Do you host any repeat guests?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

As we continue hosting, we get a lot of guests from different places (wherever the regulations allow). Every guest that visits you probably has a certain plan on what they want to do when booking your place. 

Having said the above made me wonder if you host a lot of repeat guests? Is there a specific reason that they book your place, or is there anything you do to drive repeat bookings? 

In the past, I've only had one repeat host from Glasgow who booked my place about 4 times. He gives regular lectures at a university nearby, which was his reason for booking my place.

It would be great to hear your thoughts and experiences on this!

Quincy

[Quincy]

Hi there @Debra300, thanks for your question. Don't worry as this has nothing to do with data collection of any kind. It was a topic that I was genuinely curious asking everyone about 🙂

[Dimitar27]

2-3 reservations of that kind almost every month before the COVID.

[Nick]

Hey @Quincy, 

As others have mentioned I do have people who like to return to familiar scenery and habits every time they visit. Because I mostly have long stay bookings, I do get a lot of people who plan on working. Last year, for example, I had 2 young girls from Spain who were volunteering in Athens on programmes to help refugees. They initially stayed for 2 months, left and then return for another 6 months. Or I had an American writer who came for 2 weeks on holidays, fell in love with the area - and the Acropolis view - and decided to rebook for a few months and work on her next novel. She even asked me if I'm thinking of selling the place, which I have to say, gave me a long to think about.

[Yadira22]

@Nick  amazing... we need photos of this view? Travel lust is settling in... please and thank you 🙂

[Quincy]

That's amazing @Nick! Your repeat guests stayed for long periods of time I see. How was your experience hosting them? 

[Nick]

Really great! @Quincy I actually prefer having longer stays and find it way more convenient, for many different reasons, most importantly that I don't need to go through the same procedures over and over. As you can imagine this works in my favour not being close to make arrangements all the time.

But form what I've seen, it's better for the hosts as well as they get to know the place and the area. So if and when a problem might occur they are more patient about it. Having spent lots of time in the house, I guess they feel more connected and are more understanding when something isn't going the way it should.

And because you get to talk with them for a longer period, you have a better connection and understanding, at least from my experience. For example, I had a couple of guests who were staying for months and at some point, one of them had their birthday. They asked me if they could have a party, which I appreciated and although, against the house rules, I agreed to it. But the guests, also from their side did take extra care and they were respectful, not only to the place but to the neighbours as well.

[Anthony608]

@Nick I wonder if the novelist is someone well known who has published before.  I am actually a writer myself (non fiction) and have a published book at Amazon. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of soccer moms and young people trying to find themselves going off to "write a novel" who never published anything.  That's OK we all need dreams.

[Nick]

hahaha I can only imagine @Anthony608 

Goes without saying I checked Amazon at the time. She had 4-5 books if I remember correctly.  😁

[Nick]

haha anyway I can help @Yadira22, here's one from my recent trip. Opposite the flat building, is a classic Athenian building which used to be an elementary school but is now an all-day restaurant. You can almost see its triangle shape roof at the bottom of the photo. The school's yard in front of it is transformed in an open garden to dine and wine with a roof of vines over your head. So what I see from the balcony is the top of that vine roof and Acropolis in the background.

[Huma0]

@Nick 

I wonder if I stayed in an Airbnb near your place last Summer as the view of the Acropolis was very similar. Then again, I suppose quite a large area of Athens would see it from that angle?

[Nick]

My apartment is in the town centre, in Exarchia/Strefi hill area, so anywhere on that side, the angle will be the same or similar. Places like Kolonaki, Lycabettus hill, probably Gyzi and Kypseli as well, although would seem a bit further away from there. Do you remember the name of the area you were staying @Huma0?

[Huma0]

@Nick 

I have a real mental block when it comes to place names, but I am pretty sure it was Kolonaki. The Airbnb was a five story building with a roof terrace (we were a fairly large group) so the view from the top was pretty good and very similar to yours even though it may have been further away.

[Nick]

I know what you mean. I'm the same but also with people's names, not just places. It's an everyday struggle 🙂 

Yes, Kolonaki sounds about right, it's the next area further up from my apartment heading East. 

[Scott-and-Mary-Ellen0]

@Quincy  We've had several repeat guests at our home listing (currently blocked due to pandemic) over the years, & we enjoy seeing their reservations pop up again. They come here to work in the area for several days at a time. We give them "frequent flyer" discounts after 7 days, such as a free night, and often have them join us for dinner. Our other listing is more of a destination, in the White Mountains, so we don't get many repeat guests, although we've had a couple who have come every August. That's always nice!

[Quincy]

Hi @Scott-and-Mary-Ellen0, I hope you're well now! 

That's lovely to hear! It sounds like you have a great relationship with your repeat guests 😃. I wish I had more repeat guests as they know how everything works and what the rules are.

When are you thinking of opening up again?