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I left my host a glowing review with 5 stars and simply mentioned that we didn’t get the opportunity to meet our hosts. As a host myself, in the end, a host would have to do something pretty out there for me to leave anything but a great review. And as it stands, this host now has enough reviews mentioning that the guests didn’t meet them (3 more since mine) that it will be very clear to future guests that read reviews.
This has been an interesting discussion about hosting styles and host/guest expectations in terms of interaction. As the host of a private room in a home, I expect to have to interact to some degree with my guests. And yes, this can be a lot of work. There have been weeks where I welcomed 5 sets of new people into my house, and it’s emotionally as well as physically exhausting. In order to have happy guests I try to ascertain how much interaction they want and give it to them, within reason. If it seems they want to be left alone for the most part, I let them know I’m available and then get out of their way. If they want information about the area, or just to chat, I indulge them as much as I’m able.
My husband and I felt as though our hosts were intentionally avoiding us, which made us feel weird. We knew they were in the house. It was as if they were hiding in their bedroom until we finally left.
I’ve certainly done this, not so much “hiding” as just giving the guest time and space to themselves. I say in my guest guide that if I’m home the door into my space will be unlocked and they are welcome to come in and visit and see the dogs if they’d like. I hope no one thought I was avoiding them.
I have been thinking about adding a temporary door or building a temporary wall in my hallway that would be just outside the guest room door. It would create a 3 x 2’ space that a refrigerator/microwave/coffee maker could be installed in.
It would add a buffer between my space and the guest space to make it quieter. It might attract more long term stays or people here for work. It would also mean that I would meet fewer guests as they would have little reason to come into my space and wouldn’t be able to do so unless I invited them.
I wonder what percentage of Air guests are looking for this experience. Since most of my stays are just a pit stop passing through I would think I would have fewer than some hosts.
I can already provide this experience and some guests have clearly liked that about my place.
It would only take a month of bookings to pay for this but I wonder if doing so would impact my bookings in a positive way or a negative way. Sometimes I really think I’d like to have more separation because try as I might to not worry about it, I worry about the dogs making too much noise.
I think the layout and details of any space offered on Airbnb can help to set, or at least contribute to, guest expectations. Because your space has a private entrance from outside, and is sort of separate from your living areas, I wouldn’t have thought it necessarily strange to not meet you had I stayed at your place.
The layout of both my home, and the airbnb I stayed at, is very open, and you have to go through the front door and common areas to access the guest bedroom. This type of openness results in a much greater chance of hosts and guests running into each other at least, and requires some effort on the part of a host to avoid interaction.
In your case, I see no reason not to add the additional buffer you’ve described. The addition of a fridge and microwave can’t possibly hurt, and might help. Noise reduction is always good. If I were you, I’d let guests know I was available both in my after booking message and my “how is everything?” morning after check in text. I’d word it so they felt comfortable and welcome if they wanted to knock on your door and say hi, have a cup of coffee, meet the dogs, or if they just wanted to be left alone.
I think that is their schtick. All of their recent policies have been moving toward making the platform ib, free cancellation, etc. Which favors the guest if course.
