Tips for Hosts from a Seasoned Traveler

Robbin3
Level 5
Youngstown, OH

Tips for Hosts from a Seasoned Traveler

On a recent extended trip to Ireland, Scotland, the US, and Mexico that stretched over a five month period my partner and I stayed at 22 Airbnb locations and in approximately the same number of hotels.  Our stays ranged from one night to one month and we had a variety of different experiences. Among them were a renovated farm house on 28 acres with sheep at our bedroom window, a stay in a Casino in Nevada, a coverted shed on a farm with horses, cows, and chickens (even fresh eggs were provided), a mobile home, a 12th floor luxury apartment in the middle of a city, and a home with pet chickens in the middle of LA. We stayed in private rooms in people’s homes as well as fully equipped houses. Our views included ponds, hillsides, cities, lochs, and the ocean. For the most part our hosts were very hospitable and did all they could to make our stay as pleasant as possible.  Some accommodations were absolutely pristine and beautiful and some were - well, we would rather not go there.

 

Here are some things that we learned that we would like to pass along to our hosts. Kitchen equipment is important. Basics like a coffee maker, toaster, and can opener should go unmentioned but somehow they were forgotten in some of the nicest accommodations. If guests want to cook it is nice to have sharp knives, a garlic press, a cheese grater, and a colander. Ever try to drain hot pasta using only your fingertips?  Even if you don’t have a washer/dryer, an iron and ironing board will keep your guests happy.

 

If your water is not good for drinking by all means provide bottled water and a dispenser. Kleenex, extra toilet paper, paper towels, and zip lock bags are all essentials. And extra light bulbs in case they burn out (and they do burn out). In many places we stayed we could tell that the hosts never consulted a “pre-flight checklist.” It made us feel as if nobody cared. We liked meeting our hosts but we also enjoyed our stays just as much when even though we didn’t meet it was evident that the host had taken the time to make sure everything was in place, then left us a code to get into the room.

 

Dishes and silverware. Just like Goldilocks - not too much and not too little. If you only provide two spoons, forks and knives, what do you do after dinner when you want dessert and everything is dirty?  And if you want the dishes washed, you need to provide the tools to do that - particularly extra dish towels.

 

If you don’t have adequate electrical outlets then please leave a power strip or two so that things like computers can be charged. If pets have been in the space, please let us know in your profile so that we can choose if we want to follow them into our bed. More than one set of towels per person is also necessary.

 

And here is a biggy - the instruction book. It should include not only the best restaurants to visit, but also how to find the nearest pharmacy and the name of a doctor and a dentist in case of emergency. But more importantly it should include the how tos. Not only where you put the trash, where do we find the extra trash bags, but how do things work.  Especially considering that travelers these days cross international borders and appliances don’t work the same way in a strange country - how do the washer/dryer, stove, hot water heater, coffee maker, microwave, wood stove, oven, dvd player, tv, and locks work? Including this information in your packet is so helpful.  And a map of the area helps as well.

 

There are some food basics that are nice to have in the kitchen. As we traveled for some time on a motorcycle, we could not carry these basics with us.  Salt, pepper, sugar, a small amount of flour and oil.  Even a few spices and other condiments like mustard, mayo, ketchup and vinegar are useful. If you are a bachelor who has only made microwave popcorn and ramen noodles in the kitchen, don’t leave a packet of the stuff out as a welcome gift. Tea bags and coffee are essential as well. And, of course, we loved the stays where they left us cookies and candy and even a beer!

 

Every Airbnb host should stay in at least three Airbnb homes prior to hosting so that they can see for themselves what hosts include and what they fail to think about.

 

Our award for the best equipped in terms of food goes to Tim and Holly in Tucson who stocked the kitchen with canned goods and the refrigerator with absolutely everything you could possible need. We didn’t actually believe all this stuff was for us - pasta and sauce, soups of all kinds, milk, cheese, popcorn, the list went on and on.

 

Best selection of dvds award goes to Molly and Arthur in Baja. Best use of small space award goes to Sherry and Barry in Mancos. Best towels award goes to Aunt Bea in Buena Vista.

 

Our award for the best private room goes to Monica in San Diego.  She even provided make up remover pads. The room was spacious, the bath delicious, the coffee fragrant, and the private entrance welcome. Although we never met Rani in LA, we loved the room and the chickens. Not only did Rani give us the names of the chickens but she explained to us their behavior so that we knew what to expect. Well behaved chickens in a very clean chicken house were fun to be associated with. Another close contender for best private room was Jan in Tiburon - the snacks were to die for.

 

Best complete house/apartment award and best award overall goes to Gordon and Maureen in Argyll, Scotland. We arrived after a motorcycle accident, surgery, and other losses. They were gracious and loving. Their studio overlooked a beautiful loch with many stone circles nearby. Maureen stocked the fridge with butter, cheese, bread, milk, and all the basics that we might need, including pleasant conversation and a healing presence. We were truly sorry to say good-by.

 

So there you have it, hosts. Thank you one and all for your hospitality and kindness, your comfy beds, and all the other amenities you provided for two travelers who set out to see the world and ended up back at home in Mexico, for the best place of all to be is always home. And the best you can do as a host is make your guests feel as if they are already there.

34 Replies 34

@Robbin3:

 

Thanks for the mention!!

 

Tim & Holly

Lyndsey2
Level 10
Stonington, CT

This is great information, thank you! It made me more confident in some things I had been questioning (do I really need to tell the guests how to use sink dispose-all unit? is my snack selection up to snuff?) and it's fun to look up the "best of" examples. Thanks!

Kimberly54
Level 10
San Diego, CA

@Robbin3, what a GREAT POST!  Thank you!

 

What I have loved about the best experiences as a guest was a feeling that I was so loved and taken care of... someone who had never met me and... it was as if anything I could think of or wish for was already there.  Amazing.  And reading the little guest book at the side of the bed were hand-written stories of such gratitude... Yep.  That's the way it should be!

 

Clean has got to be at the top of the peeve-list (The P-List?).  If some little thing is dirty, what else lurks? Something, for sure.  Some insect is detected...THERE ARE MORE.   Everyone has to understand this, in spades. 

 

Not quite a guest-story, but when I bought my home a couple of years ago, the sellers left me... no, GAVE me a house full of love.  Some food in the fridge, a bit in the pantry, a bottle of wine, cleaning supplies, all kinds of 'anything you can think of' tools and items.  Toilet paper, paper towells, go on and on.  It was NOT a furnished house at all, but they left everything I could use.  I felt like I moved into my home!  This season, I was looking to replace the filter on the heating system... and there was an extra one, right there! 

 

Thanks for the great post.

 

 

 

Kim
Oomesh-Kumarsingh0
Level 10
Pamplemousses, Mauritius

@Robbin3 A great post for new host or people who wants to start hosting but is also very helpful to experience hosts! 

Bronte-And-Darren0
Level 2
Lilydale, Australia

Great advice. Thanks for the tips, Robbin. As a new host this is really helpful.

As a new host this was priceless to read. Thank you !

Hermien

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Robbin3,

 

Welcome to the Community Center and nice to meet you!

 

Wow! It sounds like you've had a great time travelling around and exploring new places. It's great to see how you share all the things you've experienced while using Airbnb. Having read your story, I believe that all the wonderful advice you've given could be very handy for first time Airbnb hosts. 

 

I hope that the hosts you've been trying to reach out to will see all the kind words you have left behind for them 🙂

 

 

 

 

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Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

Bob39
Level 10
Goldfield, NV

I would add to keep a voltage converter available for guests from other countries to use with appliances or electronic devices they brought with them.
You do not have to provide wi-fi internet but it is enormously popular.
I had guests from Taiwan who asked for a hair dryer, but I do not have one.
Guests from Germany don't know what a garbage disposal in the sink is for, because they are unknown in Germany.
Food can be a problem. The guest might not like or want the food you leave for them, or may have an allergy or intolerance. I leave a plate of cookies for most guests but I do not include cookies with peanuts.
I see nothing wrong with microwave popcorn and I often leave a package or two. But they are rarely used. I always have coffee, several types of tea, creamers and sweeteners, whether they get used or not.
For guests staying 2 or more nights I usually leave some eggs and unopened orange juice and maybe a couple of other items. If it is all adults I may put some bottles of beer in the refrigerator.
I make it clear in my welcome letter that they are allowed to use any food, beverages, oils, seasonings, etc. that they see in the house. Oddly, most of this stuff never gets touched, and most of it ends up being wasted food.
I cannot leave flour or any other dry goods in paper or plastic bags as they will attract mice to come into the house which will chew right through the packaging. Better to go without flour than to have the guest encounter a mouse. Only items in sealed impermeable packaging can be left in the house.

Great story and very good advice especially for host beginners like me.

 

Thanks very much for sharing, we all have to learn as we move along

Clare0
Level 10
Templeton, CA

@Robbin3 Thanks so much for your insights as they are very valuable!  I am curious though. You mention mayonaise and mustard being important.  If a previous guest has left an opened container of either one, would you feel comfortable using them?  My bias is to provide single use items as I would not feel comfortable using someone else's "left overs".  I cannot afford to leave an unopened container for each guest and I don't want to have to throw away opened but not used up items as it is very wasteful.  Your thoughts?

I would not have a problem using mayo or mustard from a jar that had been previously opened. You can find condiments in small jars. I cannot tell you how many small jars of mayo and mustard we left behind at host's homes because, on a motorcycle, we could not take them with us.  Thank you for asking for my input!

 

Robbin

Vivian81
Level 2
Chiba Prefecture, Japan

i`ma new host,it`s great advice*

🙂 thank you:)

I leave mustard, mayo, catsup, and BBQ sauce in the fridge for guests. Smaller bottles so they can be refreshed from time to time but they are used and remain as is. Milk and orange juice is always replaced if the seal is broken (taken home to enjoy). I also provide single slice ham and/or pre-cooked bacon packages that if unopened will remain for the next guest. Eggs are easy. Bagels and muffins are replaced if it appears to be opened.

 

I provide sugar, flour, and brown sugar in bulk plastic storage containers. These are rarely used. Olive oil, vegetable oil, maple syrup are left from guest to guest. 

 

What I put out as single serve is butter, cream cheese, jams and jellies, as well as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, oat meal and other cereal packets, and granola bars.

 

It seems to work. My guests love it.

I wouldn't use an opened condiment. You don't know how it has been treated by prior guests. As a host, I would hate to potentially poison a guest because some other careless guest left the mayo out overnight and then put it back in the refrigerator. I leave salt, pepper, olive oil, coffee, creamers, sugar, honey, and some snacks. I'll add milk or cream or anything else if the guest requests it, but in my experience very few people ever use the things I leave.