Interview with an Airbnb Host from Grafton, Australia - S2 EP16
Welcome back to another episode of Into The Airbnb, where we talk with Airbnb hosts about their short-term rental experience.
Today’s guest is Debbie Vlastaras, who is based in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia. She’s currently managing five listings listed on Airbnb and her journey hasn’t been the best. From having nightmare guests to a challenging relationship with Airbnb and services, that will becomes honest and transparent in this interview about her personal experience with Airbnb.
This episode is sponsored by Airbtics, the only one analytics dashboard for short-term rental investors managers, where you can find precise Airbnb data such as occupancy rate, revenue, average daily rate and so on. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
Into The Airbnb S2 EP 16: Airbnb: A dream for some, a nightmare for others – Host from Grafton, NSW opens up about her experience
You can also listen to this Into The Airbnb Podcast Episode on Otter.
Delia:
So can you tell us how did you get started on Airbnb?
Debbie Vlastaras:
I was made redundant in my previous job and I couldn’t get another job. I had multiple rental properties, so I decided to do short-term rental. I started with one and grew from there.
Delia:
Did you do long-term rentals before that?
Debbie Vlastaras:
Yes, I did.
Delia:
And how did you see the revenue changing between you doing long-term rentals versus short-term rentals right now?
Debbie Vlastaras:
Natural growth.
Delia:
And did you have already all these five listings? Or did you start acquiring more and more as your short-term rental journey has been growing?
Debbie Vlastaras:
I had three, I added two.
Delia:
Great. So in the area you’re hosting Northern Rivers, how is the seasonality like?
Debbie Vlastaras:
I don’t have seasonality. It’s all year.
Delia:
All year, in all of your five listings?
Debbie Vlastaras:
That’s right.
Delia:
Oh, that’s great. So can I ask you about your pricing strategy? How does that work for you?
Debbie Vlastaras:
I have three levels. So I have three properties that are the bottom end. I have one in the middle and I have one high end.
Delia:
What kind of pricing strategy you use for that? Do you set your prices according to your competition? Do you use dynamic pricing solutions?
Debbie Vlastaras:
I review the competition, but one of my listings is the most expensive in town while the other of my listings is the most expensive in the middle band and the other three listings are comparable to Hotel Motel prices. So the cheap ones get booked first and then the middle one and then the day one.
Delia:
Which one of those listings is performing best according to you?
Debbie Vlastaras:
The cheapest.
Delia:
Okay, that’s great. In all these years being an Airbnb host, what have been your top challenges?
Debbie Vlastaras:
Horrible guests. Airbnb changing the rules. Airbnb site being really glitchy and not reflecting. Airbnb not allowing me to choose who I want to stay. Airbnb is dreadful customer service. Guests trashing my homes, normal stuff every house puts up with, but Airbnbs platform is utterly awful.
Delia:
Oh, and do you have any kind of troubles related to the area you’re hosting in? Is there any particular law or something that might be causing trouble for you?
Debbie Vlastaras:
What do you mean law?
Delia:
For example, in the United States, most of the places have regulations about short-term rentals.
Debbie Vlastaras:
We are regulated, one came in last October.
Delia:
Did that make your short-term rental work like difficult or did they stay the same way?
Debbie Vlastaras:
You just have to follow the rules. That’s fine. I agree that there should be rules.
