The video succeeds by combining high-stakes, timely geopolitical news with a relatable, transparent 'behind-the-scenes' look at how a small business owner navigates a crisis, building trust and authority.
Summary
The creator discusses how the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has impacted her Airbnb business in Dubai, noting both cancellations and a surge in bookings for safer, ground-level properties. She reflects on the challenges of managing operations during a crisis and emphasizes the importance of financial resilience for business owners.
Structure
1Introduction to the impact of the war on her Airbnb business
2Initial wave of cancellations and operational challenges
3Unexpected surge in bookings for ground-level properties
4Strategic shift to long-term bookings and price adjustments
5Reflections on business resilience and personal safety
Product placement
Original caption
Wish I could say I never saw it coming but living & working in the Middle East always has its perks right? 😅 Life is so normal here and the kids are on holiday living their best life but the longer this goes on, the more I can’t wait for things to go back to normal…I’m already getting new bookings for next month so I know the people want to return! …to be continued 🙈 #airbnb#war#sidehustle#dubai#expat
More from @propertywithbri
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The creator is an Airbnb host and property manager, using her personal experience to sell her property management course.
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On-screen text
Dubai Update
How the war has impacted my Airbnbs
Transcript
It's time to give an update on what it's been like as an Airbnb business owner in Dubai. In the past seven days, the first call was from somebody in England. They said, 'I'm currently on the tarmac, I was supposed to fly in, but we've been grounded. We haven't left. I'll keep you updated, but what are my options if we can't come?' And in my mind, I was like, 'Can't come? He's over-exaggerating, I'm sure it's just been delayed, right?' By Sunday, I kind of got the air that things aren't quite right. We started granting these cancellations. Airbnb have a policy around like major disruptive events. I started to get cancellations from people who were landing maybe on the Sunday, on the Monday. But then there were a few cancellations further into the future. So I was just kind of like, 'Okay, let's just keep an eye on it, let's see.' But what was happening on the other side is people who were supposed to be checking out were now needing extensions. I don't always believe this, but a lot of the people who stay in our Airbnbs are not tourists. So those who were not affected by the closure of the airspace still needed to check into our Airbnbs. So trying to organize these extensions for people, shift people around, keep my eye on the ground and work out what's going on. At that point, I hadn't really thought about the implications business-wise. It was just very much operations, operations, cleaning, maintenance, moving guests around. By Monday, we started to get more of the longer-term cancellations, bit further out. People were getting worried, people were getting scared. So I was just kind of like, 'Oh, this doesn't look good.' But as long as the airspace is closed, our occupancy didn't really take a hit. And then something interesting happened. The unique difference between Airbnbs and hotels is that Airbnbs are actually homes. I started to get bookings from people who were staying on the Palm, and because the Palm seemed to be some sort of target, they were now booking my Airbnbs. I also had people who were staying on high floors all over Dubai and felt like they were closer to the missiles, so they wanted to stay nice and close to the ground. So now my townhouses, my villas, and lower apartments were completely booked out. Slowly but surely, I started to get loads of inquiries for long-term bookings. I have units all over Dubai. My hardest units to fill are obviously the ones in Marina, and I've had to slash those down the most. My downtown units are getting booked like this because I think people just want to be close to what's going on. My units in other parts of Dubai are fine, but my villas and townhouses are completely fully booked because I realized that I think families more and more are kind of like, 'I need somewhere proper to stay.' Am I bricking it? Yeah, a little bit, because this is going to massively affect tourism. And essentially, when the airspace opens properly and flights are going properly, people are going to start leaving. A lot of my bookings right now are extensions from people who can't catch a flight. If I'm being completely honest, not many people are going to start coming, and that's when I'm going to really see a true picture of how much I'm effed. I think the signs of a true business person, I guess, is how you weather these kind of storms, how much cash flow we have, how much of a buffer we have in the bank, and how much are we going to slash our prices to make sure that we're still booked. It's not such a bright outlook, and this is the risk of doing business in the Middle East. But in terms of me and my family and my safety, I'm not really ready to go home. I have no intention of going home. I'm okay here. It's scary as a mother, I have two young children. It's even scarier as a business owner whose business relies on tourism. But I'll keep giving you updates on how the Airbnb business is actually performing, what our rooms look like, how low occupancy is, and what's happening the longer and longer this war goes on.
