What Makes a Great Airbnb? What To Look For When You Book

TTT - Exceptional Airbnbs
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Meggan: [00:00:00] hey everyone, and welcome back to Travel Tip Tuesday on the Travel Mug podcast. I'm joined as always by my partner in podcasting and my good pal. Jenn, how are you doing,

Jenn: am good.

Meggan: And what about Autumn? I know it's felt like summer, but how has

Jenn: Yeah, I think Autumn, that feels like summer is my favorite.

Meggan: It's my favorite

Jenn: I, it is, uh, very beautiful here in Nova Scotia right now. I recently, uh, drove a couple of hours and the views even on the side of the highway were quite lovely.

Meggan: They are primo surpremo. I cannot disagree. Well, recently we went on a little small fall road trip because I love a how small

Jenn: Hm.

Meggan: trip. And we went to New Brunswick 'cause that's what we seem to do with our lives. And when we went there we stayed in three Airbnbs and overall we had a really great time.

One of the Airbnbs I do wanna mention, which has brought us to this podcast and this episode is. [00:01:00] had a cleanliness problem

Jenn: Mm-hmm. Okay.

Meggan: Mm-hmm. Yeah. It was aesthetically beautiful, a great view, great location, but it was pet friendly and the leftover dog hair from the previous guest was a huge turnoff. We went to have a little rest and we turned back the sheets and the bed was full of dog hair.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: Yeah, had to do our own laundry. I digress. But we got over it and we enjoyed our time because we paid to stay there. But it did get me thinking what really makes a great Airbnb. We have now been to well over 75 Airbnbs since

Jenn: Whoa.

Meggan: Apparently we prefer not to have our own

Jenn: Apparently.

Meggan: uh, just to stay in other people's.

Otherwise we'd have our own home by now. , But that's another story for another day. But I feel because of that, we have amassed enough experience at this point to talk about what, in my opinion, again, only my opinion [00:02:00] makes for a great Airbnb and what you the listener should also listen for and look for, not listen for what you, the listener should also look

Jenn: Okay.

Meggan: So let's talk basics.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: number one, the rating. We do not usually ever stay anywhere below a 4.9. We've talked about this before on the podcast about how people are more forgiving in their reviews and ratings on Airbnb, because it is so much more personal than a hotel.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: you have to ensure you are checking the rating and rating reviews.

What are people saying? also if someone gives a four out of five and they do not reference anything was incorrect or wrong about the Airbnb in their review, what are they not saying.

Jenn: Hmm. Hmm.

Meggan: Mm. Reading between the lines is key and don't go for a 4.6, which is great on Google. Not on Airbnb. Number two. and really this should be number one in my opinion, but cleanliness, you should expect your [00:03:00] Airbnb to be really clean. You are generally paying a cleaning fee and there is absolutely no excuse for an Airbnb to be dirty. I just don't think there's any exceptions to this rule. And if someone leaves a host a review, and it includes issues with cleanliness. Don't stay there, the hosts should be working to rectify this immediately. A less than clean property will turn most people off from booking

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: property. Cleanliness is king, and when we booked the Less Than Clean Airbnb from our last trip, they haven't been hosting long. It was a five when we booked.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: However, once we were there and we saw that it wasn't that clean, we're like, why did we book this place? Like, what's the rating? And then we checked the ratings again, and it was all of a sudden a 4.88 because the last guest before us had left us a review or had left them a review referencing those issues with the cleaning. And when there aren't many reviews, was tanking because there's

Jenn: Mm-hmm.[00:04:00]

Meggan: So it was something to keep in mind. should just be zero excuse if you're clean. If it's not clean enough and you're getting reviews that it's not clean, get a new cleaner.

Jenn: Right. Yeah, for sure.

Meggan: you know. Rant over for now.

Um, and number three, basic appliances. So if size allows and it's applicable for the type of stay, you of course have to read what's included. But of course, if it's the type of stay where it should be, there should be a fridge, stove, oven, or hot plate. Um,

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: applicable. If you're gonna have a coffee maker, great. Please provide coffee. If it's a Keurig, please provide pods. And something else the unclean Airbnb did not have, which it didn't say that it did, but it was just odd, was a microwave. Um, not everyone uses one, but it seems like a basic appliance to me. So if you can include

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: And we've actually stayed somewhere that had a Keurig and no pods.

Jenn: Hmm.

Meggan: That ho that host is a monster

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: in my opinion

Jenn: Someone, I hope that someone just forgot to re [00:05:00] restock the coffee other than they just, they just don't, they don't. Okay. All right.

Meggan: no, we, we've had to stay there a few times because it's close to

Jenn: Ah, it's a, it's a pack your own pod situation. Okay.

Meggan: And I refuse to do it. Number four of a basic that every Airbnb should have is clear instructions prior to arriving on how to arrive and how to get in.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: That was another issue with the unclean Airbnb. They did not send us any instructions. We had to message them when we were in the driveway.

Jenn: Yikes.

Meggan: Yeah, that's never should

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: The host should always provide this information before arrival and without their guest having to ask for it. And then number five of the basics that I wanted to mention is there should usually be a 3:00 PM check-in and an 11:00 AM checkout. A huge turnoff is when an Airbnb has a 4:00 PM check-in [00:06:00] and a 10:00 AM checkout. I feel if your cleaner cannot do a turnover of the space between 11 and three, you need to hire more cleaners or a new cleaner. And if someone is paying a lot of money to stay and you make them arrive late and leave early, to

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: cheap. I could understand if it's a 4:00 PM checkout and an 11:00 AM check, sorry, a 4:00 PM check-in and 11:00 AM

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: or 3:00 PM

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: AM but not both. That's just super

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: me. I could go on, but trust me, uh, I won't. Uh, but I would like to talk about. What then pushes an Airbnb sort of in the exceptional category? What are people out there doing that makes their Airbnbs really stand out? Number one is something special for the guests at arrival.

This doesn't have to be anything grand. I'm not looking for, you know, a hundred dollars gift. trust [00:07:00] me, thoughtful touches go so far. So we've experienced wine, local craft beer, baked goods. A basket of goodies, which included granola bars, little bags of chips, those little bottled starbucks

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: drinks, like a variety of things and stuff like this can actually make someone overlook other little annoyances. Personal touches are huge. Of course, for that initial, oh my goodness, that's so nice. But if something goes wrong, you can always be like, but they gave us that great X, Y, or Z. Like people love little free

Jenn: for sure. A hundred percent,

Meggan: It's the way to a guest's heart

Jenn: yeah.

Meggan: Number two is body wash, shampoo and conditioner

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: If your Airbnb also has a barbecue or a fire table, you should also ensure that you have enough propane for every

Jenn: Hmm.

Meggan: time. Body wash, shampoo and conditioner are not big items. a big thing from like Costco. It'll last the [00:08:00] guests forever. And then propane, if you're providing those items, should be there.

Jenn: Yeah. Easy peasy.

Meggan: I love a throw blanket. I don't know how you feel about a

Jenn: Same. Yeah.

Meggan: Yeah. Oh, it's everything. I even use them in the summer. It's just some kind

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: thing and so there's nothing worse than getting somewhere and like sitting on their couch and then not having a throw and or getting there and their furniture is uncomfortable

Jenn: Mm.

Meggan: If you're gonna have an Airbnb, do it right, have comfy furniture, have a throw blanket, make people feel like they're at home. It is the point of Airbnb

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Fourth seems simple again, but again, not typical. But we'll be like, oh, that's nice is a full ice tray in the freezer. And some really great spots have had beer steins or other glassware actually chilling in the fridge or freezer with their

Jenn: Oh

Meggan: or wine or whatever it is. [00:09:00] It's literally just makes you think these people care

Jenn: yeah.

Meggan: And then fifth is a great house manual with local sightseeing information, recommendations for outdoor activities such as hikes, restaurants, et cetera, which really help your guests get to know the

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: area. Out of these 10 things, I don't think any of this is like ludicrous.

I don't think any of these things are, are unrealistic. but these are just my opinion. And after a lot of stays, I think these are basics and extras that guests should look for and pay attention to, and that hosts should take note of. So, Jenn, is there anything as an Airbnb, um, guest you would want to see that I've

Jenn: Yeah, so good question. I have not stayed in that many Airbnbs at like,

Meggan: Because

Jenn: well, I, I, I do have a house. I think I've stayed in probably. Five or less. Airbnbs not many,

Meggan: Right.

Jenn: but [00:10:00] I agree with everything that you said, and I think as a guest it's really important to read the description, to manage your expectations. For instance, one of my friends owns a camper that they list on Airbnb and it's new.

They've gotten one bad review where the person gave them one stars. For everything, uh, which I, I think was just a disgruntled human. But they, they said that you didn't have an oven and the bathroom was small, and the listing clearly states that there is no oven and that it is a half bath. And the pictures you can clearly see. It is small.

Meggan: Right.

Jenn: I think that as a guest, we need to be really clear about what we're searching for when we're booking, and then that helps avoid those types of situations where you're disappointed. But in real life, the host has done [00:11:00] everything that they can to, uh, to advertise the space as it actually is.

Okay.

Meggan: Yeah, I agree. And you're right, the onus of some things is on the guest because you have to make sure you're booking something and you can't complain about something that the listing clearly says isn't there, or is there, or whatever the case might be. Sure, the unclean place didn't have a microwave, but it didn't list that

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: it did. So there's no getting upset about that because that's on you if you didn't realize it. So those are things, you're exactly right, there's expectations to have, but you also have to make sure your expectations meet what you're

Jenn: Yeah, for sure.

Meggan: Excellent. Well, we would love to hear from you if you have anything different that makes an Airbnb exceptional.

And that is it for this week's, uh, travel Tip Tuesday. You can follow us on our website, travel mug podcast.com, on social media, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook at Travel Mug Podcast. And feel free to show, uh, the podcast some support by buying [00:12:00] us a coffee. The link is in the show notes or leave us a comment. Or a rating because we

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: from you. But until next

Jenn: Bye.

Meggan: Bye.