Brand new host - clueless lass

Hello

I am currently deep cleaning my home and taking photos ready to put up on airb&b.

Because of the layout of my home (have to walk through living room/diner to get upstairs I plan to give guests use of living room/dining area as well as the kitchen and their bedroom. I will camp out in my bedroom and stay out of the way once they are settled in.

Because they will have use of the kitchen I was going to let them store their own food and make their own food including breakfast. Does this sound ok? I also want to ask (sorry it might be obvious) but I don’t want to intrude on a guest’s privacy. When they are out should I make the bed and tidy up their room and put in new towels. I also plan to give them tea/coffee making facilities in their room because I like that myself when I am staying somewhere. Bit clueless any help greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Caroline (soon to be host)

Some suggestions from airbnbs I have stayed at and my own hosting experience - have a basket or tub on the kitchen bench with breakfast foods for the guests, (if you are providing the food for them to make) as well as a cupboard clearly labelled “guests”. This could have a few essentials in such as salt and pepper, rice, spices, pasta etc for the guests to use as well as some space for their own stuff. You could also have a shelf in the fridge labelled guests, or maybe a sign saying “feel free to use milk, butter (whatever else you feel comfortable with them using)”. That saves awkwardness about where the boundaries are! It’s nice to have breakfast supplies for guests to use. I always ask whether they have any special requirements (soy milk, whatever). It’s easy enough to provide for the few guests that need it and makes all the guests feel special! .

My airbnb is a downstairs granny flat, so it’s quite clear what the guests can use - anything that’s in there! I have the bed freshly made when they come and fresh towels, also shampoo/conditioner/soap. Don’t feel you have to provide toiletries, just be clear about what is included. You don’t need to make their bed or provide fresh towels every day. You could have an arrangement to change bedlinen and towels every few days. If the bathroom is shared, it’s good to let guests know if you need it at a certain time of day

Great feed back Heidi I will def use this labeling system :wink: I also suggest some interacting with guests to stand on their privacy level as well, not to just camp in my room.

I would say absolutely not going into the bedroom to tidy and make the bed. That would feel very intrusive to me as a guest.
As a host, no need to camp in your room. Just explain in your listing that the kitchen, dining room and living room are shared spaces. People will understand, that if they want privacy they can have it in the bedroom. And in that case, depending on size of your bedroom, make sure there is a comfortable chair for lounging.
Don’t forget to put rules in about cleaning up after themselves when useing shared spaces, especially the kitchen.

I don’t think you need to camp in your bedroom. It’s your house after all. Your guest know what they are renting,they know they will see you around. Unless you want to hide yourself.
I don’t think most hosts do the beds, or change towels everyday. Your guests know it’s not a hotel. Also they know that they need to keep order In a room and In a House or you can put a bad review on them.

I agree with Yana and Jaime. I think if you hide out in your bedroom you will burn out quick. Then YOU will feel awkward in your own home and THEY will feel it.

Remember that the idea of airbnb was an air mattress in someone’s living room.

Be clear about the sharing! And prepare for a learning process,and fun.

But absolutely do not tidy their room. Stress in your listing that they are sharing a home, not staying in a hotel!!

Good Luck!

Carolineh, also don’t feel obligated to provide breakfast items for the guests. We did it only in a beginning and we happened to have 2 very nice young fellows, each 6’ plus who ate half of the week supplies for us with one sitting. They stayed with us a week and I am not sure if I made any money on them at all. I also noticed that when we were not home they kept on using breakfast items all day like bread, butter, milk, cereal, jams, fruits, bagels and eggs.
It’s not only that. We had to replenish grosseries for them, and because various food was dissapearing with super speed, I had to go to supermarket almost every day to replace items.
Aftre that I changed my listing to coffee and tea provided.