“Perhaps we should all just drink the Koolaid and return this planet to nature. There is no hope for humanity and the idiocracy that is already upon us.” ~ Ian Smolenski (sharing his thoughts, via text, on recent interactions with buyers from Craigslist.)
IT’S WHEN, NOT IF.
When dealing with the public in any forum, it can be difficult to maintain your faith in humanity. While it’s true that there are constant reminders that people are good, we are also bombarded daily with the alternative notion.
PEOPLE ARE GOOD
We manage several Airbnb properties in and around the Charlotte, NC area, both for ourselves, and for clients. For the most part, we have very few issues. Having hosted nearly 1000 guests from 15 different countries, the statistics are in our favor. People are good. They generally mean well and leave our homes in the same or better shape than when they arrived. The follow the golden rule. They believe in karma.
PEOPLE ARE BAD
Then there are people who have every intent on trashing your place. They will say they have 2 guests when they have 20. The break things and leave them to be discovered. They are just generally bad people. It’s not lost on me that this may stem from upbringing, lack of basic values, and the fact that, likely, they don’t respect their own property – much less anyone else’s.
Here are a few photos from one of our places last night…New Years Eve. Note they didn’t even unpile the furniture from the make-shift dance floor. The entirety of the homes floors are sticky, and covered with glitter. The sink is covered in fake eyelash adhesive. Hell, they didn’t even bag the trash. After contacting the guest, they unbelievably said, “the 6 of us tried to clean up as best we could and put everything back where it was”.
You be the judge.
IT IS A JOB AFTER ALL
It’s all part of being a business owner, and dealing with the public. If it were easy, everyone would do it…right? The challenges we face in this line of business are no different than those we face in the construction and real estate realms. There are simply some people who are out to take advantage of you…period. In fact, that’s exactly why I wrote this article: It’s Not Me, It’s You.
As I shared there, the only sane course of action is to ask yourself: What can I learn from this?
That can, and will be, a post all it’s own.
LEARN THE LESSON…THEN LET GO.
For now, it’s time to let go. Learn from the lesson, but don’t wallow in it. Move on. Be better. Be smarter. Make every attempt to avoid the situation in the future…but move on.
It’s both the only way to keep your sanity, and the only way to keep faith in your fellow man. It’s easy to focus on the negative in any situation, or any day for that matter. However, if we simply take a minute to remind ourselves of everything that goes right, every day, we will be both happier and healthier.
Happy New Year.
See you on the journey….
