Warning: Airbnb’s Amenity List Hides Traps—Hosts, Watch Out for Guests Taking Advantage!

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Hello, and welcome to Snowball Rentals’ WeChat account, where you can read about recent developments in the US short-term rental market.

Hello, everyone. Today, I want to share a painful experience that really happened to an Airbnb host. I hope it serves as a warning and helps you avoid guests exploiting loopholes and costing you money unnecessarily!

Here is what happened: we launched a new listing and selected EV Charger in Airbnb’s amenity list to attract more guests. We even emphasized it in the listing title. The effect was immediate: guests in the first few bookings came specifically for the charging feature.

Yet this became the trigger for people taking advantage of us…

EV Charger or EV Outlet? One Checkbox Caused a Host Serious Trouble!

We thought that providing an EV outlet would be sufficient, since different electric vehicles use different chargers and guests should bring their own. Reality delivered a harsh lesson: guests did not see it that way!

After arriving, a guest discovered that we provided only an EV outlet and no charger. They immediately contacted us, asking, “Where is the EV Charger?” We patiently explained that Airbnb’s amenity list did not have an EV outlet option, so we could only select EV Charger, but guests still needed to bring their own charger.

The guest did not accept this explanation and insisted we had advertised falsely: to them, EV Charger meant a charger was included, rather than simply an outlet.

To avoid a negative review, we immediately offered remedies:

✅ We searched for nearby charging stations, found 3 within 0.8 miles and provided detailed location information.

✅ We promised to reimburse charging costs in full to make up for the inconvenience.

But the guest remained dissatisfied and began an endless dispute over compensation…

Complaint and Arbitration! Airbnb Found the Advertisement Inaccurate, and We Lost 30% of the Accommodation Charge!

The next day, we received a lengthy complaint in which the guest emotionally described the enormous inconvenience caused by this terrible stay and demanded compensation equal to 50% of the accommodation charge!

We considered the demand entirely unreasonable, for simple reasons:

❌ The guest was staying for only 2 days and would need to charge at most once.

❌ A charging station was only a 5-minute drive away, and we had already offered to reimburse charging costs in full. The actual inconvenience was minimal.

We therefore refused the compensation demand and submitted the dispute to Airbnb for arbitration. Airbnb’s finding was devastating: “The facts do not match the advertisement.” We were required to compensate the guest for 30% of the accommodation charge!

Although the amount was not very large, this incident made us realize that Airbnb’s amenity list really does contain traps. If hosts are not careful, guests can exploit loopholes and take advantage of them!

A Guide to Avoiding Traps: How Can Hosts Keep EV Charger from Becoming a Disastrous Checkbox?

To avoid similar trouble, hosts should pay attention to the following:

⚠️ Select amenities carefully: if you provide only an EV outlet, do not select EV Charger!

⚠️ Make the listing description clear: if you must select EV Charger, explicitly state that only an EV outlet is provided and guests must bring their own charger.

⚠️ Keep records of communication with guests: if a dispute occurs, a complete chat history is the strongest evidence and can protect the host’s interests.

Airbnb’s rules are imperfect, and some guests know the loopholes well. They repeatedly make malicious complaints and compensation claims. A moment of carelessness can leave a host paying the price.

Scan the QR code to join our “Short- and Mid-Term Rentals: Mutual Support Discussion Group”!

If guests have taken advantage of you or you have fallen into a trap in Airbnb’s amenity options, share your experience in the comments. Let us support one another and protect hosts’ lawful interests together!

If you:

Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

As the weather gets cooler, Seattle’s short-term rental low season is approaching again.

Short-term rentals in peak season and mid-term rentals in low season: this is the new strategy we have repeatedly emphasized and tried this year! Some recent large bookings have been like a ray of sunshine. Homeowners, let us support one another and face the approaching low season with confidence.

For the following detached home in Renton, Redfin shows an estimated long-term monthly rent of about US$3,865.

With the owner’s trust and support, we carefully furnished the home and immediately began short-term rental operations. Fortunately, because the home’s condition and location are both good, short- and mid-term bookings have continued to come in.

As shown in the booking screenshot below, a guest recently rented this home from March 30 to July 31, a total of 123 nights, at an average monthly rent of US$7,665.

In summary, after Snowball Rentals operated this property, monthly rental income rose from US$3,865 to US$7,665, doubling.

Securing such a large booking toward the end of low season is no easy feat!

For homeowners, combining short- and mid-term rentals in this way can earn more in peak season and help them get through low season smoothly. Even if the low-season rental figures look less dramatic, they still outperform long-term rentals and give homeowners a strong sense of financial security.

More importantly, the owner does not have to worry about maintenance or cleaning. When something needs to be discussed with guests, we also help with communication and oversight.

Here, we again thank the owner for placing trust in the Snowball Rentals team!

After nearly two years of Airbnb’s downturn, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners make steady progress in low season, navigate the challenges safely and lay a better foundation for next year’s peak season.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

Here is the before-and-after furnishing comparison for the detached home described above:

When choosing a short-term rental on Airbnb, would this home’s appearance attract you?

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

This Week’s Short Videos

We regularly update short videos every week.

The content you need is all here.

👇🏻 Homeowners are welcome to follow us 👇🏻

Snowball Rentals

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Snowball Rentals

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We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending!

Keep rental income growing!

Xiao An’s Vacation-Rental Styling

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Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays longer than 30 days.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals longer than 30 days, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals under 30 days, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.

Author’s tip: Personal views, for reference only.