Airbnb

Yes, you pay up front. You can complain to AirBnB if the place is a disaster and they usually refund (although I am saying that from stories, I’ve never had to do it). You can also tell a lot from previous ratings, just as with Amazon and eBay.

You should obviously negotiate before booking. I never do a deal if someone tries to renegotiate after the price is agreed. The only exception in my life I can recall is when I bought a Volvo S60 many years ago. We agreed to the price and to have a mechanic look at it before money exchanged hands. The mechanic found $4000 of work that needed to be done. The woman agreed to drop her price by $4k. That is very different, though.

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You all did the right thing in regards to the Volvo. Looks like they are going to make a lot of electric volvos in china coming up. Not that unusual, though. I wouldn’t buy a new Volvo for that reason. New car sales are down in general. I wonder if people just figure this car isn’t going to be made in another few years.

The only people who try to bargain are people who really love what they see but can’t afford it. I once wanted word of mouth to spread but now I don’t care. It doesn’t take long to change your view of something after you’ve been disrespected. We have cameras outside so I was able to monitor their movement around the house all night. The lied and said there was 6 when there were, in fact, between 8 and 10. Then they went through all of the drawers in the guest rooms, in which were empty, but not the ones in the master bedroom. They went threw my lotions and left a beauty & truth box, that my mother-in-law gave me last year, laying out on the counter. Guest clothes that were left in the guest closets were laying in the master bath. They went through everything. For their convenience, I laid out the things they were aloud to use. I suppose it wasn’t enough and piqued their curiosity, but they snooped. I’m not going to quickly get over that.
I think I’ll go write my review.

I didn’t realize you rent out your primary residence. I would have huge hangups doing that, too.

I would write a review as well. Hopefully the next landlord won’t get screwed. That sucks.

I just finished my review but I haven’t published it yet.

This was an interesting group of 6. I was honored that they chose to book with me so I setup the dining table for 6. The dinner included ribeye, asparagus, baked potato, salad, and peach cobbler. I invited them help themselves to soda in the garage refrigerator, wine in the cabinet and snacks on the counter. 6 people did arrive but two other cars joined them. I don’t know how many people were in the house but if Sergio has told me there would be others, I would have set the table up accordingly and prepared more food. I am truly embarrassed and very sorry.

I don’t want these people to get mad and come shoot me.

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Other hosts will understand, I think.

I thought of that too.

I would leave the part out of too many people over otherwise they are going to know you were watching them and might not get as many new guests.

Totally valid to post about them going through your drawers. You don’t need a camera for that.

So you think I should post what I posted here?

How do I say what I’m saying without acknowledging I saw them on camera?

I have no advice to give you, Michele. I don’t know what the risks are of leaving a bad review. I can tell you that I and others like me depend on reviews to make our decisions (as sellers and buyers) and that I appreciate honest reviews very much.

I think you can say they went through your drawers. You don’t need a camera to know that. I probably wouldn’t rent from you if I knew you were watching me so I’d leave that out.

I have every intention of giving an honest review.

True all I have to write my review on is what I see, inside and out. They were traveling in and out of the house all night long. Check out was at 11 and but they didn’t leave until around 2.

I just don’t want to provoke this group to anger.

You need to put a deadbolt lock on the masterbedroom.

what is honest to one…
to me an honest review would be:

we have cameras outside so i was able to monitor their movement around the house all night. the lied and said there was 6 when there were, in fact, between 8 and 10. then they went through all of the drawers in the guest rooms, in which were empty, but not the ones in the master bedroom. they went threw my lotions and left a beauty & truth box, that my mother-in-law gave me last year, laying out on the counter. guest clothes that were left in the guest closets were laying in the master bath. they went through everything. for their convenience, i laid out the things they were aloud to use. i suppose it wasn’t enough and piqued their curiosity, but they snooped. i’m not going to quickly get over that.

I thought the reviews were only seen by other BNB owners.

https://discourse.bbad.com/t/airbnb/433/62?u=thinkingaboutit
https://discourse.bbad.com/t/airbnb/433/64?u=thinkingaboutit

good advice and yes i thought so too

I get Michele’s concern and don’t think it’s stupid. I can leave an honest review like the one Nico quoted on Amazon or eBay without worrying about ramifications. These are people who have come to her house and who met her personally. It’s very different and the risk level is certainly higher, although probably still quite low.