Understanding the Airbnb Calendar

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


I’m a newbie host.

I’ve never booked an Airbnb room prior to being a host.  Like everyone else, the only booking I did was either for a hotel or a flight.

Now, like everyone else, I’m familiar with what a calendar is.  It’s that small chart that you have pinned on the back of your door, sitting atop your desk or as little app on your phone, with numbers and names derived from pagan Gods.

The funny thing is, when I look in a calendar, I associate them with day time.  As in April 28, starts at 6AM for me.  I disregard midnight to dawn, since who cares, I’m asleep at those times.  Not unless I have to pick up hubby at 1AM at the airport, then I’m glad to start my day at 6AM.

This brain quirk that I have led me to great pains when I hosted in Airbnb.  Yes, Airbnb has lots of help pages on how to curate your calendar.

·    You can change the pricing of your listing from the calendar.
·    You can sync your calendar with other home sharing sites.
·    You can export your calendar to Google; and most importantly,
·    You can block or unblock a date in the calendar if you’re not available to host a guest.
Just follow the links and it can teach you all of that.
What it didn’t teach me is to wire my brain that the calendar is actually showing me nights; not days, as in daytime, but nights, as in nighttime.  Nights when a person can sleep on the unit and have a rest.

So when your calendar is open for April 28, it would mean that you’re OK to accept a guest to stay at your unit for the night of the 28th.  Pretty easy.

The blocking is where the pain is.  If you can’t accept a guest on a day, for whatever reason, you should block the night before.


Let’s say you can’t accept a guest on the day of the 29th, since you’re scheduled for an early maintenance.  Then, you should block both the 28th and the 29th.  Remember that a guest staying on the 28th would check out at noon.  And a guest staying on the 29th, would check in by the afternoon.  If the works run for the whole day, you won’t be able to check in your guest for the 29thand be forced to cancel if a guest booked the unit instantly.

Lucky you if you’re sure that it can be finished early.  Then you’ll only have to block the 28th and keep the 29th open.  But might not be enough leave it to chance and lose your chance in being a Superhost, when you’re forced to cancel a booking.

I learned this the hard way and lose my chance of getting that Superhost badge just a month after opening Casita del Rose.  I was forced to cancel an instant booking since I blocked the wrong date, thinking of only the days.  Not the night prior.  I wasn’t able to negotiate and transfer the booking to a friend’s unit since she’s also booked on the same night.

Looking back, I now know I should have just forked the money to book them on a hotel near my area instead of losing my chance for a Superhost badge.  But I was a stupid newbie that didn’t fully understand how the calendar works.

In short, when looking at your Airbnb calender, think of those numbers as nights!

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How To: Pay Maynilad Bill Using Smart Money

7:00 PM angeLjamie 1 Comments
Paying your bills using SMART Money is pretty easy.  Here's a simple step by step guide on how to pay your water utility bill, with merchant Maynilad.
1.       Open your SMART Menu and choose SMART Money

2.       Pay Bills
3.       Others
4.       On the Biller Code, type 05009.  This is the biller code for Maynilad.


5.       Enter your account number.  This is the 8-digit number on your billing statement.


6.       Enter the total amount due. Use # as period (.)

7.       Enter your 6-digit SMART Money PIN, and click OK.
8.       Wait for the confirmation text from SMART.

Only the total amount due you’ve entered would be deducted to your SMART Money wallet.  The transaction fee of P2.50 would be deducted to your airtime load for Pre-paid subscriber or added to your monthly bill for Post-paid subscribers.

As with other utility bills, pay them using SMART Money at least 2-days before the due date.  Else, you’ll receive an SMS from SMART that your transaction was unsuccessful.  No transaction fees or amount would be deducted from your SMART Money wallet in case of failed transactions.

Here's a complete list of Biller codes supported by SMART Money.


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Part 2: Holy Week Trip At Bolinao, Pangasinan

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


 After a hearty breakfast at the Nautilus, we're on our way to the second leg of our Pangasinan get-away.

 Next stop, Bolinao and its famous waterfalls.

 There are 3 falls located near each other, but we only got to visit the first.  It was packed with people.  The main attraction is the 20-something-feet falls that people jump from.  There's another falls at the top with a shorter jump.


 Entrance is P60 for adults, while kids are free.  Parking is P50.

 There are bamboo cottages to rent, for P200 and people tend to come and go.  So if you're only taking a short dip or jumping from the falls, I would suggest not to bother unpacking or renting a cottage.

 
Next stop, Patar beach.  But first, a short stop at the Enchanted Cave.

 Enchanted Cave is an underground natural spring off Patar road. The owners made a nice development of the area with plenty of flowers around big, tall trees.  There are gazebos for rent for a nice romantic gathering, like debut or a wedding reception.


 Entrance is a bit pricey at P150 per head; whether adult or kids or even if you're not taking a dip on the cave itself.

 There's a small pool with natural water for small kids, with a life guard on standby.  So it's safe.  But be careful navigating the stairs.  It's made up of limestone and would cut your knee deep if you slip.

 There's a long line going into the cave since they only permit limited number of persons inside for safety.  It's a real cave with a small opening and cemented stairs to gown down too.  Inside is a cavern with fresh spring water, about 7 feet deep.  There are thick ropes lining the sides for people to hold on too.  France used his mask to swim around with no additional vest.  He's getting good at it.  After 20 minutes of waddling, we decided to come up and find our next destination.


 Read Part 1 here.


Travel Date:  April, 2017

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How To: Refunding Your Guest After A Cancellation

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments



On my previous post, I've mentioned about a couple who cancelled because of the recent earthquake that happened in Mabini, Batangas that was felt all the way in Tagaytay.  And with my cancellation policy set on Moderate, only a portion of the payment was refunded to the guest by Airbnb.

 Luckily, we're on peak season and the locals were not deterred by the quake.  I was able to fill up the cancelled dates and recoup a possible loss.  But somehow, the situation left a bitter taste in my mouth.  I felt bad for taking the couple's money, because
(a) earthquake is a real safety concern and it is in the guest's best interest to cancel
(b) I was able to fill up the empty calendar quickly

 Hence, I've decided to return a bigger portion of the couple's payment, in a form of a refund.

Airbnb allows refund on cancellations made under moderate or strict conditions, thru the Resolution Center.

Simply open the cancelled booking and you'll see the Send Money option.  This can be done within 24 hours of guest cancellation.

 Select the reason and put in the amount you wish to return.

Maximum amount is shown on the right; which is the money you're supposed to earn on the cancelled transaction, less the initial refund made automatically by Airbnb.  You can also add in a note on why you're refunding the guest.

 A final notice of the amount and note would be displayed before sending the refund.  Note that after hitting the 'Send' button, you'll no longer be able to reverse the transaction.

 I'm not saying that you should refund all guests who cancelled.  If so, then just set your Cancellation Policy to Flexible.  Also, guest who cancelled reservations are not allowed to leave reviews so you're not in any danger of a backlash.

However, being a considerate host is always a positive in the Airbnb community.  You may never know, but this simple act of honesty may in turn bring good karma.

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Part 1: Holy Week Trip At Hundred Islands, Pangasinan

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


Photo owned by Andy Arciga on Flickr
For this year's summer trip, we opted to go to Pangasinan and see the famous Hundred Islands at Alaminos. 




According to various legends, the islands were formed after 100 valiant warriors defended the town of Alaminos from invaders a long long long time ago.  Another myth says that the islands were formed after two datus fought each other at sea for the hand of a princess.  On both of these myths, the chilling realization was that the islands were actually the slain body of warriors.

 We prepared and woke up extra early, 2 AM to be exact.  I don't want a repeat of the more than 12 hours drive we did last year going to Vigan.


We arrived at Alaminos at around 10 AM.  Our expected check in time at Nautilus Lodge was 2 PM but they were nice enough to let us drop off our bags inside the unit ahead of time.  

Rooms Nautilus Lodge
We immediately requested for a boat, since we want to spend the whole day island hoping and snorkeling.  Sadly, since it's peak season, and there's limited number of boats.  Add in the long queue at the wharf, where tourist are required to pay for the environmental and insurance fees.

So we had lunch first.

 Food at Nautilus Lodge was great, and priced just right.  Sorry, no picture of the food.  We're too hungry to care.

 By 12NN, we're off to our island destination.



First stop, Quezon island.

 Our boat man said that they're closing the island by 3 PM since an international cruise ship is expected to dock on the island later.

 Second stop is Children's island.


The water here is very shallow, so you can let your kids frolic in the water with minimal supervision.




 We tried to persuade our boat man to take us to other islands, with less tourist and a better view for swimming and snorkeling.  But they were persistent that we make the 3 island rounds and nothing more; even if we tried to pay them more than the required fee.

 Our last stop was Governor's island.  It's not really a place for waddling in the water.  The ground was littered with remnants of bleached corals that would cut your foot raw if you don't have slippers or aqua shoes on.

 We made do, and tried to snorkel around at waist deep water.  Yes, there were fishes here and there, but not what I was expecting.  I must say that I was not awed by what I saw.

 But the kids had a blast swimming around.  We used the Thenice Snorkeling Mask and found out that you can actually float with only the mask on.  No need for floaters or vest.  Since the mask was creating a pocket of air on your face and allowing you to breath normally, it gives your body buoyancy. 

For adventurous persons, there's zip line, wall climbing, rappelling, banana boat ride, kayaking, jet ski and even parasailing on these three islands. Drop by here for the complete list of activities, amenities and rates.

 All in all, I would give Hundred Islands a rate of ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

 Travel Date:  April, 2017

Photo Credit: Andy Arciga at Flickr

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Birthdays At Watercamp Resorts

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


 It's pretty much tradition by now, with how many times we've spent birthday celebrations at Watercamp Resort, Kawit, Cavite.  And with three out of four kids in our little family born in summer, having the family summer outing coincide with the birthdays were a boon.

 For this year, the outing-cum-birthday was held last April 8, a Saturday, which was in between the kiddos birthdays. On April 7, the date of Dean's birthday, we had pizza and cakes at the house and he gets to open his present.



 Then, on April 8, we head out to my mom's house to cook some pesto pasta, fried chicken and mojos, and tacos.  It's a little family gathering and we're not known for eating a feast.  A small hearty snack to tide us over would be more than enough.


 I personally dislike going to Watercamp when the sun is still up.  It's a popular destination for family with kids and would be a veritable war zone during summer.  So, we usually arrive at the resort between 4PM and 5PM.  By this time, there are parking space near the entrance and plenty of tables and huts to choose from.


Entrance is a bit pricey, especially during summer.  Kids 4ft and above are considered adult and pays full price.  Only infant (0-11months) are free.  But unlike other resorts, there's no day or night entrance fee difference.  You can be at the resort as early as 8AM and leave by 12MN and pay the same price.


Rooms are available if you decide to stay overnight or would like to have a place to sleep.

 There are a total of 6 pools at the resort, including a kiddie pool with playground and fountains; a pool with slide; lazy river and a wave pool.




 There's also plenty of canteens and snack shack to choose from in case you didn't bring any with you.  However, they're only available during the day, and closes by 5PM.  The wave pool is also closed at night, but there were times that they extend this until 7PM depending on the number of night swimmers.

By 11PM, I'm beat. The kids were still at the pool, swimming the night away for almost 6 solid hours.  We pack and left by 12MN.


Here's some photo collage of the kids having a blast. 


Watercamp Resorts is at Panamitan, Kawit, Cavite.
Visit their site at www.watercampresort.com
Or contact them at Cavite Line: Tel: (6346) 484-5703 Manila Line: (632) 4049911

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