How much has your listing changed from when you started hosting?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone, 

As time passes, you probably will experience a moment when you'd want to work on making changes to your listing and homes. 

New furniture here, fresh paint there, and new photos to reflect those changes to your home. From small changes to big changes, we've all been through it, most likely. 

I can remember seeing some lovely listings of the Hosts on the CC when I started (almost 5 years ago), and it made me wonder how much your listings have changed 😊.  

How much has your listing changed, from when you started Hosting? I know there are some super creative Hosts such as @Huma0, so I’m really curious to see your responses 👀. 

Feel free to share photos!

Quincy

[Huma0]

@Robin129 

Ah, I see. How long are your interns staying for? 

I don't provide breakfast (not really the norm for London Airbnbs) but most of my long term guests cook (I think the kitchen is a big selling point for my listing. Here, restaurants and cafes are very expensive, but the supermarkets are relatively cheap, so they save a lot by being able to make meals at home.

I suspect the crockery got damaged by the same guests. I found one bowl broken in two in their bedroom wastepaper basket (guests are not allowed to eat in the bedrooms but this couple frequently did), the chips started appearing during their stay and I haven't noticed any new ones since. They were also destroying my pans! All that being said, they were really lovely people but very messy and I guess a bit clumsy. The plates were not super expensive but were new and pretty, so it was annoying but not the end of the world.

What is more annoying is guests breaking things that can't be replaced, trying to hide evidence of breakages, denying it when asked etc. It seems very immature behaviour to me, but it's not just young guests that have acted this way. The host who broke my front door lock was in his 50s or maybe early 60s. He tried at first to blame other guests, not realising they had checked out way before it happened. Then he claimed the lock must have been about to break anyway, even though the locksmith confirmed that it was one of the strongest locks on the market and should have lasted a few more decades!

[Robin129]

@Huma0  We do get stinkers sometimes, don't we.

The interns checked out this morning. The room smells of one girl's cologne, she wears it way too strong. I am glad I have a couple days before the next guests. They had a significant amount of take-away trash, but I never really told them not to eat in there. Plus they were getting back in so late I didn't see them. They did take the bed clothes off, and left a tip with a nice note. Overall, they were a little immature but not terrible. 

[Huma0]

@Robin129 

That's interesting that they left a tip. Is that normal for you? I've never had a guest leave a tip and would find it a bit odd!

I guess if you don't tell guests not to eat in the bedrooms, or dispose of their trash etc. you can't really get upset about it. I think it's always best to have that sort of stuff in your house rules if possible.

However, it's a bit difficult to dictate how much cologne a guest uses, but I imagine the guest must have used a lot if you needed two days to air out the room! I'm not sure there is much that can be done to prevent that though. Do you normally have a gap between guests? I never had this on my settings but then decided, as I host long term guests, that it was a good idea to have a day in-between just in case.

[Robin129]

@Huma0 over the years I have had a few guests leave a tip with a small note of appreciation for making them welcome. It isn't often. I do have in the house rules not to eat in the room, but very few actually read them. Again, it doesn't happen often so I don't think about it.

The cologne, It might not take all two days to clear it up. But oh my goodness did it knock me over when I opened that door. I do try to keep a day between guests. I find I get too tired if I don't. It's just me, no staff. Sometimes a request will come through and I'll take someone right behind a checkout. 

[Amanda660]

We started with Airbnb when we moved to southern Spain in 2016 and listed our own home.  We’d only built the house 6 years previously so there wasn’t a huge amount to do.

Initially the listing was for 6 then we changed to 8 then 10 but settled on 8.  10 was too much and bordered on party territory but 8 attracts small groups and families which works for us.  ‘21 and ‘22 were best and busiest for us (lockdowns excluded) and gave us the time and the money to make updates and improvements.

2016

Started

2017

Bedroom 1 painted 

2018

New bed 

New kitchen accessories 

Painted stairs and halls 

Towels

Bedding 

Pillows 

2019

New concertina Velux blinds in 2 bedrooms 

Sofabed in upstairs lounge 

Started hosting pooches 

New bedroom lamps 

2020

New cherrywood 8 seater Dining table 

Swapped hall and stairs lighting to led units

New chairs in kitchen

New towels

New bed

Painted Master bedroom 

New bedroom curtains 

LED fairy lights outside

New BBQ  

2021

New stone patio 

Changed small seldom used Dining Room into downstairs bedroom 

New bedding, throws and cushions 

New rugs

Painted 

New Roman blinds in 2 bedrooms 

65” TV in upstairs lounge 

New crockery, cutlery and glasses 

New shower head bathroom 2

New tap in Bathroom 1

New shower head in Bathroom 3

Painted fences and exterior walls 

Added LED outside lighting  

New shower unit in downstairs  bathroom 

2022

New artificial grass 

New tap in Bathroom 2

Painted vestibule 

50” TV in kitchen/family room 

New bedding, mattress protectors, pillow protectors  

Replaced all door handles

Resanded lockblock 

New shower head 

New kitchen tap 

New glassware 

Gin balloons 

[Quincy]

Wow, very insightful. Thank you for sharing this @Amanda660! I'm also looking to add fairy lights outside. Very curious to see how you've done this 😊

[Ann783]

Biggest change is remodeling our basement… adding an additional bathroom, bedroom and rec area.

[Quincy]

Wow, this is amazing @Ann783! I can imagine that this took quite some time to work on? 

[Ann783]

@QuincyAbout 6 months… I had anticipated 3 months. We lost our Superhost status due to the delay but are very happy with the result.

[Laurelle3]

@Ann783 we have completed renovations and it is a delight to see the end results. When explaining to people what you are going to do they can't visualise what your end results will be. 

Great photose of before and after, you must be proud of your finished space in your home.