We listed our on-site guesthouse the last week of April, 2016 thinking there was no reason in the world anyone would actually book with us! We got our first booking 3 hours later for that night, and it has been a whirlwind ever since. Now, after three years and eight months, we just received our 500th review. No one is more surprised than we are. We live in a very small town too far south of Atlanta, Georgia to benefit much from all it has to offer. The town we live in itself has almost nothing unique or interesting that would draw people to it. We are almost never the “destination,” but just a stop along the way to it. However, we feel so blessed when we think of all the interesting people and experiences we’ve had along the way. Due to a variety of reasons, we don’t get to travel much, but through all of our visitors we still get to experience the world. We have learned that, for the most part, the people who travel via Airbnb are some of the best. (certainly a notch above the general public!) Out of over 500 trips, we can really only identify 4 “bad” experiences, which is pretty amazing. We have also learned that in spite of the bad press, there are many, many wonderful “millennials” out there and we aren’t all that worried about the future of our country in their hands. We have also learned that you should never write instructions to be understood, rather, write them so they can’t be misunderstood! Polite, clear, rational communication seems to be able to solve most problems we’ve run into. A lot has changed about Airbnb since we first started this journey…some of it we weren’t (and still aren’t) that happy about. All-in-all, it has been a great ride. Thanks to this forum for all the helpful, insightful, and sometimes humorous stories and posts. Here’s to another 500.
Congratulations!
I’m not worthy.
Congratulations! I’m not sure what you meant by not writing the instructions to be understood. I want my instructions to be understood, otherwise I would not be writing them.
As for the millenials, they are the next generation. Of course there are many wonderful of them out there, just like there were of bunch of us, Gen X-ers in out times, right? If you ask me, the boomers had it the best. The rest of us had seen the middle class declining more and more and more to the point where minimum salary can’t even pay the rent anywhere in the USA. In a way that’s why I’m doing Airbnb, to cover my sons expensive college tuition. For me it’s not about meeting people - I’m an introvert, I don’t like people that much - and stuff like that, but about the money. But I’m glad everything worked out for you and keep doing what you’re doing.
I, too, want my instructions to be understood - but by carefully crafting them in such a way that they will not/cannot be MISunderstood I am creating a better chance that they will be understood. I guess just a play on words describing how specific instructions need to be.
One little click on the 
icon isn’t enough. I absolutely love your post.
Thanks so much for taking the time to post and welcome to the “500 club.” I’m going to skip commemorating upcoming review 600 because “600 club” just doesn’t sound good to me. 
I sounds like we have a very similar clientele. I’ve also had very few problems over a similar number of guests. I have often said I attribute it to hosting “travelers, not tourists.” Also my place only holds two so I’ve never had a family. I do also allow pets and board dogs in my home and I think pet lovers are some of the best humans so there’s that.
Congrats on job well done.
Does being a member of the “700 Club” sound better? 
Oh damn. Yeah. I was thinking 700 club. So I’m clear for another 1.5 years.
Congratulations! That’s wonderful. Wishing you continued success.
I’m only in the 100 club right now in only a month less so Congrats!!
Congratulations! We look forward to the book and movie rights!
What a fantastic milestone! Congratulations!
You have a great attitude, I’m sure this has contributed greatly to your success.
What town are you in @Hampton?
Congratulations! We haven’t even hit 30 reviews yet, but it’s been a mostly positive experience so far, and I look forward to many more years of positive experiences just like you’ve had!
Welcome to the club. 
750 sounds a lot better.
We Should reach that point somewhere end of next year.
There’s a religious TV program in the US called the 700 club. I mistakenly was thinking 600 club but Brian fixed it for me.
750 is a great number and it’s fun to set goals. My latest goal is to see if I can book every single day this month. For the first time ever I’m not going to block off a single day.
@Hampton did you start in spring 2016 or 2017? Your post says 2016 but elsewhere you said 2017. Regardless, 500 reviews with just one room in such a short time is amazing.
Thanks, KKC, and wow! 600!! Hope we can hit that number in 2020. I like your description of “travelers, not tourists,” - it describes the majority of our guests well. We joke that we are the “king & queen of the one night stay” since about 75% of our trips are for one night. At first, we really didn’t like the one nighter and longed for the multiple night trips. Now that we have become accustomed to it and have systems in place to make it easier, we love it. We have a LOT of families - all with good reviews - but because we don’t have a stove/oven in the kitchenette, we do not qualify for the family category!! We also don’t allow pets, which is strange because we have a small “rescue/urban” farm and have all kinds of animals. In fact, our animals are one of the biggest draws for our guests. So much so, our accountant said our animal associated costs qualify for a “write-off” on our taxes since so many guest identify coming to our home to see the animals! I would agree with you that pet lovers are some of the best people on the planet. We also host SMALL parties in the summer months around our pool - and the process of determining which events are a good fit for us and eliminating those who are trying to take advantage of us is quite the challenge. We have asked Airbnb to have a segment on the APP devoted to hosts like us who allow events that would help us gather all the appropriate information up front to avoid numerous and lengthy messages…but not a reality yet. One other thing that has worked for us - not saying its right for everyone - but so far, we have been able to greet 100% of our guests when they arrive. (even if it means getting up at 4:00 a.m.) I think when the host becomes a “real person” guests tend to treat your home differently. We also share the “back story” of the guesthouse - why and how we have it - and that makes a big impact on most of our guests. (but that’s another post for another day) Thanks for the encouragement.
We are in Hampton, Georgia. About 35 miles south and a little east of Atlanta. In truth, that is the source of most of our “4 star location revues.” We show up in a search for Atlanta, and in spite of all the information we provide on our listing warning of our distance (and travel time) to the city, we get people who come here to experience Atlanta and are disappointed with the distance.
Spring of 2016. Sometimes it is hard to remember when this journey began…might seem like yesterday and might seem like a lifetime ago!
We are the “Hampton Guest House” in Hampton, GA
Your place is fantastic and a great value. And that 4.99 over 500 stays is impressive. It’s a shame we have to get dinged on location even though the guests choose the location.
Very true - the most frustrating thing about being a host is that Airbnb provides no objective standards for their star rating system. (for guests or hosts)