EP133: When Your Guests Hold a Wedding at Your Airbnb

This week on the podcast, Jasper has a conversation with Brian Chen, lead consumer technology writer for the New York Times and Airbnb Superhost. Brian’s cabin in northern California has been a lucrative business investment, though he has had some surprising experiences with Airbnb guests – and not in a good way.Brian shares a few horror stories about guests who engaged in illegal activity and how Airbnb responded through the dispute resolution process. Listen to find out what lessons Brian has learned from his negative hosting experiences!Topics CoveredBrian’s Wedding Guests•Guest with no reviews booked for a group of 8•Neighbors informed Brian of 50 wedding guests and caterers entering his home•Airbnb assisted in canceling the reservation after guest denied breaking house rules (despite photographic evidence)•Airbnb’s dispute resolution center helped Brian get a portion of the $100/person penalty built into his house rules for exceeding 8 people•Airbnb’s ruling disproportionately favored the guestThe lessons Brian learned from hosting ‘bad eggs’•Protect yourself by establishing strict house rules•Be diligent in screening potential guests•Document as much as possible•Consider taking ‘before’ photos of expensive itemsThe Cocaine Story•Brian booked seemingly trustworthy guest with good reviews•Group broke the dishwasher and left trash, including evidence of illegal drug use•Due to thorough documentation, Brian was able to collect for all damagesThe shortcomings of the Airbnb dispute resolution process•Little recourse for illegal activity•Lack of urgency in addressing disputes•Seem to be proactive only when media gets involved in a conflictConnect with BrianNew York Times Webpage Resources MentionedBrian’s NYT Superhost Article Connect with JasperEmail: [email protected]: @GetPaidForUrPadInstagram: @GetPaidForYourPad Facebook: www.facebook.com/getpaidforyourpadThis episode is sponsored by Hostfully.com where you can create a custom digital guidebook for your guests! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.