禁漫天堂

By booking a one-week stay to begin with, I have preserved my right to cancel the additional longer stays if the AirBnB apartment in Colombia doesn't work for me.

In accordance with AirBnB policies, I will be able to cancel any extension(s) along the way without any penalty* .. or I may be charged for one night and a service charge for each theoretical cancellation, depending on my timing.

That's far less than being charged for the first 30 days on a 28-days-plus stay .. as I would be if canceling two-plus days after booking.

So I give up potential savings of 15 percent to get extreme flexibility.

And 15 percent of $36 US per night is not 'a killer' if you are staying in a budget-friendly city as I will be.

cccmedia in Quito, Ecuador


* paying half up-front and receiving a full refund on that 'deposit'.

That's good info if it works. I am a bit skeptical since I've heard airbnbs have been cracked down upon recently, but it's a great hack even if it just works once.

That sounds great but I think it's hit or miss because you聽 still have to pay all costs upfront and cancellations policies change with each reservation.聽 I'm skeptical of this system working more than once..

Digitarius wrote:

That sounds great but I think it's hit or miss because you聽 still have to pay all costs upfront and cancellations policies change with each reservation.聽 I'm skeptical of this system working more than once..

Policies may differ depending on where the AirBnB user is geographically located .. or due to other factors.

I did not聽 pay all costs upfront for my upcoming October reservation in Colombia (partial payment).

cccmedia in Quito, Ecuador

cccmedia wrote:

There is an advantage to booking for 28 days or more at many listings.聽 This length of stay qualifies one for a monthly discount of 30 percent, compared to a 15-percent weekly discount for booking from seven to 27 consecutive days.

However, by booking 28 days or more, the prospective guest loses the right to cancel without extreme financial penalty, as of two days after making the booking.

So, in order to preserve my right to cancel or shorten my stay, I booked a one-week stay followed by 26 and 27 day stays.

My plan to keep the stays under 28 days worked out well.

After I arrived in Ipiales, Colombia, I learned that some of my favorite amenities were not available due to The Situation.聽 The blackjack and other live-dealer games at Gran Plaza mall had been removed .. and the jacuzzi at the Mistares community center swimming-pool building was closed.

So this week I canceled the next 27-day stay, in accordance with the AirBnb deadline, and the company has reimbursed me 100 percent of the amounts I prepaid for the extension.

I have exited Ipiales and will be visiting another city in Colombia instead.

cccmedia, near the Quito, Ecuador, international airport

I like to use Airbnb as a search tool for long-term stays, but I also prefer to book directly with landlords.

I also search for at least 28 days.

Once I see the reduced rate and before I confirm I use the feature to contact the landlord directly.

Of course Airbnb does everything possible to keep you in their system, by blocking email addresses and telephone numbers.

So it requires a bit of creative thinking, figuring out how to include your contact information without it being blocked.

But when I've been successful, I then explain further that I'm wanting to book a longer stay, and if I can see the apartment first, then I will deal with them directly and they don't have to pay any of the fees to Airbnb.

Then, when I meet them at the apartment and I see it and I know it's satisfactory, I ask them the rental rate for one month or two months or 3 months.

Sometimes they quote exactly what Airbnb shows.

Then comes negotiating, and if a person isn't skilled at negotiating, this method won't work.

I do my best to be as humble as possible and apologize for wasting their time.

I let them know that I was actually looking for a place that would cost (here I quote a price about 20% less than what they've just offered me).

Some landlords will just say goodbye, but others--appreciating a bird in the hand--will either make a counter-offer or accept my offer.

Whatever works...

I am honestly surprised this ever works! :-) As an habitual thing, or something to recommend to others, it's a no-no, sorry.

I've been an Airbnb host for some years, so hopefully this is a helpful perspective.

I don't ignore folks who embed their contact info, but it rarely leads to anything (or rarely happens, actually).

Most who do this are scammers or cheapskates or folks who have bad feedback or don't have a payment method for online bookings. Some are old-fashioned, and think it's better to view in person, rather than use the feedback system. A few are trying to organize long-term rentals.

The big issue is that folks who. for whatever reason, are doing things outside of Airbnb, they won't have feedback. I'm nervous of guests with little or no feedback. If they're bad, I won't be covered by the Airbnb insurance. And if they're great. and they love my place... they won't be able to leave me any feedback!

In addition, it's not even necessary to do the secret agent thing to embed contact info. Both Airbnb and Booking give you contact info once you make a confirmed booking. So you can make a proper booking (say, for one night only, either when you want to stay, or a completely unrelated date). Now you can talk to me and discuss your needs. If it doesn't lead anywhere, just cancel your booking (both sites mentioned allow for full refunds for most bookings given sufficient notice).

I am more sympathetic to these people, as they seem to be genuine users, and they have some feedback, and a legit payment method. And they're being up-front with me about what they want.

Now... why would someone want to do this?

(1) They want to see it first

If they want to come round to look at the apartment, I tell them to look at the pictures and read my feedback (I'm a Superhost, Covid allowing). And remind them that Airbnb allows you to cancel your booking immediately, if the property is not as described.

But the reality is that I don't want complete strangers coming in off the street to wander around my property!

If, by some chance (it's happened a couple of times over the years), someone insists on showing up, even if they love the place, and want to do a deal right now, I have very limited scope because I have current and future bookings to navigate. The chances of being able to agree to a stay of several months is very small because of this. (I never cancel existing bookings.) Maybe for 6 months ahead, or next year... but usually they want it now-ish.

(2) They want to haggle on the price

If they make me an offer to do an external deal, it's hard to accept. Firstly, it's against the rules, and I can lose my Airbnb Superhost status (or suffer other enforcement action). And secondly, it's not guaranteed without a deposit, so if it's combined with you wanting to look at the place first, I've got a "maybe" on my hands, rather than a confirmed booking.

For it to have any chance of working, you have to tell me now what you want (2 months or 3 months or whatever it is, with exact dates), sign a rental contract, and send me a big deposit. And then you're worried that it's an external deal and I'll just keep your deposit and pretend I know nothing about you (the Airbnb fraud protection won't apply to you in this situation).

So... essentially, it's for a couple of months, and you want a discount in return for saving me the Airbnb commission. It's a right faff, and I'm not even financially better off than having a regular Airbnb booking.

(3) They want to do a long rental (1 year or more)

This is more useful, and I'm potentially interested. I get many students (my Buenos Aires apartment is in a great location next to a very good university) who want to do this. But, often, for a such a long time they want to see it first, even with my feedback. But if they come see it first, chances are I've got bookings already so I can't do it.

And to reserve it, and block allocate for a year, I need a contract and a big deposit. Which again makes you, the renter, nervous.

But, sure, if you contact me about the next academic year (i.e. plenty of notice), and you make your decision based on my Superhost feedback (i.e. no viewing) we could potentially do a deal. And a couple of students (from Chile and Venezuela) did exactly this.

I also have a beautiful apartment in Cyprus. Our first Airbnb booking was for someone relocating, and they made a booking for a month (our maximum). He loved it and immediately asked to do a long-term rental. I already had some other bookings, so he still had to find something else for a few weeks. But we did a deal for a multi-year rental, and he signed a contract and gave me a big deposit. And 4 years later he's still there. But this is very much the exception.

As a traveller, I just stick with the standard process. Then I know where I'm staying, for how long, and for how much. And then I get good feedback from the host, which means people know I'm a good tenant as well as a good landlord. All this "gaming" malarkey sounds like a right faff, for very little benefit. You're just making something simple unnecessarily complicated! :-)

gwynj wrote:

I am honestly surprised this ever works! :-) As an habitual thing, or something to recommend to others, it's a no-no, sorry.

I've been an Airbnb host for some years, so hopefully this is a helpful perspective.

I don't ignore folks who embed their contact info, but it rarely leads to anything (or rarely happens, actually).

Most who do this are scammers or cheapskates or folks who have bad feedback or don't have a payment method for online bookings. Some are old-fashioned, and think it's better to view in person, rather than use the feedback system. A few are trying to organize long-term rentals.

The big issue is that folks who. for whatever reason, are doing things outside of Airbnb, they won't have feedback. I'm nervous of guests with little or no feedback. If they're bad, I won't be covered by the Airbnb insurance. And if they're great. and they love my place... they won't be able to leave me any feedback!

In addition, it's not even necessary to do the secret agent thing to embed contact info. Both Airbnb and Booking give you contact info once you make a confirmed booking. So you can make a proper booking (say, for one night only, either when you want to stay, or a completely unrelated date). Now you can talk to me and discuss your needs. If it doesn't lead anywhere, just cancel your booking (both sites mentioned allow for full refunds for most bookings given sufficient notice).

I am more sympathetic to these people, as they seem to be genuine users, and they have some feedback, and a legit payment method. And they're being up-front with me about what they want.

Now... why would someone want to do this?

(1) They want to see it first

If they want to come round to look at the apartment, I tell them to look at the pictures and read my feedback (I'm a Superhost, Covid allowing). And remind them that Airbnb allows you to cancel your booking immediately, if the property is not as described.

But the reality is that I don't want complete strangers coming in off the street to wander around my property!

If, by some chance (it's happened a couple of times over the years), someone insists on showing up, even if they love the place, and want to do a deal right now, I have very limited scope because I have current and future bookings to navigate. The chances of being able to agree to a stay of several months is very small because of this. (I never cancel existing bookings.) Maybe for 6 months ahead, or next year... but usually they want it now-ish.

(2) They want to haggle on the price

If they make me an offer to do an external deal, it's hard to accept. Firstly, it's against the rules, and I can lose my Airbnb Superhost status (or suffer other enforcement action). And secondly, it's not guaranteed without a deposit, so if it's combined with you wanting to look at the place first, I've got a "maybe" on my hands, rather than a confirmed booking.

For it to have any chance of working, you have to tell me now what you want (2 months or 3 months or whatever it is, with exact dates), sign a rental contract, and send me a big deposit. And then you're worried that it's an external deal and I'll just keep your deposit and pretend I know nothing about you (the Airbnb fraud protection won't apply to you in this situation).

So... essentially, it's for a couple of months, and you want a discount in return for saving me the Airbnb commission. It's a right faff, and I'm not even financially better off than having a regular Airbnb booking.

(3) They want to do a long rental (1 year or more)

This is more useful, and I'm potentially interested. I get many students (my Buenos Aires apartment is in a great location next to a very good university) who want to do this. But, often, for a such a long time they want to see it first, even with my feedback. But if they come see it first, chances are I've got bookings already so I can't do it.

And to reserve it, and block allocate for a year, I need a contract and a big deposit. Which again makes you, the renter, nervous.

But, sure, if you contact me about the next academic year (i.e. plenty of notice), and you make your decision based on my Superhost feedback (i.e. no viewing) we could potentially do a deal. And a couple of students (from Chile and Venezuela) did exactly this.

I also have a beautiful apartment in Cyprus. Our first Airbnb booking was for someone relocating, and they made a booking for a month (our maximum). He loved it and immediately asked to do a long-term rental. I already had some other bookings, so he still had to find something else for a few weeks. But we did a deal for a multi-year rental, and he signed a contract and gave me a big deposit. And 4 years later he's still there. But this is very much the exception.

As a traveller, I just stick with the standard process. Then I know where I'm staying, for how long, and for how much. And then I get good feedback from the host, which means people know I'm a good tenant as well as a good landlord. All this "gaming" malarkey sounds like a right faff, for very little benefit. You're just making something simple unnecessarily complicated! :-)

I should have stipulated that (my previous post which you didn't quote) is the process I use in Vietnam.

In many ways and in myriad locations, Vietnam still a third world country and everyone wants to make a buck from "rich foreigners", so the Airbnb listings are full of people who don't have a clue what they're doing (especially when it relates to the expectations of foreigners) and don't have sufficient photos and list their properties with highly inflated prices.

If you knew the Vietnamese, none of this would be surprising.

My method has worked very well for me in the past (in Vietnam) and will probably continue to work well for me in Vietnam for the foreseeable future.

Ecuador Expat makes 5K monthly with four AirBnB rentals.

Dom Buonamici, a 30-something Expat from Cleveland, Ohio, makes over $5,000 US per month just in what he nets from renting out AirBnB apartments in Ecuador and a house he bought in west Cleveland for $33,000.

Dom cites two advantages that running AirBnB units provides him over his previous business, operating hotels:

聽 -- He doesn't have to answer the phone all day and night.聽 His number isn't even listed on his AirBnB pages;聽 he communicates with renters and prospects via on-line messaging.

聽 -- He doesn't have to hire full-time staff.聽 He has reliable apartment cleaners and can contact a handyman as needed.

In a country such as Ecuador, five thousand bucks a month goes a long way .. more than covering Dom's living expenses .. and providing him with money for bank/co-op CD's that (in Ecuador) pay Dom 9 to 14 percent in annual interest yield, his other main source of income.

At his YouTube channel, Dom tells more about how he's gotten two-thirds of the way toward his goal of receiving $10,000 per month in passive income.聽

The AirBnB project can be duplicated in other countries;聽 Dom doesn't even own some of his AirBnB properties -- he sub-leases them from a landlord.

Search at YouTube.com...
聽 聽 聽 聽 make 10K per month passive income second passport

Another way to avoid a serious problem.

The following situation from early 2022 had

never even occurred to my conscious mind ..

and would probably not be a problem in a

standard hotel room.聽 It happened during a stay

at an AirBnB apartment in a central part of

Bogot谩, Colombia.

I found myself locked in a bedroom, potentially

unable to exit the room or successfully

call for help.

The tip here is not to close interior doors of

an AirBnB unnecessarily.聽

If you need to close the bedroom door, have

your cell phone handy.

----

On the second day of my stay, I innocently

closed the interior door to the bedroom.

When I went to the door to exit into the

dining area, I found the door was locked

unintentionally from the inside and

would not open!

I had no cell phone in the room and from the

20th floor room it was doubtful I could summon

help if I called from the bedroom window.

There was no 'fixed' phone .. and attempting to

scream through two locked doors into the

hallway was a dubious strategy.聽 Help!

---

Fortunately, I found a way out.聽 There was

a crawl space at the top of the bedroom.

I climbed up from a chair onto a built-in

desk and from there I managed to propel

myself into the crawl space.聽 From there,

I could see a nice soft couch below, off the

dining area.

I positioned myself for a potential soft landing

via the crawl space .. rolled over .. and fell

six feet onto the sofa, uninjured.

From there I got up .. and went to the

bedroom, which was locked from the inside

but easily opened from the outside.

---

Later, via email, the AirBnB host of the

apartment apologized for the situation.

However, the SOB left a negative review

on airbnb.com saying the cleaner(s)

reported I had not left the apartment

clean enough after the 9-day stay.

---

You may want to review the point of this

episode, which is typed in bold, in

paragraph 3聽 ("A tip...).

cccmedia

@cccmedia

however what you have done does not benefit the owner in any way. In fact it usually negatively affects their ability to rebook the home at all OR at a profitable price point.

so although you鈥檝e enjoyed this work around it is hardly ethical or morally compassionate.

Dear Melissa,

Welcome to the forums of 禁漫天堂 ...

I could not agree with you less about the

impacts of my decisions as they may have

affected the owner of the AirBnB in

Colombia.

It was not a case of enjoying a work around.

The work-around was essential for me to

escape a harrowing situation.聽 My decisions

that day were absolutely ethical .. and,

in my evaluation, the only way I could have

extricated myself from potential disaster.

Moral compassion has nothing to do with it.

Your surmisal that anything I did

negatively impacted the host-owner's ability

to re-book the apartment is nonsensical

and has no basis in fact.

I am proud of the way in which I handled a

situation that could have left a less-fortunate

soul locked inside a previously-unknown

space with no means of escape besides

the crawl-space option that I spotted and

athletically survived.

cccmedia

@cccmedia

I was replying to your legal 鈥渨ork around鈥� on booking a week stay and then a 28 day stay.

I鈥檓 glad you escaped the other situation.

Thank you for the clarification.

As is obvious, this is a thread for legally

gaming the AirBnB system.聽 My intention

is to assist Expats in saving hundreds of

dollars and to avoid being locked in for

a month or more to an unsuitable

living situation.

To the extent that this intention conflicts

with a host's ability to keep his units filled

ongoingly, I say this...

The workaround I suggested above

is within the AirBnB rules and thus is

completely ethical.

As to your judgment that the workaround

lacks sufficient compassion, I refer you to

the comments made famous some 25

years ago in film The Big Lebowski...

篓That's just, like, your opinion, man.篓