A little background: I’m a relatively new host (started hosting this month and had 5 guests so far) and have been a guest on Airbnb 12 times. As a guest, I always did my own cleaning/washing/taking out trash/cleaning bathroom, room, etc. and did not ask my hosts to provide me with information about the city or provide any other assistance since I believed the hosts are not there to be my personal travel agents. I may have asked the occasional question about public transportation to/fro, but that’s about the extent of it. Currently, I live alone in a brand spanking new 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment in the center of Seoul, so I decided to occasional rent out the other 2 spare bedrooms.
My guests thus far have been good (bar one who left my apartment reeking of cologne) and hassle-free. Most recently, I had someone visit from Hong Kong. Check-in time at my place is clearly stated to be 4 p.m. or later on weekends (she was arriving on Saturday). Her first message prior to her arrival was that she would arrive at the airport at midnight and wondered if she could check-in earlier. I said she would have to book for an additional night if she was going to stay at my place from 2 a.m. She then said she would just stay at a 24-hour sauna and wondered if she could check-in earlier after she slept there. I told her it was possible for her just to drop off her bags earlier, but I would need to know her exact check-in time if she was going to actually check-in to the room earlier (this was a few days before her arrival date). Her reply was she didn’t know her plans yet.
She then asked me for recommendations for things to do in the morning, prior to check-in. I’m also new to the city (I’ve been here for just over 2 months) so I googled some information to send to her. At this point, I wondered why she couldn’t search for this herself. The next message I received was a day before her arrival, asking if there was a cafe nearby. This was clearly mentioned in the welcome booklet I emailed her… so I’m starting to think she didn’t read anything in the booklet. I told her it was in the booklet and also, there are more cafes per square kilometer in Seoul than any other city in the world, so she shouldn’t have any problems finding one nearby. I wished her a safe flight… then on the morning of her arrival, early in the morning, she texted me asking if there was a hospital or clinic that was open (it was Saturday) since her leg was itchy and red. Again, I’m not sure if a host should provide this type of information, but I googled some information and forward it to her. I’ve never gone to the hospital in Seoul since my arrival, so I’m just as unsure of hospitals here as she is… but you can find almost anything on the internet. A few hours pass and I get another message asking if she can drop off her luggage first. Then she asked if I could help her call the hospital to ask about opening hours since they were closing soon or if I could go to the hospital with her… I was starting to feel a little bit exasperated at this point since all of this could be easily found on the internet… and I don’t know if a host is responsible for helping a guest who hasn’t even checked in yet, go to the hospital for an itchy leg. She asks about how much it would be for foreigners… again, I don’t know how to answer and I tell her I haven’t had any experience with going to the hospital in Seoul on a Saturday, but according to some websites I found on Google, the emergency rooms are open 24/7, but will be more costly. I sent her multiple websites but she kept asking the same questions, so I told her to check the websites I sent her.
She tells me she took the wrong train and went to a different hospital. Then an hour later, texts me again saying it was too expensive and now will come to the apartment to drop off her luggage. She doesn’t tell me the time and instead of dropping off her luggage, essentially checks in 2 hours earlier. I just let it go since I was finished doing the laundry and cleaning for the day. In the end, she ends up going to a nearby hospital (there is a hospital within a 1-minute walk from my apartment). She has the keys so I figure she will be OK on her own now. That night, at around 10 p.m., she sends me a message and knocks on my door to ask about a nearby convenience store (this is the center of Seoul, there are convenience stores on every single corner, and then some! I’m sure she passed by several on her walk to my place). I was in the middle of a phone conversation with a friend, so I told her I was on the phone… and she could easily find one nearby and that there’s free hi-speed WiFi in the apartment and she can find convenience stores or anything else she needs on Google maps or other apps/online websites.
Was I being harsh? I’m not sure to what extent a host has to go to accommodate guests. Am I supposed to be like a travel guide and tell guests from abroad where to go, what to see, where to eat/shop, etc.? I’ve never asked my Airbnb hosts such questions when I was a guest, but maybe I’m just an outlier and a more independent traveler? Any advice from experienced hosts? To what extent am I supposed to provide assistance or information to guests as a host?
Many thanks in advance and for taking your time to read my rather lengthy post!