host advertises accommodation which (taking into account the total number of persons and the total number of nights stayed) is, for ease of calculation, 100 euro.

Host fees are 3% of advertised total price, or 3 euro
Guest fees are 6% (cheapest) or 6 euro
23% VAT on guest fee is 1.38 euro
TOTAL OF ALL FEES is 10.38 euro, or 10.38%.

Example 2 -
Same amount for accommodation, i.e. 100 euro.

Host fees are 3% of advertised total price, or 3 euro
Guest fees are 12% (dearest) or 12 euro
23% VAT on guest fee is 2.76 euro
TOTAL OF ALL FEES is 17.76 euro, or 17.76%.

In the cheaper example, fees already exceed 10%, whilst in the second example fees are a WHOPPING 17.76%!!!

What we should also do is look at these charges in the light of Airbnb's portrayal of itself on its own website and in the media. It uses phrases like ‘connecting people’, 'the sharing economy', 'community market place’, and ‘real connections with real people from all over the globe’. This gives you the impression that Airbnb is all about people and all about sharing. I think nothing could be further from the truth.

Whilst its true that Airbnb, through its hosts, does offer the opportunity for people to stay somewhere at very competitive prices, I think they are more interested in lining their own pockets. In my opinion, their move to Dublin is purely for corporate and commercial reasons - would the cheap rate of corporation tax in Ireland have anything to do with it I wonder? And I wonder how long will it be before we see Airbnb floated on the stock exchange?

jaybee1957

Thanks for your comment gordongekko. I admit that anyone who knowingly does not disclose taxable income to Revenue is an idiot, firstly, because they are committing an offence and, secondly, because if they get caught the penalties can be severe. I do not, however, agree with what Airbnb have done in disclosing private information which, as I understand it, they are not required to do. They may also be in breach of the Data Protection Act here, and I am going to research this further to find out.

I also take severe exception at the way in which Airbnb forced new 'terms and conditions' (yes, it's that ubiquitous excuse of a phrase which is a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for all the big faceless companies and corporations) on all users of their website. You can't log on to conduct any part of your business as a host or as a guest unless you tick the box and accept. They had everyone over a barrel and they knew it, and that's how they forced people to agree to what they have done. How would you like it if a substantial source of income (which Airbnb is for some people) was used to hold you to ransom? Airbnb will never be the same again, and I'm sure that some people who may have considered using it will no longer want to.

sandra_b

We actually booked that apartment at the end There are now 2 reviews for his apartment - both very positive. I hope everything is going to be ok.

jsd1004

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Thanks for your comment gordongekko. I admit that anyone who knowingly does not disclose taxable income to Revenue is an idiot, firstly, because they are committing an offence and, secondly, because if they get caught the penalties can be severe. I do not, however, agree with what Airbnb have done in disclosing private information which, as I understand it, they are not required to do. They may also be in breach of the Data Protection Act here, and I am going to research this further to find out.

I also take severe exception at the way in which Airbnb forced new 'terms and conditions' (yes, it's that ubiquitous excuse of a phrase which is a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for all the big faceless companies and corporations) on all users of their website. You can't log on to conduct any part of your business as a host or as a guest unless you tick the box and accept. They had everyone over a barrel and they knew it, and that's how they forced people to agree to what they have done. How would you like it if a substantial source of income (which Airbnb is for some people) was used to hold you to ransom? Airbnb will never be the same again, and I'm sure that some people who may have considered using it will no longer want to.

I agree. They are holding hosts to ransom and do not give two **** about them. A client recently cancelled a large booking with 2 days notice which would entitle them to a 50% refund by my cancellation policy (moderate). Airbnb decided to give them a full refund and me nothing. My correspondence with them went along the lines of "we can do anything we decide irrespective of your cancellation policy" and they referred me to the terms and conditions which they forced me to accept. They do not have to give you a reason and can cancel any booking at any time irrespective of cancellation policy if they wish!

jaybee1957

Yes jsd1004, I'm not impressed with their back-up for hosts. Since I have never been a guest on Airbnb, I don't know what support is like for that side of their business, but I think it favours the guest (to the detriment of the host).

I had an issue a long time ago where a new host in my area plagerised the content of my description, both in structure and in some of its content (word-for-word!). Of course I reported this to Airbnb, quoting their own rules on 'intellectual property rights', of which this was an obvious and flagrant violation. Guess what they did about it? Absolutely Jack sh1t! Didn't reply to my e-mails at all, obviously weren't interested. In the finish I had to contact the offending host myself and, thankfully they saw their error (and corrected it). This could have been a very nasty situation but worked out very well in the end for both of us. In fact we now network with each other, and if one of us is fully booked we pass business on to the other! That's more like the ethos on which Airbnb was founded!

I have also sent e-mails with specific questions regarding the new European set-up, and they sent 2 generic-type replies which give you the impression that they look upon you as some kind of moron or half-wit. One of the questions was the percentage VAT they were charging (23%, whereas it should be only 9% for the Hospitality sector) You know when they stop replying they are beaten, but they don't want to admit it.

My answer is that I don't really want to do any further business with them, but pulling my property off their website is like giving in to the bullies. I have left my listings open because it maintains my presence on the website (and on the internet), but I have put accommodation prices up by around 75% - so if I do get any business through them, the price increase offsets the hassle. I'm hoping it's obvious to someone looking on Airbnb that they can book much cheaper if they look for me on another website.

ballyharpat

Celly Smunt wrote: »

Not anymore, the guest has to wait for approval of a review. Airbnb shook up all their rules after the verification restrictions

Not true, I received a bad review, and it was with people that I was not happy with as their dog pi**ed all over the place and I cleaned it up-of course me being a dog lover, I took their dog for a walk and he ran off-night of hell it was-anyway, they were not happy, I was hoping if I avoided leaving a review, that there review would not be put through-no such luck….you have no opportunity to approve or disapprove a review.

jaybee1957

The system for reviews on Airbnb is as follows:
Both host and guest are invited by Airbnb to leave a review for each other. A time limit of 14 days applies. The content of the reviews is not revealed to the other parties until:

1. both parties have written a review and, in this case, both will be published as soon as both are written

2. If only one party writes a review, it will be published anyway after 14 days, even if the other party does not write theirs.

In addition, both parties have the opportunity to tell each other about positive or negative aspects of their experience (outside of the published reviews), but this is a private message which is not made public.

In this way, there is supposed to be no pressure on either party to keep their review positive if they had a bad experience. I'm not sure this works that well, because you read some reviews which are very short and contain no detail. I suspect these people are hiding something, and don't want to be critical of the other party.

jaybee1957

Good afternoon guys,

just a quick addition to the previous posts I have written with respect to Airbnb's bizarre behaviour following the opening of their new European Operations centre in Dublin.

By chance I was looking at the Irish Independent this morning and, lo and behold, an article telling folk how Airbnb have grassed up all their Irish hosts to the Revenue Commissioners. Just in case you didn't or couldn't believe what I was saying - these details are now public knowledge. To make it perfectly clear I will repeat 4 points I made on previous posts just to clarify my position, and before people start to make comments like "they deserve to be grassed up":

1. If you don't declare taxable income to Revenue, you are an idiot and you are asking for trouble

2. I have read a lot of info on Revenue's own website and, the way I understand it, Airbnb are required to disclose either NONE OR ONLY PART of host information and personal details they have chosen to

3. Airbnb are charging 23% VAT (doing Revenue a favour!) whilst the correct rate of VAT for the hospitality sector (including holiday accommodation) IS ONLY 9%!

4. All users of Airbnb were blackmailed into accepting these new terms and conditions by having to 'tick the box to agree' before they were allowed access to their listings on Airbnb.

As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing stinks.

friendlybee

For those who may not have heard

There's been news about taxes implications today and theres a public meeting for hosts this evening at 630pm at the airbnb office The Watermarque building, Dublin 2