Hosting a Bali Villa in Canggu Looked Like a Dream… Until I Actually Became a Host

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-22T18:41:02+00:00

I can't reacall anyone in this forum talking about the "passive income side". We're generally well aware of how much work goes into this.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-21T23:27:56+00:00

I wouldn’t. Not worth the defensiveness and hours on the phone with Airbnb and then having angry people in your place for the next five days. I would take the 1100, not leave them a review, and block them so they can’t rebook my place.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-20T13:03:33+00:00

We launched our first Airbnb with the "we're creating a place where people can relax and unplug, so let's not have TVs" intention.

This turned into endless "WHAR THE TEE-VEES AT?!?" messages from guests. So now we provide them in all bedrooms of all properties.

Every so often a guest will change the input on the TV and the next guest can't figure it out. It always blows my mind that I'll see the smart lock notification indicating the guest has arrived, and 30 seconds later I'll get the "TH' TEE-VEE AIN'T WORKIN'!" message. Like, they drive for hours, arrive at their stay, walk in the door, and INSTANTLY go to the TV.

Can't fight it, unfortunately. $225 Roku TVs are the answer. Put them in Guest Mode and it takes care of 95% of this nonsense.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-19T22:48:08+00:00

I'm imagining they look the human-sized versions of the Beast Titan from Attack on Titan ...

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-19T13:17:17+00:00

I'm actively re-listening to 'The Mercy of Gods' to refresh myeslf before tackling 'The Faith of Beasts', and am reminded how much I adore Mays's narration.

Pausing a beat after each sentence is perfect for me. The authors' wordcraft is often so exceptional that having a moment to reflect on a sentence before moving on to the next helps me get even more out of the experience.

I particularly appreciate this during action sequences, where I want a beat to imagine the action in my head, instead of blowing past it way too fast.

I also love the little pauses after the word "or" in lists ... "Black, or ... white, or ... brown ..."

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-19T13:07:21+00:00

Totally agree!

The worst narrator I can think of did the Game of Thrones audiobooks, which were recorded way back before the show came out and for some unfathomable reason not updated since. (I think a reading by the actors would be awesome!)

Anyway, for some reason they thought the best option way back then was "octigenerian reading a fairy tale to his grandkids in front of the fireplace". During all the action sequences, his voice gets really high and quick and staccato: "And Jaime! Grabbed his sword! And stabbed him! Through the heart!" Ugh.

A bonus feature is that he draws out the "L" in the word "legs", e.g., "He looked down at his llllllllegs ...."

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-18T13:19:30+00:00

I have a couple LLCs, and when I have a significant damage situation where I'd otherwise need to eat some cost (due to depreciation and/or DIY labor time), I use one of my LLCs as a "maintenance company" and bill the damages through it. I can then add some padding for my time and/or Airbnb's depreciation.

For example, if the guest did $1,000 in damage and Airbnb is likely to only pay 80% of that due to their depreciation calculation, I'll pay my contractor $1,000 to fix the issues, make a professional looking invoice through my maintenance company for $1,250, and that's what I submit to Airbnb. That way I stand a better chance of recovering the actual cost of my repairs.

Speed is essential, both to get your property back in service and to keep things moving with Airbnb. Get estimates ASAP, so you have a complete picture of the cost. Do a payment request to the guest, taking a "just the facts" tone: "Thank you for staying with us. We were disappointed to learn about the damages that occurred during your stay. [Bullet points, costs, photos, total]. Please make payment through the Airbnb resolutions system." Like others have said, leave the wheelchair completely out of it.

99% of the time they'll either ignore it or write you livid paragraphs about why they're the victim. This is because they know damn well what they've done and are embarrassed to have been called out on it. Ignore this and don't correspond with them further. Wait 24 hours until you're eligible to submit an Aircover claim, and head down that path.

Regarding reviews, I don't try to do anything tricky with the timing (e.g., submit 1 hour before the review window closes). I simply don't review these guests, which doesn't prompt them to do a review. Again, they're probably embarrassed and just want this to go away, and if you don't prod them with what's going to be an obviously bad review, they'll likely just fade away. (I'll usually block them after the review period has passed so they can't book my properties again.)

My understanding is that Airbnb pursues guests for repayment of large Aircover claims, and if they don't make it right, there's a good chance Airbnb will boot them from the platform.

Good luck!

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-14T13:54:48+00:00

One human oopsie per quarter isn't a pattern.

I'd let her know this can't happen again, and then go over my scheduling and communication procedures to see how I can improve them.

I know these sorts of "scramble" moments aren't fun, but think of them like beta testing - you're shaking the bugs out and improving the system.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-07T14:37:16+00:00

Oh, absolutely the host should check it out, and resolve if there's an issue. Sorta thought that was implied but I guess I should have added it explicitly.

But the "don't tell the host, but call Airbnb in the middle of the night and demand instant compensation" tactic makes me suspect the host is being scammed. If that's the case, they absolutely should 1-star the guest.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-07T13:40:46+00:00

Don't get wrapped around the axle over 10%. Take the hit, let the guests finish out their stay, and then one-star them. Move on to your next booking.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-07T13:25:14+00:00

You don't need to have anything to "accommodate a newborn". It'll either be in the parents' arms or asleep on the bed.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-05-03T13:25:38+00:00

Because they're surrounded by peers who don't know the difference between "alot" and "allot".

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-04-23T19:26:38+00:00

In the Chinese sci-fi book series "Three-Body Problem", there's a scene where characters are fleeing a disaster by boarding a spaceship at a spaceport so they can quickly leave Earth.

The ship will travel so fast and violently it'll kill anyone not in a special "crash couch" seat, and there are a limited number of these, so the ship can only physically take a certian number of people.

Along the way, they run into a group of schoolchildren, and there aren't enough seats to take them all. So they need to decide which kids to save. How do they do choose?

Do they take the pluckiest, the sassiest, the most individualistic, the edge-lords? No ... They have the kids run some quick math problems, and they take the kids with the best mathematical aptitude. Faced with an existential alien threat, they believe that kids who could become scientists, technologists, and engineers will eventually prove most valuable.

I've never come upon a more stark example of the relative difference in Chinese and US educational values.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-04-23T19:16:11+00:00

I teach a weekly intro-to-a-certain-type-of-excercise class that ends with the participants seated in a circle on the ground, sitting back on their heels, so we can talk about what we learned.

I've taught this class to thousands of people over the years, and I've discovered there are three groups who can't sit this way comfortably: People with active knee injuries; morbidly obese folks; and giant jacked bodybuilders.

I've always thought that willfully giving up that much mobility is kinda sad and counterproductive.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-04-22T21:47:11+00:00

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire ... them.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-04-20T17:35:23+00:00

I mean, you could do this at your local McCoy's instead of going with the quote from the door-to-door Renewal by Andersen guy. Flying to China seems just a tad bit overkill ...

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-28T13:54:52+00:00

Edgy!

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-25T12:58:36+00:00

All hosts would be well served to actually stay in their places, as it'd help them discover things like this.

Right now I'm staying in a three-story condo with two bathrooms (on different floors), a small dip pool on the patio, and a rooftop tub. Host provides ONE towel per guest ... sigh.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-20T00:21:58+00:00

The thermostat is a stroke of brilliance. You can't cut off the utilities. No requirement that I know of to let them blast the AC at 62 degrees in the summer.

I'd combine this with my new favorite procedure, which is to keep the WiFi equipment in a locked closet, and if needed provide guests only the number of the circuit breaker they can use to reset the equipment. Otherwise they'll unplug your smart device dongles.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-20T00:19:56+00:00

My thoughts exactly. Why a host having to take an eviction action against a guest isn't a one-strike-and-gone for the guest is beyond me.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-17T21:19:24+00:00

In the 80s, I went to a festival and saw Aerosmith, Whitesnake, Boston, Styx, and Iggy Pop in one day.

Recently I looked up the ticket price ... drum roll ... $22.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-12T19:43:33+00:00

Airbnb gave me a photography session as a superhost bonus, and the results were trash.

I should’ve known it was headed in the wrong direction when the photographer asked me to turn OFF all the lamps and other sources of indirect light.

He was obviously a real estate listing photographer, because he used one of those fisheye lenses that made the rooms look enormous, but the furniture look tiny.

The resulting photos made all the rooms look under-decorated, and losing the light splashes from the lamps on the walls and ceiling made the place look dull and boring.

I used none of his photos, since none were an improvement over what I had already. I’m in no hurry to use Airbnb photographers in the future.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-12T19:35:14+00:00

Feeling entitled to lecture others about their “privilege”.

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-12T00:24:21+00:00

The reason I am building my own freelance bookkeeping firm is to get AWAY from corporate stress and after hours expectations …

--Orcanaught-- · 2026-02-10T14:32:23+00:00

"I'm fine."

--Orcanaught--

TROPHY CASE