Managing Parent's listing

Tania & Andrew shared on New Hosts Forum June 2014

www.airbnb.com/groups/content/content-91018

Managing my parent's listing through my profile

Hello guys! Seeing how good I'm doing on Airbnb I got my parents (66 and 64 yo) all exited about Airbnb. They own and live in a Duplex in Playa del Carmen. They only use the first floor and when we go to visit we stay on the second floor which is now mostly empty. I told them about announcing it on Airbnb and they are totally OK with it.The thing is... they don't have the "internet-savvyism" to manage their listing so I was wondering if I could do it through my profile.Do you think this will cause an issue since the actual hosts would be my parents and not me?Thanks!
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Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
I don't think it would be a problem at all to manage the place for them -- but it might work better for you to actually do the managing through their profile. That way, the guests would be able to read about their actual hosts, and see photos of their actual hosts, which could be quite important for some folks. THe other advantage of using a profile for them rather than yours, is that then their income will be in their name, and you won't have to worry about transfering income or getting taxed for income that isn't yours.

You could actually set up their profile for them. Do you live nearby? Even if you don't, you could work on setting it up for them over the phone with them.

Once their profile is set up, you could access their account with their email and password, and the email could actually be your email account. Then you could run things through their profile -- though it might help to let the guests know they are talking with you rather than your parents, but you could work together with your parents to respond to guests and/or write reviews.

I know this can work because I have a friend who I do this for, to some extent, as my friend is also an older person, and not internet-savvy (unable to use email!!), and also doesn't really know how to respond to some guest questions.

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Tania & Andrew
Tania & Andrew2 years ago
Yes, I live in Cancun. Although I do not visit very often, specially because most of the time I have guests at home and I can't really leave them alone. Thanks for your ideas and feedback!

Evelyn
Evelyn2 years ago
I know of another host whose mom "runs" the space and she manages the account. You can actually send the money from your account to their bank and tax id number. It will not be included in you 1099. My friend's mom is having a great time, there is the extra income and the interaction with travelers.

I also listed some friends space in my account to give them the boost of my ratings. Which is the reason I know about the bank accounts. It will work out.

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Tania & Andrew
Tania & Andrew2 years ago
Thanks Evelyn! Will do so.

Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
Evelyn ---Thanks for sharing that information about how you can transfer money from your account. I am sure that can help some hosts to know that.

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Danny
Danny2 years ago
Tjere is a compamny called GUESTY that does this for anyone willing to pay their fee, so in effect you will be duplicating what Guesty would do, but probably at a better rate!

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Andrew
Andrew2 years ago
Tania, it is kind of odd to think that your profile would include a listing that is hosted by someone else, but exclude the listing on your own property that is associated with your husband's profile. Both have a lot of potential for confusion.

If I were a guest, I'd be very displeased to find that the host of my listing was a completely different person from the one portrayed and reviewed in the profile, and I wouldn't hesitate to say so in my own review. Additionally, it is genuinely important for a lot of people to have direct communication with the host - especially in an environment such as your parents' place, where there is some manner of direct contact between guest and host. I think you'd get much better results out of working with your parents to create their own account, sharing the password and notifications, assisting them with the setup and management but letting them do the communication side of it. (They may not be internet-savvy but surely they can type a message).

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Tania & Andrew
Tania & Andrew2 years ago
Hello Andrew, as always, thank you for your feedback and guidance! Kind regards!

Fleur, Dan and kids
Fleur, Dan and kids2 years ago
We recently stayed with a Malaysian family whose son organises the listing online from overseas but mum and dad live on the property. They have a family photo in the profile. It worked really well. If you are on the website click on my reviews and look at the review by 'Saw' and you can see their profile and how it's set up.

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Tania & Andrew
Tania & Andrew2 years ago
Wow! Thanks Fleur! By the way, I was never able to see my A/C's watt consumption since there was no longer a stamp on its side. Sorry for never getting back to you on this.

Fleur, Dan and kids
Fleur, Dan and kids2 years ago
That's ok Tania! Can't believe you remembered! There is a good Australian government website called 'energyratings gov au' that you can put the type of aircon in and the kilowatt hour price and it can calculate the cost for you. It has heaps of different brands on it and yours might be there. Have a try. Make sure you tick the box that says no longer produced models. Aircon is tricky as they cycle but that website figures it out for you.

Tania & Andrew
Tania & Andrew2 years ago
Good one! Thank you very much!!

Barb & Mike
Barb & Mike2 years ago
I have my own rental and I also handled the rental of my grandmothers house with whom there are for landlords. I just made a different email with my name and profile and had the payout put into my uncles account it wasn't any problem at all to manage both accounts