This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
We all come here to complain about bad guests and unfortunate situations that arise in hosting. At the risk of being seen as a Pollyanna, and to ensure I can remember the good some day when I’m feeling burnt out, I’d like to share some of the nice things guests have done.
One group of guests left a brand new box fan. I wasn’t sure if it was mine (because I have some exactly like it) because I didn’t remember placing one at that listing. I messaged the guests and asked if it was theirs. They said it was. I was quite dismayed, thinking they were too warm—the house has central air conditioning, plus ceiling fans in both bedrooms and the living room, and I tell the guests to set the thermostat to their liking. But no, the guest assured me, they bought it for the white noise it provided. Since the house could not be in a quieter neighborhood (the property adjoins a nursing home and the neighbors on either side are octogenarians), I can only assume someone in their group was a loud snorer. They told me to keep the fan—they would need it on their next visit! By the way, it’s in the house manual that I can provide fans and supplemental space heaters, if the guests desire them and let me know.
One group of five women left me a gift basket with a towel set, scented candle, creams and lotions—all full size items, not samples—nicely wrapped up in cellophane and tied with a ribbon and accompanied by a thank you card they had all signed and written compliments to the listing on. I opened the gift and divided the items with my cleaner.
One man left me a new shower squeegee! It was exactly like the one I had. He wrote me a thank you note and said he noticed the squeegee was worn out and thought he would replace it for me. I was amazed, grateful, and embarrassed all at the same time—embarrassed that I had not noticed it needed replacing. We don’t use the squeegee when cleaning; we use microfiber cloths to clean the glass shower doors, so I had not noticed it needed to be replaced.
Remember the guest I was upset about who dyed her hair purple and stained my tub, etc? The next guests to stay In that house left me a $40 cash tip and a lovely thank you note! I split the money with the cleaner and we were both thrilled!
So far, the good guests have balanced out the ones who have ruined things and been PITAs.
Wow, I.was.once tipped 5$ in 4 years.
My pool house starts warming up at 4 pm. By 6 pm goes up to 82F.Bad insulation, older house. It reaches its pick of between 6-7 pm and then goes down. One group was returning home at this hour from.the beach and it was way too warm.for.them . They couldn’t stand to even handle one hour. By 8:30 pm temperature was again back.to comfortable 73F. They.bought 4 very expensive standing fans an.left it there. I didn’t even know until they checked out. I also.asked them why they bought them and this is when I found out about house warming up. I had several groups before them and No one even mentioned that issue
I had a lovely woman who gave us a jar of homemade maple syrup. I always love it when people are kind to my cat when they come and actually go out of their way to pet her. We do have a lot of really great guests that definitely outweigh the bad.
We recently hosted an older lady probably worth a fortune. She has multiple listings in Malibu right on the water. Her listings together earn probably more in one night than my entire house payment. Her vintage Porsche was beautiful. Yet she and her BF showed up in jeans and were dirty from having worked their nearby farm all day. She could have stayed anywhere but she is a hard worker and values the dollar so chose our budget listing. She was very gracious and kind without a single complaint or criticism and gave us all 5 stars in the review.
She made me value being a host. Her praise carried a lot of weight. And that was the best gift a guest has ever given me.
I’ve gotten a $25 gift card, a couple of small cash tips, some other small gifts including for the dogs (treats, toys) I’ve been taken to dinner, and made dinner here with guests, I’ve gotten some thank you cards, I’ve been sent xmas cards from guests. I agree with Tumo though that the thing I appreciate most is not the gifts but notes in the guest book or reviews. I’ve seen others complaining that the review process is arduous and that only xx percent of guests leave reviews. I consistently get 80% of my guests reviewing. So knowing they took the time and effort and didn’t just write “great stay!” means a lot to me.
Something I forgot to list…I had a guest who was staying because she was in town to reconcile with her father, who was dying of pancreatic cancer. She ended up staying (and her mother and a rotating group of siblings) at the listing 4 or 5 separate times. She was a lovely guest, always left the house very clean and always left a great review. After the first stay, I gave her a significant discount (30%) because she was a lovely person and I didn’t want to profit because of her horrible situation. She left me a lovely note. What really touched me was that one of her siblings I never even met wrote and mailed a lovely thank you letter to me after the funeral, telling me how thankful they were to have a nice place to stay in together as a family while they were going through such a difficult emotional time.
I’m in a facebook group that has nothing to to with Airbnb and there is always someone there posting about a great airbnb they stayed at or that they are hosting and love it and so on.
A new-user guest thought the private comments were just between her and Airbnb. She told “Airbnb” lots about the listing, and reported that I was helpful and good at explaining. She told Airbnb what she had for supper.
But she began her report with, “The host can really move through the woods!”
Sure, you think that sounds creepy. I am taking it as a compliment.
Other, less perplexing guests have brought gifts of bread, jam, hand cream, things like that. One 11-year-old whittled me a wooden knife.
Sure, you think that sounds…
I’ve had a few small gifts over the years - fancy loose leaf teas, handmade stationary cards, a watercolor painting, a hand-thrown ceramic jar. But honestly, the notes of appreciation are just as meaningful. I got a very nice one recently from a young couple who had a two-day honeymoon at the cottage. My house manual has tons of empty plastic sheet protectors in which I keep all my thank you notes.
I’ve had a number of guests think the private comments were just between them and Airbnb. I’ve wondered why they think that. Luckily, thus far, they’ve all been really favorable.
I opened my 3 rooms during the most heavily booked week of last summer, the week of our biennial local tribal reunion, when every hotel room is booked a year in advance, and when every Tlingit and Haida in town (we are 20% Native American) has a house full of relatives and fishermen bring their big seine boats in from outlying villages in order to provide bunks for relatives.
I will still assembly the Ikea bed when my second guests arrived, a young lady and her mother, originally from Sitka but now living in Seattle. They were happy to have a cup of tea in the kitchen while I finished assembling the bed.
Now this will only make sense to those who have lived in Alaska and learned to enjoy traditional Alaskan foods. Once the bed was finished, they were unpacking and the mom asked if she could store some food they brought in the refrigerator, which I do allow (the rental is upstairs in my house, and has its own kitchen). I joked “If you brought any seal grease, I need some!” and she pulled out a half pint Mason jar and handed it to me.
This was a great gift because I have been unable to hunt seals since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allows only Native Americans to hunt seals, sea lions, walruses, and otters. Since then I’ve had to depend on my Tlingit friends for my annual jar of seal oil, rendered seal fat. Many of them prefer “aged” oil (i.e., rancid) which is very fishy, but this was fresh, which has no taste. And of course herring eggs in the spring don’t really taste right without a little dipping dish of mixed seal oil and soy sauce.
She said the oil was my “tip”, and I was happy to get it. Only in Alaska!
So, after hosting a Pita-Princess, life gets better. I wanted to share because we just parted ways with the most amazing guest (I’ll call her Mary).
Mary contacted us to stay at our house for a wedding, following the death of her mother, and she would be traveling with family, including her 90 year old father. She was new to Airbnb, had lots of questions, and generally wanted all to go well for her Dad. She wasn’t needy, just new to the process and the area.
She hasn’t written a formal review yet but did write a amazing two-pager in our guestbook. When I read it to my husband, he covered his eyes and said “Whoh, hold it. I need a minute here.”
She messaged that her formal review would be “outstanding”, and I hope so. But what is so very important to me is that I helped to make someone’s vacation and wedding simple, carefree, and memorable (at least in terms of where they could lay their head at night).
I did my best to shine them up for anyone they rent from in the future. (But they were so exceptional, I don’t want to share them, haha!)
I hope they come back
“Mary” is why I welcome people into my family’s home.
I love the fact that you mention Pollyanna!! I was brought up on Victorian books and as a child loved the series. Do people still read them and are they known in USA?
Holy cow. I’m floored. “Mary” - my favorite guest ever - not only wrote a great review, she even specifically rebutted every complaint the princess made.
I wish I could send “Mary” a “stay here for free for life” card. She kicked that snarky brat to the curb!!!
My first guests are married now and just had a lovely daughter. We became Facebook friends.
My second host emails me when hurricane comes.
I have received a Xmas card from an UK couple.
One time a fuse blew out and my guests fumbled in the dark because they didn’t want to wake me up. The gentleman, who happens to be an electrician (yes! Isn’t he a godsent?!) , helped me rewire the outlet correctly.
A German policewoman gave me a fun German language lesson.
A Sweden photographer gave me some tips on taking good photos (he likes my listing photos )
A Vietnamese lady gave me a few recipes to make sure of my lemon leaves.
Lots of fun conversations and new information.
I really enjoy hosting and am thankful that Airbnb provides me this flatform to have these amazing experiences!
Thank you SO much for posting positive information about guests. I feel very fortunate that at least half of my bookings are repeat stays and they are always so respectful & grateful for everything I do/provide for them. I admit I am always a little nervous about a new guest - especially IF they are new to Airbnb. I try to learn from each & every guest - new or repeat.
