Thanks, wow we’d love to stay at your home. My French husband has never been to Maine and really wants to go. It’s funny you are near old orchard beach and we are walkable to orchard beach, the riviera of the Bronx!
Hi @Chloe,
This might seem like an odd (or trivial) question, but what is the brand of your red washer & dryer? They appear to be of the same brand, but I could be mistaken. They look quite handsome.
I also can’t help wondering why someone whose name is Barbara would call herself Chloe. Forgive me, these questions just pop into my head… A favorite literary character from childhood, perhaps?
I see you also have a kitty!
I also see some evil person gave you 3 stars (not meaning to reopen old wounds). Sorry about that.
1 Like
(faheem, you are a kick! You have such an inquisitive mind ~ wonderful quality.)
2 Likes
Me too I’m a Faheem fan!
Hi @Faheem!
I don’t mind your questions one bit. I kind of love how you are so curious about everything that you can’t help but ask. 
My washer and dryer are a matched set made by Samsung. We’ve had them for about 3 years and they are great machines. I love that the washer is large enough to handle a queen size comforter, but because it senses the size of the load, you can wash a small load without wasting water. Of course there’s always electricity…
I’ve been conditioned to think you’re not supposed to use your real name when creating user accounts on forums. You know, don’t share too much for fear of crazy people. I’ve since learned that A) this forum is friendly and B) people can see my real name anyway. No biggie.
Chloe was my first kitty. My husband and I got her the same year we were married (nearly 18 years ago ) and I loved her to pieces. We lost her just this past January and I miss her still.
Yes, the 3 star woman. I’ll never forget her at least! LOL! At this point I’ve forgiven her, as I do believe she knew not what she was doing. Her public review comes across as favorable, and her 3 star overall is slowly being absorbed into the 5 star ratings. 
2 Likes
Hi @Chloe,
Thanks for answering my questions. I didn’t know Samsung made washer/dryers. I must check it out. Can you tell me the model numbers?
Sorry about your loss. It’s hard to lose a beloved pet.
And yes, getting bad ratings is no fun. I practically had heart palpitations when I saw that 2 for arrival. I guess us humans need validation, even from perfect strangers. It’s sad, really.
1 Like
I just bought a set of these Samsung machines for my daughter and her husband as a house warming gift for their first house. And the very next week, my aging LG washer died, so I bought just the washer for us. We had just started the AirBNB and boy am I thankful for the extra capacity and speed of the washing machine. Our dryer seems pokey in comparison, and I might have to use some of these AirBNB profits to purchase the machining dryer.
I would not want to stay in a place with several rooms. If there are two airbnb’s that are roughly equal but one, like yours, rent two rooms and the other only rents one room, I’m going to take the single room rental. So, even if you had bought a large house you might not have rented enough rooms to pay the additional mortgage, upkeep and bills.
We’ve got the SilverCare WF337 models.
1 Like
K9, I’m curious as to why this is.
Privacy reasons. As well as I like people I don’t want to share a house with another set of guests if I don’t have to. I’d also choose an en suite bathroom over one down the hall. That is not to say I wouldn’t consider a home with more than one room rented. As I said in my post, all other things being equal I prefer to be the only guest. Also I look for homes that have dogs.
1 Like
Hi K9,
I hear where you are coming from, and this has been a concern. We are actually worried about guests interacting with each other negatively. I think this is also why I’m pushing so much for single female travelers, since they are the least likely to find each other threatening.
Both our rooms have private ensuite bathrooms, and more importantly, both rooms do not share any walls with any other rooms except their own bathrooms. Each room is on an opposite side of the house at the front and has two walls to the outside, one wall to an open space around the 2-story entry, and one wall to the bathroom. Once you close the door to the bedroom, there is an almost total soundblock. We have tested this by calling upstairs while cleaning the rooms and you just can’t hear with the door closed.
Even the living area which would be shared doesn’t have any walls in common with the bedrooms. It’s in the back of the middle of the house and is open to the same 2-story entry. Even with the open space to downstairs, I find that I rarely hear noise from guests watching TV upstairs. In fact, there is so little noise from upstairs sometimes I don’t even know that someone is coming or going until I hear the door beep when they leave.
So with that in mind, how would you feel about the following:
- add a TV to the guest rooms so they don’t have to share the living room?
- add an extra Keurig to the guest room so they don’t have to leave the room for coffee? I could keep the main supplies in the kitchenette and just provide basics in the private bathroom area.
- should I add something to my listing about not sharing walls? i.e. “you are in the east wing of the house and do not share walls with other rooms, other than the ensuite bathroom”
I appreciate your input, or anyone else you has hosted multiple rooms and dealt with this!
Hi Artemis, I have two guest rooms in my house in a much less desirable set-up than you have and mostly it’s worked really well. I say ‘mostly’ because my guests have to share the bathroom and not everyone is considerate. Obviously I can only talk about my experience but I really don’t think you will have a problem with guests interacting negatively.
Honestly, it’s more likely to be the other way round, in my experience. Occasionally my two sets of guests have hit it off and ended up taking over the kitchen and dining room in the evening to the point where I felt excluded in my own home! It hasn’t happened often but again I would say that such a scenario is far more likely to be the problem than anything else, particularly as they have their own bathroom and their rooms are not adjoining.
Another point to consider: it’s really important to inform guests of who else will be staying. I’ve seen lots of reviews of multi-room properties where guests complain that they didn’t know other guests would be staying on the property. I always tell guests who they will be sharing with. Another host once told me off for this because it was a ‘privacy violation’ 
But I still do it and not only has nobody ever complained but they actively appreciate knowing, before they arrive, the names of the other guests and where they’re from.
Edit: your two suggestions about avoiding interaction between guests is good. On the other hand, sometimes it’s kind of nice to see people meet and get on! Mixed messages, I know, sorry! This hosting game is like Pandora’s box
2 Likes
@ artemis While you could make it more clear about the separation and the walls and so on, that wouldn’t have a big impact on me. The only thing that would positively impact me is if your listing said you only host one guest at a time. It’s nothing about your house, it’s the other people that might be there.
I also wouldn’t spend money on more TVs and coffee makers unless you get feedback from guests requesting it. Now that you have two rooms listed just see how it goes. I think there are many people who are fine sharing a home with other guests. I think @Yana_Agapova and @Paul_Janaway are two posters here who rent more than one room at a time in their homes.
1 Like
Thanks Magwitch, that’s all good information! My husband and I had so many discussions about the right thing to do and it’s a different leap of faith than listing the first room. Plus I am a worrywart. It’s nice to hear that most of your guests get along so well.
I completely understand you K9. When I travel on airbnb I NEVER book anywhere with a shared bathroom. I have enough of that at home thank you very much! And I’m a cat person so dogs on the property are out for me as well. Guests look for places that will suit them, generally (hah!), and as long as everything is clear and there are no unexpected surprises, that’s all you can do really.
1 Like
You’re very welcome, Artemis A lot of it depends on the kind of guests you attract, as well. I’m in a big tourist destination and the vast majority of my guests are from overseas here to see the city with an average stay of 2-3 nights. That’s another crucial point: what is you market? If you are attracting guests on business or for study or whatever, that will impact as well. Also the length of stay. I would have not been happy to have my (otherwise) lovely guests interacting every night in my dining room for more than a few nights!
As of Monday I have 1 lodger, 1 temporary lodger/friend and the Airbnb room. My Airbnb guests don’t really care that other people live here, I don’t even mention it in my listing. I list the bathroom as shared and thats it.
I’m glad there has been some discussion about this topic and I appreciate everyone’s input.
Given the discussion, though @Paul_Janaway doesn’t, if I were going to list more than one room in my home, I’d make it known in each listing that this was the case, so no one (who reads) would be surprised.
No one would have to share a bath with anyone but their own. That is a “me” thing anyway. I, like another poster, wouldn’t rent a room with a shared bath. I have zero interest in sharing a bathroom with strangers, so I wouldn’t ask that of my guests.
In terms of guests in the house that don’t know each other, I’m just not sure I see what the problem is. Of course, the possibility of issues always exists, but for the most part, as long as people knew beforehand, I think they would look at it as a traditional B&B type set up. Everyone has their private space and guests will see each other in common areas. Some people will choose not to stay here, but I think many still would. My area attracts tourists, which I think is a good fit for a B&B experience.
A positive outcome is the possibility that the guests will entertain each other!
2 Likes
Keep us posted on how it goes. I think your set up would be perfect for 2 sets of friends or family traveling together as well as your target group of single women travelers.