Shampoo & Booze 5: Zombie Airbnb Listings, Hiring A Caretaker

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg

Moving apartments in Amsterdam, we found that lots of listings that had totally open calendars, were not actually available, making our search a little bit frustrating. We dubbed these apartments 'Zombie Listings'. Eventually, we found a lovely apartment in a great neighborhood by some Airbnb first timers and we're fully enjoying it. Meanwhile on the home front, our caretaker dealt with a house emergency when the central air conditioning unit stopped working. Luckily it was only a $150 fix and it's back and running like new. Phew!

Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

13 comments:

  1. Hey guys, I followed you over. Can't get enough of the soothing sound of your voices. LOL. Anyway, my comment is about the AC. I would bet that was the start/run capacitor that went out. You need to keep that AC guy's number because he was honest with you and didn't gouge you like a lot of guys do. $150 is a very fair price for that service. I hope the rest of your trip is great and look forward to more podcasts from both channels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hey mike
      you are100% correct, it was a capacitor. how did you know?? right before we started the rental, the other unit for downstairs (we have a pump for both floors) went out completely and had to be fully replaced for a bunch of money, so we were afraid that was the issue, but thank goodness it wasnt!

      Delete
  2. Hey followed you over as well, I had to let you know that the company I work for is sending me to the Bay Area to work for 2 weeks and instead of putting me up in a hotel are putting me in an Airbnb. When the area manager there asked if I was familiar with Airbnb I had to laugh a little inside after listening to you guys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ha, that's great. i'm hearing that more and more. companies are looking at airbnb as a good alternative to hotels. especially for a 2 week stay, you'll have a kitchen to cook in and a neighborhood to check out. much nicer than a downtown hotel for 14 days.

      Delete
    2. Interesting. Did your company say why they chose an Airbnb over a hotel? Is it cheaper? or they think it'll be more comfortable for you?

      Delete
  3. It's not the dogs, it's their owners. No bad dogs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Obviously location is key to a successful Airbnb, but what might some criteria consist of besides being next to a national park or in a city like Amsterdam, or NYC?
    A few that come to mind would be a college town, parents want to come visit the kids. Perhaps near a major sports stadium. Just looking for suggestions as this will be a down the road retirement plan for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These are all great reasons why an area would be popular. Basically if people are already visiting your area for any reason, then your rental is just adding more inventory. If you live in a low-traffic ghost town, putting a space on Airbnb isn't going to attract anyone.

      We can't control why people to come to our area. We can control if our rental is nice enough so people (who would come to our area anyway) are happy and want to come back.

      Delete
    2. another good way to gauge interest in your area is to go on airbnb and see if there are listings getting reviews (not good enough to just have listings with no one staying there). i was checking out real estate in amsterdam (because i'm a nerd like that) and checking airbnb at the same time to see if certain areas are more valuable for renting to travelers based on other rentals getting reviews in those areas- like outside the city, near the airport, in smaller cities nearby etc.

      Delete
  5. I'm sure you were already planning this but can you guys do a whole episode in what it was like and how you essentially renovated the farmhouse? Like how much did you do yourself and in your frugal ways how did you learn to do everything and when did you need to hire someone? Thanks so much! You guys are super hard workers, very inspirational!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks for the suggestion. we will put it on our list!

      Delete
    2. I second the suggestion. Love the podcast, by the way, and your personalities are very warm and welcoming. Thanks for taking the time to do these things.

      Delete
    3. thanks guys, this is on our list for an upcoming episode. cheers! glad it's interesting enough...

      Delete