What are your hosting resolutions for the new year ahead?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone, 

I hope all of you had a lovely holiday season, and a magical New Year's Eve!

With 2023 starting, some of us may have already created a plan as to what they would want to do this year in terms of Hosting. Perhaps you have planned to update the photos of your listing, or to work on various tasks in and around your home. 

Personally, I've got a few things I definitely want to get done this year in my home. 

1. Re-paint hallway walls
2. Repair a skirt board in the bathroom
3. Apply new mastic sealant to the bathtub 

 My resolution is to get these things done! ✅

What are your hosting resolutions for this year?

Quincy

[Ruth413]

@Quincy    Happy New Year !

I am sat here pulling my hair out wondering what has gone wrong with bookings !  Normally over the Christmas & New Year we get loads of enquiries and from that we receive quite a few bookings.  This year - zero except one that came in late last night from an unverified guest who hadn't read the listing properly.

So we have sat down today to try and work out a plan.

1.  Both of our listings have hot tubs, so we are going to relist alongside the original listings both the properties without the Hot Tubs.  That way people who aren't interested in having a Hot Tub don't have to pay the premium for it as they won't be using it.

2.  For our shepherds huts we are considering adding an outdoor shower and also an outdoor kitchen/bar area and make it quite funky.  Also maybe add hammocks in the summer (although I am rather nervous about someone hurting themselves on them) so maybe not the hammocks.

3.  Apart from that, we will paint, try and tend to the rather wet and soggy garden and also add some new furniture in the cottage, I think it is time for a change.

4.  New sealant around the bath too !  Oh and repair a heated towel rail which someone managed to pull off the wall. 

5.  Beg my daughter who is a photographer to come and take some professional photos.

Fingers crossed something will work !

[Quincy]

Hi @Ruth413, I hope that the bookings will pick up for you again as we move further into 2023!

I'm confident you'll manage to get at least a few of those tasks done this year! 😃 Fingers crossed that you can get your daughter to take some new snaps of your home (very curious to see the outcome).  

[Huma0]

@Quincy 

Like @Ruth413 , bookings are still slow, with not a single enquiry in over a month, and the ones before that from unsuitable guests. Luckily, I have a very long term guest in one of the rooms and a direct booking from a guest who stays with me regularly. Still, it means that I often have an empty room, or long gaps between bookings.

The silver lining I guess is that it gives me a bit more time to make home improvements and, as ever, the list is long! I very much doubt I will get through it all as unexpected maintenance jobs always come up and end up taking priority, but here are just a few of the things I hope to get done this year:

- Redecorate one of my guest rooms. It doesn't desperately need it, but it's been a few years and I feel like it could do with a bit of a refresh and more wow factor.

- This will mean needing new photos of that room, but I will also get the photographer to shoot other parts of the house where improvements have been made, e.g. new, additional bathrooms that aren't even pictured on the listing. 

- The kitchen/diner needs repainting/wallpapering. I also want to reupholster the dining room chairs and make other small updates. Guests seem to like the kitchen, but since a builder told me it is looking 'tired', it's really been bugging me.

- All the hallway areas need redecoration. This is a massive undertaking, but if I can get some of it done, I will be happy. A lot of the redecoration in hallways has been put off for ages, because I was trying to find someone to renovate my staircase (very dusty job, so would have been better to do before repainting/re-wallpapering) but no one wants to do it! Perhaps I will install an inexpensive stair runner in the meantime.

- To make the house less draughty and therefore more energy efficient. I made a start on this already with repairs to windows and French doors, but the carpenter keeps going AWOL, so it's taking forever. This does need to be a priority though. I have bought insulation strip, window film etc. to try to make the windows less draughty too. I need to install curtains/blinds in some places. I am going to get door curtains for both front and back doors.

- There are a number of boring, but highly necessary, maintenance tasks like areas that need repointing, guttering, flat roofs etc. 

And, if I get through all of this, which I won't, I would love to redecorate my own bedroom, which is the most neglected room in the house 😞

[Quincy]

Hi @Huma0  & Happy New Year! I hope you've had a great time 😊

That's quite the list you've got there! I hope you can at least find time to redecorate your room! 

Will you be using different colours for the paint job? 

[Huma0]

@Quincy Happy New Year!

Yes, I will be using different colours. The plan for the guest room, which is currently a very pale blue, is to use quite a bold, bright wallpaper. It's a bit risky, but I think it will work. So far, every guest I've shown the wallpaper to seems to love it.

For the kitchen and hallways, I will be using mostly neutral colours, but with a bit more depth, as the current colours are a bit wishy washy and 'meh'. I do plan to add some wall murals here and there for more interest. Don't worry, they are not the naff ones. I'm going for the handprinted Chinoiserie wallpaper look, but at a fraction of the cost! 

In my own room, the wall colour, which is a light blue, won't change much, but I'm planning on using a wallpaper with a very subtle pattern. I think it will look beautiful, if I ever get around to it...

Anyway, when I get the jobs completed, I will post before and after photos, but that might not be until 2033. Let's see! 

[Quincy]

Sounds like you've got all the colours sorted @Huma0! Now I hope I don't have to wait until 2033 to see it, haha!

[Patti120]

.@Quincy. Our Airbnb homes are always updated and maintained. My goal for 2023 is to change the flowers in the landscaping once the rain stops. We are looking for 10 days of rain right now! It's a lot for Southern California. My hope for everyone is for a healthy New Year. So many were sick beginning in mid November affecting all of our bookings, but more importantly everyone that was sick was unable to have a nice holiday and missed a fabulous fun time with loved ones. 2023 Resolution maintaining good health.

Another 2023 Resolution is to figure out all of the changes Airbnb is making to their website. Changes have been ongoing, but this last one was a doozy and whatever they are working on now is difficult at best, especially the removal of the Promotion option. Hopefully our 1099 and the justifications will be correct and obtaining the information for our tax preparer accountants will be forthcoming in a timely manner.

I am looking forward to another great year with all of our lovely guests old and new in 2023. I am also counting on Airbnb to help achieve this goal.

Best Wishes to All!

Patti

[Quincy]

10 days of rain is quite a lot, indeed. Especially, for California! I've heard of the draught the state has been experiencing there @Patti120. 

I'm wishing you a great year as well, and I hope you'll be able to sort everything out that you have planned out 🙂

[AmyMichael0]

Hi Quincy thank you and happy new year and health to you and your family.

I am a superhost in nyc brooklyn 

started on airbnb in paris ten years ago!

the new regulations will be draconian killing most of airbnb in nyc and around 

i signed up to talk tomorrow at the city meeting 

my questi is 

will airbnb cancel all hosts that did not acquire a license?

for short term stays?

and as of when 

I will try to get to mine 

if course but what wilk airbnb do?

thank you 

I am sure many hosts in nyc and brooklyn and queens are considering the same question 

amy w

[Ana2038]

Luckily, we did most upgrades to our listing last year. So we don’t have anything really planned for our listing except trying to survive Airbnb algorithm, and new features (wanted or not), which has affected our views and booking (loss of views, no bookings for over a month).  Consider ourselves lucky that we have yet to encounter unruly guest and that all of our weekends are booked through March. 

We do have plans to redo our expansive front/side lawn and turn it into a water wise landscaping yard. We want to be careful how this is done as this is one of the first things guest see as they turn the corner and see our home. 

Hoping that 2023 is a good year and we survive the ups and downs ideas of the man behind the curtain at Airbnb tower. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Quincy 

Good Glorious 2023 to all of us, you especially!

Our 2023 projects are going to be more of the same. Maintaining our firebreak is a never ending project, and grooming our driveway gravel, drainage and ditches. When the rains stop for the summer we'll fire up the trimmer on the soon-to-be-tall grasses. Grooming the 2 acres of gardens is ongoing, but for the time being I'm just letting it all sleep and soak up this wonderful rain. Newcomers are generally astonished, but this winter weather is excellent - close to the normal behavior I've experienced all my life here in Northern California. The (misnamed) Pacific Ocean is to be credited for our climate and weather patterns. As my father always said, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes. It is like that! 

We've had some recent cancellations as guests come up here for the many outdoor activities this region is famous for. Just wait till Spring and the wildflowers - not to mention what my gardens do every Spring - it will be glorious and such a treat to share!

Best wishes for fun and prosperity this year!

 Kitty

[Trude0]

My resolutions:

1) I seem to have finally found my ”niche” this autumn, after I came back to hosting: Couples without children, coming to experience Swedish nature and Stockholm City - in only 3-4 days. They don’t want to be in the city centre (but close), and don’t have time to travel up north. So they are quite happy to be in a tiny house in a suburb, close to a lake and the woods, and running into deer, hare and fox (chance of a confused moose, too…) in the neighbourhood streets. They stay out a lot, and leave the guest house very nice and tidy. My 1st resolution is not to stray from my niche - no more families with kids, or groups of friends for me! 

2) I have also concluded that having 2 unbooked nights between bookings, makes it a lot less stressful for me to host. I have a job and a family, and even if it is just a small guest house on my own property, it’s nice to have enough time to clean and prepare for the next booking, and flexibility to choose when I want to do it. So my 2nd resolution is not to get greedy and deviate from the 2-night-rule! 

3) I should have a resolution to stop buying new stuff for the guest house and making all these tiny improvements and updates. (I’m being told this by my husband…)  It is only a tiny house, and only 4-5 years old, and still quite fresh - and guests already seem very happy. I could definitely be making a higher profit if I would just leave it as it is. But where’s the fun in that? 🙂 

[Huma0]

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@Trude0 wrote:

3) I should have a resolution to stop buying new stuff for the guest house and making all these tiny improvements and updates. (I’m being told this by my husband…)  It is only a tiny house, and only 4-5 years old, and still quite fresh - and guests already seem very happy. I could definitely be making a higher profit if I would just leave it as it is. But where’s the fun in that? 🙂 

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@Trude0  I hear you. This is so me...

[Louise1128]

We started our airbnb in July of last year, so my biggest one is just to do our best to see what a FULL season looks and feels like. I am assuming we will start to get reservations around march/april and run through september/october. 

However, as far as specifics go: 

1) new and updated photos

2) create a nicer outdoor space

3) create as much privacy as possible

These have been fun to read.

Thanks,

Louise