Putting Ring security cameras on the outside facing the front door so that if anyone tries carrying furniture out I can see. Putting Tile RFID tags on all movable furniture too.
@@DewTime If you research how Tile works it does have a very long range, just like the new Apple AirTags do. It would work quite well in this situation.
Wow. GOOD FOR YOU for keeping your resolve through this RIDICULOUS process w/Airbnb. That's upsetting. They're worth more than Marriot + Hilton combined after the iPO, they don't need to nickel & dime their hosts like this. Unreal.
Important to remember, just like many companies, airbnb offers a guarantee that they know they cannot fulfill. The hoops you had to jump through are typical triage that is used to make most people give up. Shady insurance companies are famous for this , rhey try to wear you down and in the end, if you give up, they win. If Airbnb had to pay out on all legitimate claims, they would be out of business over night. Protect yourself on the front as much as possible, because the Airbnb guarantee essentially worthless. I noticed several times you mentioned that YOU didn't jump through THEIR hoops fast enough and you lost the resolution. You did nothing wrong, they are not reputable.
I was in Mexico few months ago and had a host come in and steal my stuff while i was away. Then he tried to Airbnb saying i stole stuff. Huge nightmare and what ensues was literally dozens of calls to Airbnb explaining the situation to numerous reps in the phillipines and now dealing with multiple insurence adjusters. It's been 3 months, my stuff is still stolen and the claims are still pending being arbitrated by a 3rd party insurance company. Theyve asked me to provide receipts for things (clothing, electronics, etc) i bought years ago as if it's reasonable i still have receipts.
Agree 100% any dispute does not make hosts feel warm and fuzzy! I nearly lost it but kept it "cool". Took MONTHS to recover our $. Still burns me thinking about it.
Wow! I’m sorry this happened to you. I’ve been hosting a little over two years and this hasn’t happened yet (knock on wood). Thank you for not only sharing your experience but the tips to avoid this were great! I never thought about being on the first floor makes you a target but it makes complete sense. I’ve had my trouble with Airbnb resolutions as well but I’m glad to hear they took care of you. Keep up the great content. Hopefully get you on our podcast one day.
SEAN, I just watched every single video you have and I loved every second of it! Filled up an entire notebook worth of information, and I'm going to be putting together some documents based off of your videos. I will organize everything to make things easier for me, and keep adding new information to them. Thanks for being an amazing mentor to me for these past 5 days and I will be looking forward to every single video you come up with from here on out!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your first hand experience with other hosts!! As usual so helpful for anyone hosting a STR!! Keep up the great work!
This is genius. I went thru the same thing with fair rental service n get around rental service it so I understand ALL about the be persistent part. It’s really crazy how similar different markets are. Good quality content, subscribed.
Hi Sean. I am a successful Airbnb host with 7 properties in operation. You have great information we have consumed your content for years. BIG theft question for you: We just got many items stolen from one of our units and Airbnb Trust and Safety dept awarded us our payout. Problem is, it didn't get released just like in your situation. What were the other numbers you called to get to the right people to handle the situation? We have tried regular customer service for weeks with no updates.
Hi Sean, thank you so much for the video! The process sounds painful. Besides Airbnb host guarantee, do you buy your own insurance for damage of the property, guests or your company as property manager? If yes, where did you get them?
4:44 😂😂 airbnb condom typo. "Concerning your confusion with my question about the guest, please note that it has come to our attention that this guest had 2 reservations on 2 different houses on the same condom."
Hello, Sean! I am sorry about all this! I am so glad you did manage the situation the best you could, and got the money to buy new furniture, etc. Thank you for being so generous and sharing your experience and giving us tips! I have 2 private rooms in my house I rent on Airbnb, as well as a guest house and a Log house somewhere else. We have 3 condos coming up, but 2 will be long term and 1 will be on Airbnb. In vancouver rules are very tight, so we need to own the properties and we can't rent them short term in many cases. I am always looking for opportunities to buy more or even lease properties. I had to laugh when you said that having more properties in a way, minimizes the risk, LOL Thank you for that! Thank you for being encouraging and positive :)
Over $2M is the pinnacle of rental arbitrage, so it took 4 months to get this excruciating issue resolved? Not bad, not bad. I will be documenting purchases from here on out. Thanks for this video, incredibly helpful with your advice here. We are in an open case with the sex trafficker/drug dealers and it looks like this is what we’re in for...thanks for sharing your mistakes, so much to learn from them.
I was a superhost but stopped when I saw Airbnb's response to damage in my apt. It wasn't a huge amount, and I probably would have been reimbursed eventually, but it wan't worth the hours and hours of time, emails, police reports, etc. I was mostly shocked to realize that Airbnb was clearly avoiding paying for the damage. As you mentioned, after submitting what they requested, which takes HOURS, they constantly request more info. After a point it just wasn't worth pursuing so I stopped. Prior to this, I felt secure using Airbnb, due to the insurance, but now realize that it was a false sense of security. Also, I noticed that Airbnb keeps changing their terms constantly, sometimes after a couple of weeks. In order to log in, you have to agree to their new terms. Each time, terms get worse for hosts and guests, due to increasing problems I imagine. So I figured I'd be super careful before accepting guests. Because of my super host status, good reviews and desirable apt, my place was super popular. However, Airbnb harasses hosts for rejecting guests even if they don't have any reviews, and told me they were hiding my listing because of this. Airbnb also requires guests to submit ID via Jumio, a company with known problems keeping your ID secure: (sorry the links have been removed but just google Jumio issues on reddit To see an Airbnb incident on the news- google: 5.3 Million Dollar Home Destroyed By Junkie Airbnb Guest Check out Airbnb alternatives, Airbnb isn't really what it seems. Catchy marketing phrases, such as "Airbnb is built on trust" get people to submit government ID, although if there is a issue, the trust factor disappears. I now only use Airbnb alternatives (google Airbnb alternatives and you will get a list) and have had no problems. Using alternative booking sites and separate insurance is a much better option.
Great video!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and prevention methods! The stats are very interesting too! Because of your video and sharing your experience I will be able to advice as a Property Specialist my clients that invest in rental properties here on Costa del Sol, Spain. Costa del Sol is 3rd best area to invest in short term rentals in Spain (the two others are Barcelona and Madrid) and Spain is the 2nd most visited country in the world, hence my interest in your video. Thank you so much! Have a great day ahead
Driving for uber on Thursday (04/04/2019) in Dallas. Saw you walking out out of Mio Nonno off Houston Street. Started to yell "AirBnb Automated" at you, but did not want to come off as some wack job.
Thanks Sean, missed your vids for a while there. Seems your revenue jumped in a very short space of time (1mm->2mm). Care to elaborate? I have extra STR insurance on top of AirBnB, because my units are also listed on other platforms that don't provide an insurance guarantee. They pay up immediately, apparently. We'll see. My business lives vicariously through yours, you are the reason I got into this version of REI, and I'm very grateful for the short cut, thank you. I'm expanding quickly. I would be interested to hear about your STR management business (in addition to strait arbitrage) as my system allows for that with both being infinitely scaleable. Small steps, learn quick, move fast, take risks.
Hello, may I ask please where are you from? I am willing to start an AirBnb business in Brooklyn, NY and I am looking for an experienced person to help me through with that (by payment, not volunteering, ofcourse)
Hey Gareth. It’s been fun trying to find time to record. Yes weve been quite busy expanding. I am activating property in Philadelphia 3 live, 12 more negotiated. That’s the heart of the jump. That and we did a lot of expanding in the winter in dallas, which is a slower few months for dallas so now we are realizing more of the top end. The management business is a diversification that is achievable once you scale to a point where everything is systemized. It becomes a product that can be offered by simply plugging properties into your portfolio.
Airbnb have probably 100 million "properties" which makes sense on their end to make it difficult to file a claim. Like he says have more properties to protect yourself from loses. Airbnb cant pay 7500 per property every time. Great advice thank you for this play list.
Sean, I watched all your videos thank you for all the info. We are trying to get Airbnb in apartments units. I know you been asked to share information on this alot. You might be saving it for your course. Can you at least give some tips on how to get the units? Or when is your course coming out?
A guest of mine, the second guest we had in our airbnb today, actually...took a dinner plate. I did message him about it thinking he broke it but no, he said he had it with him but forgot. 😶 Whatever, it's a plate but nice, heavy stoneware. Y'all are gettin paper plates from now on.
Thanks. I was leaning towards Air BnB even though they take such a large because of the host insurance but now I am thinking VRBO is probably the better way to go.
Question. Don't you have camera outside the entrance door to monitor guests. I don't think it's wrong to put camera outside the house. I have stayed in Airbnb property where they put camera in the living room/common area.
Hmmm this is why I have secuirty cams outside and INSIDE the common areas of my properties. I will do this for all my properties. I work to hard and spend to much for someone to steal my stuff
Where are your properties at? I am willing to start an AirBnb business in July in Brooklyn, NY and I am looking for some one experienced to help me get to it smoothly (payment, not volunteering, ofcourse).
This is NOT Australia! it is not illegal! go back and check! inside peoples ROOMS it is not legal. to spy on people, However, ON AIRBNB the Selection is there to click and let people know the house is under surveillance and where the cams are located..My Cam is located in the Common area only and is BIG! and Obvious! and guest are also reminded of this as well.
I tell you I started Airbnb early June and it’s simply not enough RED tape it is going to take for something horrific to happen in order for all these crazy tragic stories I keep reading to make national news and then that money hungry company to do something. Smh 🤦🏽♀️ I had to shut down my profile because I clearly didn’t do enough research and was getting railroad financially one day I stay up until 2/3 am reading traumatic Airbnb stories my neighbor said no wonder u put up so many rules when I created a new profile. I am operating it out of my home and only on the weekends now because I work ft during the week. my step mom said today this is too risky, I wish I had another property to do it from because between the sexual assaults, murders, etc I’ve read I’m just about to stop all together maybe by September. It’s nice extra money but it’s too many risks and not enough protection for the guest and hosts it’s too many wing nuts in the 🌎 I’m sorry that happened to you. This is a sign I need to stop this unless I get an additional property. My goal was to do it until the end of the year because this is scary. 🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ Oh God watch over the innocent 😇
Thank you for this but I believe that on some level, Airbnb was screening you just as much as they are screening the guest to make sure that what you are claiming is valid. Again, on some level, they have to make sure that you are not a bogus owner trying to get a payout for something that didn't happen. I'm just thinking from a scammer's point of view trying to scam Airbnb out of their money by trying to pull this off. So by them asking for ownership, police report, proof of purchase of the furniture etc. it makes sense cause what is to stop you from just moving all your things out of your unit into a storage unit and then calling the police to stage a theft? So if you can somehow create a short video having this in the back of your mind to help us future airbnber's better plan for such an event.
Hey, I can see AIrbnb's skepticism if someone that just had his first three bookings claims 5000$ in damages. But this guy's generating A TON of money a year through (and for!) Airbnb. They should take note of that and treat him like a VIP. In this case it was 7500$ so perhaps worth the hassle, but if this was 1000$ or so I wouldn't even bother, I'd just claim on my own insurance if at all.
Hello, Sean Thanks for all your efforts making videos for hosts like me. I am doing well now and want to do a lot better through your lesson. ;)) I am wondering how do we deal with the regulation? I am in Hawaii and the Regulation is in process. It really worries me.
When you run an airbnb its important to know your felonies. Robbery is when someone puts a gun to your head and says “give me all your furniture”. Burglary is when someone enters your home, or car, or garage with the specific intent to steal or commit other specified crimes.
I noticed that they can't even write an email properly. They ask for original purchase receipts for any missing/damaged items twice in the same item list.
Sounds like a lot work. If guests did that to my property, I'll kill them! 😊 Anyways, Dear Mr AirBNB, I have 4 hotel properties. 1 in Pattaya (Thailand) a 40 rooms hotel. 3 star 1. In Kargil in Leh Laddakh in India 16 rooms hotel.3 star 1. In Jodhpur in Rajasthan in India 20 rooms hotel 4 star 1. In Noida in UP in India 14 rooms guest house in Residential area. Let me know if you want to do business? ~Anupam Tripathi
It's a real shame that AirBnb do not care about host's and do not support them when things go wrong. In the end bad customer service will lead to another company coming in and taking over from AirBnb. I rent out my apartment on AirBnb and although the worst thing that has happened to me is a few broken drinking glasses I take the philosophy that if anything gets broken or stolen then its just the cost of business. Apart from some expensive Simba mattresses in my apartment there is nothing in there that is super valuable so its all easily replaceable. Now if someone totally cleared out my apartment of everything I would be very upset and would definitely file a claim, but I think this is a very rare occurrence and I am not too worried about it. One extra thing I have which may help deter large scale thefts is a ring doorbell camera which lets me see who goes into and out of my apartment. It may be worth looking into this if you are concerned, however its easily bypassed by just disconnecting the internet.
Hello. Do you have suggestions on how to establish and run this business long distance? What about if one lives in a city not favorable to AirBnB? Thanks for sharing!
Hey Sean, what a terrible story! I like that you shared it though and told us all of the absurd communication hoops airbnb had you jump through! I'm doing long term rentals (small scale) on a property. I try to figure out if short term rentals could be a good complement for my small businness. Considering that I can't be on site, I live far away from the property, and that this would be a side job for me -- do you still recommend someone like me to start a short term rental business? Is it worth it, risk vs reward?
what about security deposit?? i am worried about damages and if AIRBNB is willing to respond if a major damage to the properties i manage occur, how are we protected??
oh wow. they do the same to guests.. i'm in that same situation. "oh we can't use youtube videos"... oh "oh.. the videos need to be time stamp", "oh.. it's not clear you're inside the airbnb",... "oh...we didn't get your last email's content"... "oh.. wait til tomorrow...". I'm at my wits end. I'm about to just hire a lawyer and go for some exuberant amount and settle for 5x what I'm asking for now...
That’s what you get from operating too many properties! LOL I think you should send a lawyer letter long before that one giant email. Wouldn’t you agree?
It only takes 1 minute to add government ID, so it’s good to require for instant booking. Guests who don’t meet all the requirements have to ask for “pre-approvement”. Then hosts hope that their guests are “good guests”
@@AirbnbAutomated as a guest on AirBnB, this new ID requirement is bothering me. When AirBnB started, the whole point of AirBnB was that you could review a host and the host could review the guests, this was a safety/risk measure - you don't go to a host that has many bad reviews and hosts don't accept guests with many bad reviews. The first time I ran into the ID requirement, I looked at what was asked of me, and it's basically uploading your ID on a third party platform. AirBnB is not responsible if your information is hacked/stolen from that third party vendor. To me, a room is not worth risking Identity Theft, especially that I've had to change my credit cards a few times in the last three years because of lack of security/hacking with big corporations. Now I'm looking at becoming a host and I am wondering how to remain safe, yet not discouraging guests with a long positive history. Any thoughts?
Wouldn’t your Homeowners insurance cover all this? Or they won’t if you are subletting your apartment. Every renter needs Homeowners insurance now, at least in California.
I've been a host for 10 years now. Airbnb is ridiculous about all of this! Obviously it is their business model to leave you out in the cold. I've had a series of real problems with this before and now I am looking into how we can collect credit cards upon booking. If anyone has any advice on how to do this please let me know
I think my Airbnb is being scouted for a robbery 😬.. Luckily I managed to get a photo of their number plate and have contacted the police . I just hope nothing happens when I have guests in esp if they have kids 😢
I was just robbed in March and invoked the host guarantee..I have to say I was impressed with how easy it was.. Granted, it was about $500 worth of amenities, i.e. No furniture or electronics, but they honored it and were fine with me just sending them a list of like kind replacements via Amazon.. They paid me the day after I signed that agreement you showed..I heard horror stories about the host guarantee being a huge hassle but I found it quite simple.. maybe they step up their "difficulty" the more expensive it gets.. So if a house got cleaned out and it was 5 figures worth of stuff, they're gonna go for blood before they pay you anything ;-)
I was in Mexico few months ago and had a host come in and steal my stuff while i was away. Then he tried to Airbnb saying i stole stuff. Huge nightmare and what ensues was literally dozens of calls to Airbnb explaining the situation to numerous reps in the phillipines and now dealing with multiple insurence adjusters. It's been 3 months, my stuff is still stolen and the claims are still pending being arbitrated by a 3rd party insurance company. They are asking for receipts of things i bought 5 years ago
@@AirbnbAutomated nope it was the host. he got upset when i requested a refund instead of allowing me to be relocated then locked me out of the property an hour later remotely when i told him id be contacting Airbnb to mediate the issue. the next morning i get a message from Airbnb saying he told them 'nothing was left behind". he also tried making me responsible for the AC repair lying to Airbnb that "i broke it due to leaving a window open" which was obviously rejected by Airbnb.
pwejones I guess online form of receipt taking from here on out. I just use as much information as you have. You should have proof of purchase of the home but I can see how the appliances can be tough to proof after 20 years
Hey Sean! what a tragic event, I'm a visual artist and I will like to start renting my own apartment in my Country Cuba where I still have some of my Art on my walls... with that said Question for any of you guys out there in the business.... DOES THIS HOST GUARANTEE COVERS ARTWORK? I'd like to know before listing my apartment. thanks in advance!
@@filambee thank you. We had bed bugs twice, we had to spend $400 to $1200 for a heat treatment. Also we had a small stove fire that the regular insurance will not cover because of the amount of gusts we have in the house.
How would I figure out if this arbitrage technique is viable in a vacation country such as Belize ? Do you recommend doing the same LLC strategies for vacation rentals ?
I’m concerned about how Airbnb are not vetting these thieves? I thought you had to upload your ID and get verified before you can rent Airbnb property? And if someone deletes their profile after a looting session don’t Airbnb have a means of retaining original IDs to trace them and turn them over to law enforcement?
The AirBnB Host Guarantee is a scam. We had a guest damage our property, but because we didnt file the claim within the 4 hours after one guest checked out and next guest checked in, they rejected claim. They expect you to photograph damage, submit to contractors for cost quotes, and submit claim with costs with them in the 4 hours between check-in and check-out. They know its not possible.
I am surprised Airbnb didn't make sure you were fully insured and make a claim with them. Does Airbnb offer a renters insurance policy that you pay premiums?
