YouTube friends it's Richard founder short-term rental university and Airbnb
super host today's video is how I handle doing routine maintenance of my home and
also repairs while a guest is in residence so in my experience there's
two different scenarios the first one is when there's something broken that the
guest actually wants to use this just happened to me recently my place in
Manhattan the dryer vent came off the dryer so therefore the dryer was not
available the guests wanted that repaired while they were there so that
they could use the dryer the second scenario is more of just routine
maintenance maybe the electric meter has to be read or the water meter or
somebody has to come in and check something and it's not really relevant
to the guests in residence if anything it's just kind of a pain in the butt but
it has to be done you maybe have been waiting for that appointment for a long
time and that's when they can come and unfortunately you have a guest in
residence so what to do in both scenarios the first and foremost
important thing to recognize is you have to care we're trying to be great hosts
caring is really important and you have to empathize with the fact that they're
a guest in your home they're paying you good money and even though you
technically own the home and you have to get it done you're inconveniencing them
so I always start from a point of apology care concern don't take it for
granted don't be aggressive don't suggest that I have to get this done
it's really important to me it's not about me or the host it's about the
guests I always start with an apology an understanding of the fact that I'm
disturbing them I communicate to them the time and the date as far in advance
as possible I confirm that that date and time works for them I try and set it up
so that it's not first thing in the morning like 8 o'clock they might be
sleeping I generally try and do it between 10:00 and 3:00 and then again I
communicate I ask for their permission I ask if they will be home if they are
home then I apologize for the inconvenience of letting the person in
and if they're not home which is my preferred method I offer to meet the
person so they're not worried about things being stolen or anything like
that I also think it's really important to realize that if it's something that's
disturbing them that they want fix they want the dishwasher fix they want the
dryer fix they want the refrigerator fixed speed is your friend the faster
you can get somebody in there the quicker that you try
and even if he can't get somebody in there but you say I just called three
different places I still don't have a solution I'm gonna keep calling until I
get a solution things like that show people that you really care you're
taking action you're committed to getting it fixed and even if you can't
get it fixed immediately all they want to see is the effort and the empathy so
it's all in the way that you communicate and maintain your hosting hospitality
standards with all of that you can get all the repairs and maintenance done
it's never been a problem for me what if the guests refused entry whether it's
something they really care about they want the dishwasher repaired but they
just don't want to be disturbed or they don't really care about the water meter
reading and they don't want to be disturbed again the way that I've
handled it and my guests that have attracted have been really really
understanding and it's always worked out but if it didn't happen then rather than
push it and force the issue and say well it's my home and I can need to get this
done and put me in the driver's seat I would just reschedule the whole thing
and apologize wish them you know a great day and then just reschedule it and put
the burden back on me again it's never happened and I don't think it has to
happen but if it were to happen I'm a host they're the guest they're paying
it's about them and their experience and it's not about me and my maintenance I
hope you enjoyed this quick tip video it's a fact of life routine maintenance
repairs it happens it happens whether you own your rent you are on Airbnb
you're a guest I've had repairs happen to me at hotel so it's a fact of life
it's all in the way that you communicate and you empathize and you handle it I
hope you found this helpful it gives you the courage to get their stuff done in
the right fashion without losing any Hosting brownie points and if you want
more tips and advice listen to our podcast the links are below I think
you're really going to enjoy it we've had a lot of great feedback about it in
the meantime I'm going to wish your happy posting please like the video and
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