I lived in PNG for 3 years as a child too, Wewak & Goroka. Our house back directly into the jungle and I still remember the geckos all (I mean 50 plus) all over my bedroom roof the first night we arrived & freaking out & crying and my dad told me to ‘get a grip’. I soon got over it & thought they were cute 
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and what about the enormous praying mantis with the ruby red wings and the leeches the size of cigars…?
For me it was Port Moresby and Bouganville
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I guess it’s seen as solicitous when you say ‘we at uphost…etc etc.’ You’re not the only person on here with an Airbnb business … points to @smartbnb.io , @jaquo runs a travel blog; they all speak in the first person. You can too 
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Uphost take a cue from someone like @smartbnb.io… He’s got a small business but also participates here as a valued member. You almost sound like you are here only to promote even though you are in Montreal. The way to grow a business, you have probably been told, is to comment on blogs and forums thereby advertising the name and creating a market. It just seems self serving. If you are actually a host you will have valuable advice to impart. If just a business not so much.
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Oh no! I signed off a post like this earlier today.
I’ll find it and edit it. 
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Omg the leaches and the tropical ulcers if you cut yourself. I travelled through Moresby to get home from boarding school in high school & my mums sister & family lived in Boganville, not many expats left there now I think. Amazing amazing fruit, coffee & scuba diving but scary place, imagine running an ABB there lol
Would you believe!
Presumably that’s not intended as a compliment.
Actually, I find “hope this helps” unobjectionable, though I don’t (usually) say it myself.
Airbnb reps do say lots of things that a robot would say, often at the same time, and definitely calculated to put ones back up. My (un)favorite is “we are passionate about hosting”. Or words to that effect. Give me a break.
Hi @faheem – You seem very passionate about this subject. (ha!) <insert smiley emoji.
Wish I knew how to do emoji’s. Now there’s a word I dislike, “emoji” (ugh).
I’m not fond of “hope this helps” either because a smug/pompous CEO always signed off on his forum postings with that phrase.
He might have moved over to Air.
I use this phrase when I hope that my thoughts help. Strange that people don’t care for this sentiment.
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@anon67190644 - It’s subjective, don’t worry. We all use words and phrases that rub people …heck, I hear myself using worn out words or over-used terms that are truly passé and I cringe.
That’s because you are sincere and truly hope it helps…lol.
But Sandy toes is referring to a former COO of a vacation rental forum who would spew out BS (to the owners) and at the end of every post would say “hope this helps” - knowing damn well he never answered the question. He has now moved on to other ventures. But now the helpful phrase for that forum is “We appreciate your feedback and will be looking into making these changes in 2017.”
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Back to topic: gecko’s, cockroaches, millipedes and the like would not cause me to freak out if found them in a room in a locale where they are known to populate. But snakes, mice, centipedes, etc., would freak me out because they bite or injure. Leeches and grubs would also do me in because of the ‘ick’ factor.
Debthecat and Emily reminded me of my trip to Irian Jaya on the other side of Borneo where cannibal tribes existed. About 25 yrs. ago, a small group of us traveled inland by Zodiak for a couple of hours to a remote village where ‘whites’ had not been seen for 15 yrs. Our leader was part of that last group and managed to get word to the village of his return.
Suddenly, our guide stopped the engine because we heard loud grunts and chanting. About 20 canoes came around the bend with angry-looking painted natives all standing, holding spears and shields, semi-nude, bones in their noses, etc. We were petrified in fear as they surrounded us and held onto our rubber boat and led us to their village. The women and children quietly met us at the muddy waterfront and all had distended bellies from malnutrition. Some women and children had orange hair, also a sign. Strangely, the men appeared healthy and muscular. Talk about fear…I thought I would be soon be in a pot of boiling water.
Our guide said as part of the welcoming ceremony, the village was going to give some of us grubs collected from the jungle but we “didn’t have to eat them if we didn’t want to.” I was one of 5 who was presented with a huge white grub which was the size of a man’s thumb. It was placed in my hand, cold, soft and squirming. It was all I could do not to shriek and drop it but I managed to smile and nod, and then present it calmly back to the fierce-looking warrior. He took it and popped it in his mouth and commenced to eat it with his mouth open showing the grub’s guts. Needless to say, it has contributed to a recurring nightmare.
Point is, if I saw a grub in the VR I was in, it would have prompted me to call the owner in the middle of the night. Fear and disgust of creepy crawlies is subjective.
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Is it too early in the year to nominate this for “Airhostsforum story of the year?”
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