As an Airbnb host, your relationship with your community members and neighbors can make or break your business. Whether your Airbnb is a house or an apartment, it is rare that a property does not belong to a community and is without neighbors. Airbnb is an excellent opportunity for hosts to earn additional income and for travelers to have cheaper hotel alternatives. But, they can be disruptive to live near. With a constant rotation of guests entering your property, noise disputes and other incidents are bound to occur from time to time. Even if they aren’t frequent, these incidents can be enough for neighbors or community members to report these things to your housing authority. This can cause major hurdles for your business. That being said, let’s take a look at how you can maintain positive relationships as an Airbnb host.
Be available
One of the most frustrating things about being the neighbor of an Airbnb property is when guests are disruptive. Airbnb guests can be disruptive by throwing unwarranted parties or, in general, making excessive noise after quiet hours. While it is never the hosts’ fault that guests are rowdy, it is the hosts’ responsibility to take care of the situations that arise. So, when those situations do occur, your neighbors must have an easy way of contacting you directly. By providing your contact information to your neighbors ahead of time, you help keep the peace in your neighborhood. However, in providing your contact information, you also need to take action as soon as you can. Even if a situation with guests is difficult to de-escalate, it is really important that you are actively handling it.
Screen your guests
Guest screenings can’t guarantee that you won’t ever have an unwarranted party in your Airbnb. But, conducting a guest screening can go a long way in preventing unwarranted parties in your Airbnb. When you run a guest screening, you can find out which guests are renting your Airbnb to party. You also have the chance to flag potentially problematic guests, so you know to keep an eye on the situation of this property. When you take preventative measures against disruptive Airbnb guests, you help preserve your relationships with your community members. As more and more Airbnb regulations are introduced, it is even more important to maintain positive relationships as an Airbnb host. However, a guest screening alone won’t completely stop guests from creating disruptions in your property.
Charge a deposit
If, after conducting a guest screening, you suspect the guests may be problematic, consider charging a refundable security deposit. You motivate your guests to follow your house rules by charging a security deposit. This helps minimize potential parties or excessive noise made past quiet hours. It is unlikely that you will need to hold a security deposit after your guests check out; However, if damages occur, you have something to fall back on. While security deposits help most of the time, they still aren’t always effective in preventing guests from partying. This is especially true of preventing excessive noise because guests don’t always realize there is potential to be fined if they break quiet hours. However, there are still tools you can use to have a positive relationship with your neighbors as an Airbnb host.
Consider room monitors
The best way to minimize unwarranted Airbnb parties and excessive noise in your Airbnb is with a room monitor. Room monitors can alert you in real-time of excessive noise in your property. This allows you to intervene in these situations before your neighbors can make a noise complaint. By getting ahead of the complaints, you can maintain and even improve your relationships with your neighbors as an Airbnb host. Some room monitors can even help prevent party damage. They can do this by monitoring indoor smoking and elevated occupancy levels, in addition to noise decibel levels. Alertify is one of these room monitors. With Alertify, Airbnb hosts can access live and historical data via the online dashboard of noise levels, smoking levels, and CO2 levels.
Not only does Alertify help Airbnb hosts get ahead of potential complaints and damages, but it also provides hosts with proof of damages if they occur. In the event of a fraudulent chargeback of a security deposit, you can access after-incident reports on the Alertify dashboard. The after-incident reports are a snapshot of the damage that occurred and can be submitted as evidence to dispute the fraudulent chargeback. Maintain your neighborhood relationships and prevent unexpected party damages in your Airbnb with Alertify.
