Ive been reading this blog for a few months now, and I’ve noticed that 90% of the subject matter is pretty negative. All I see are complaints about guest, and problems. I am a new Air B and B host, you guys may say that’s why I’m so positive about the whole thing, but being a host has given me a new outlook on people in general. People are mostly kind, and respectful. That has been my experience since July. I was afraid of hosting strangers, being a single female in my home. (My guest space is locked apart from my space) as a single empty nester, it has been wonderful to hear human sounds nearby. And! Don’t forget the extra income!
It’s also nice to say good morning, and good eve to folks as they pass by the kitchen door. I always make it a point to be home when a guest arrives to greet them and tell them how their space works. I’ve met folks from China, CA, TN,CT,FL,KY,OH, CO, they all have a story to tell, and some are quite fascinating! This has been an amazing experience thus far. I’ve had handwritten notes of gratitude, and gifts. I’ve shared my dinner with tired young people traveling off to college for the first time, and invited guest to neighbors cookouts. Right now I have a local radio personality from TN. He is looking for a home to buy in our area, so he is Air B and B in’ all round till he finds a community he likes, I think that’s a great idea! I’ve deleted my FB account and traded it for the real deal. I would love to hear some of your good hosting experiences. (Or humorous ones).
We had guests leave us thankyou origami this morning. It was a kangaroo. They wrote things they liked about our listing on different parts of the kangaroo. I think it’s the little things that can really lift you up
It’s very true that most of us only post when we have problems, or when we’re so fed up with a particular guest that it’s either come here to vent, or murder said guest, LOL!
You’re right, though, that for the most part, people are kind and respectful and even appreciative, and you do get to meet many nice and interesting people.
People will say that I should not be hosting because I am more of an introvert than anything. I tend to not automatically like people until they give me a reason to like them, and I don’t need as much human contact as most people do. I do like to make people happy though, so I think that is why I can be a successful host.
I think Airbnb is one of the main causes of so much host grief. Right now I am dealing with people who sleep on a very expensive mattress at home and think the bed other guests rave about is too hard and defective. Now, I wouldn’t worry about this so much, but these people can leave me a review, and this review, if it’s bad enough, can literally affect one of my sources of livelihood.
After a season of hosting, the little nit-picky things guests say and do can start to wear on you, because most of us really do care and work very hard to create a great experience at a bargain price.
I have hosted almost 500 people over the past 4+ years
I have no horror stories. I have the occasional question or story or small problem. I no longer share my home. I remodeled to separate but I still have cool experiences with guests and stayed in touch with some.
It is true that most of us only post when we are having problems to get advice or to just get stuff off our chest. We have had some absolutely wonderful guests too. We had some once that gave us homemade maple syrup. The conversations we’ve had with people are often interesting too and we’ve had the pleasure of meeting people from all over the world. People ask how we do it having people in our home, and it really does take an open mind to be successful at it.
You could be right about the headings but a lot of the replies are positive. Also by definition many people who come here are looking for solutions to problems. So it sounds a bit negative. I’ve had over 200 guests and 99% have been very good and I’ve actually made a few friends from them.