Are you a Host with children?

[Stephanie]

Hiya everyone,

As some of you know, I’ve got a little one of my own and he can be a right handful, especially when balancing work, buying and selling a house and a plethora of other bits and pieces in the day-to-day. 

This got me to thinking, I wonder what it’s like to handle children when trying to Host, too? Are they supportive co-hosts or hindering “helpers”? I know many of you have kids that are grown up with kids of their own now, which is what has freed up that spare room for you to Airbnb!

Do you have helpful co-hosts or less cooperative kids?

Put me to shame, show me how you keep those plates spinning. I look forward to your stories.

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Colleen253]

@Stephanie I remember well the days with little ones! You have a busy, full life. Well done!  My grown daughter is my co host. It was a family affair setting everything up on Airbnb, and she and my son both were a massive help, also with doing some updates to the house and decorating to get it ready. Daughter now sits mostly in an ‘advisory’ role. She’s busy too!

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Colleen253 ,

That's so sweet, I love the idea of a mother/daughter business. Hosting is definitely not just a hobby but a lot of work - it's wonderful to hear you came together as a family!

Thanks

[Stefka3]

Vi ste sretni. Još ste svi na okupu. Mi nemamo svoje djece. Nečaci su bili kod nas u sezoni ugošćavanja. Sad su odrasli i otišli su svojim putem daleko od nas. Mi smo sami. Imamo 67 godina. Lijepo nam je kad se

zabavimo sa mladim ljudima ili na kratko čuvamo mališane. To je za nas dovoljno.

[Inna22]

@Stephanie My kids were very annoyed at first because most activity happens in the evening when they are around. Guests check in on Friday night and right around dinner time calls begin with silly questions: -can't find forks. -Did you check the kitchen draws? -Oh! -Can't find towels. -Did you check the bathroom? -Oh! 

I think I have perfected my check in instructions and house book as I am definitely getting much fewer calls.

Now my oldest son sometimes greets the guests and my oldest daughter is on call when I travel. The puppy usually comes along during turn overs. I do allow dogs and I am sure he can smell them so the little stinker has marked the territory where he was not supposed to a few times.

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Inna22 ,

Oh no, naughty dog! One tried and tested technique to stop marking is to clean the area with biological soap powder - puts muttleys right off. Sounds like the children's training is already complete, pup's next!

Thanks

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie  That place in the topic photo looks way  too pristinely clean and tidy to be the home of a family with a couple of kids the ages of those boys 🙂

[Stephanie]

haha @Sarah977 you can tell I asked @Nick to find me a picture rather than an actual snapshot of my home. I'm sure I'll find the floor one of these day...

[Colleen253]

@Stephanie Don’t be in a rush to uncover the floor, because then you’ll have to vacuum it. 🤣

[Stephanie]

@Colleen253 @Sarah977 too late and I've discovered the mystery of the missing cheese sandwich 🤢

[Filip725]

Well, I don't know if I'm the right person to have a chat about this topic, since I'm divorced, but whenever my daughters are with me, I don't have some serious issues to balance between parental responsibility and hosting.

[Jonathan1537]

I have 6 and year old boys. I have decided that it's best for them to start learning the real estate investing concept often and early. They come with me to turn the property. They help with small things but mostly play on the arcade and pool table...lol. My oldest recently came home with a story from school about how he bought a house, fixed it and rented it to guests so even though I wasn't sure if it was working, it clearly is! Start them young and keep it going!

[Maja120]

My kids have been my biz partners- first my son, 15,  (now works in a restaurant on Sunday 🙂 ) and then my daughter, 12. Both help me clean, set up, restock and sanitize the space. They also run a mini bar 🙂

[Stephanie]

@Maja120 I aspire to have helpful children like yours... especially the mini bar. Mine's a long island ice tea!

[Carisa1]

Mine have helped me clean and turn over our air bns. This year my two eldest went off to college and they, along with our help purchased a house near the school and are renting out the extra bedrooms. They have even decided to share a room to free up one of the bedrooms for renting. They have almost no housing costs and both have tuition paid through scholarships. They see their house as an asset and opportunity for the future which is great! They learned that from watching and helping us grow our little business of air bnbs and rentals. These are the kinds of things they would never learn from school.