Whole house host on site

[Adrienne174]

I am a host who lives on site of my Airbnb and I am thinking about offering my whole house minus the master bedroom so I can have someplace to sleep however what I want to know is do you know if I would get bookings if I’m still on site? We are great about staying out of our guests way as well as most times when we are hosting we do not see our guests from the time they check in to checking out. (Master on other side of house)

PS: I have a building in the back of house that’s about 450 sq ft that is being worked on to add water and sewer and not to mention walls to make it livable so we will have a place for us to live and then we can offer full house while staying in back house and offering the back house one day as a unit to guests to stay and we can be in main house and we can rent out our two other rooms separately.

I went to my sons wedding and decided to host out the two beds/bath I usually rent separately to guests as a whole house minus my master bedroom and I want to continue it as a two bed/bath option but with host on site as well as each rooms separately on occasions host on site as well here.

do anyone host 2 or more rooms at once while on site still get bookings? As well has do you have instant book on or off?

[Sarah977]

@Adrienne174  Many hosts have those types of listings. I can't find the thread now, but a host with much the same situation posted here recently- she stayed in the master bedroom upstairs, rented out, I think, 3 bedrooms downstairs and shared the living room/kitchen with guests.

Her big problem was that several guests showed up thinking they had booked an entire home, even though her listing said private room. She did explain in her ad that she has the master bedroom and her own bathroom upstairs, but that info was mentioned down below, not prominently in her listing description. And her photo gallery led with a photo of the pool, and all the photos would give those looking at them the impression it was an entire home.

The problem is that guests these days seem to often just look at the photo galllery and price and don't bother themselves to read much of the info provided.

So I don't see any reason it couldn't work (I'm a home share host myself, but only have one guest room for 1 guest at a time), but you are going to have to really be clear in your listing title, your photo gallery, and your listing wording that guests are going to be sharing the home with the hosts. It's not enough to state that as "on site host", because that also describes a separate, self-contained unit where the host lives in another dwelling on the property. It's better described as a home-share.

[Anonymous]

@Adrienne174   

I don't recommend including the term "whole house" anywhere in a listing in which any indoor areas are shared with the host.  No matter how much you might deign to stay out of guests' way when they're using your shared kitchen, dining, or lounge areas, the fact that someone else is sleeping in the house means that guests seeking the privacy of an Entire Home listing are simply not the clientele for this arrangement. This is a "Private Room" situation best described with words such as "Homestay."

On the other hand, you can still have a separate listing as an Entire Home for occasions when the guests will be the only people in the house for their entire stay, like when you're out of town. It's perfectly fine to lock away rooms that aren't for guest use, as long as they're not included in the listing. On rare occasions, some hosts have reported that guests have broken into locked rooms and snooped around or stolen stuff, so some extra caution is in order there.

When the setup is a little unconventional and you want to be sure guests fully understand it before accepting a booking, it's best to leave off Instant Book.

[Adrienne174]

@Sarah977 @Anonymous 

i was thinking about adding this for wording about my situation and test out to see if I get booking, if it works I will turned off instant book and sync calendar for the other rooms so I can catch calendar for potential double bookings. What do you think?

PS: My first guests for the whole has left and left me 5 stars across the board and really would like to continue hosting more rooms at once (whole house but with host in house) when needed as well as host each room separately if needed. (Went to my sons wedding reason for us not in home for the guest who just completed there stay today)

IN HOUSE WHOLE HOUSE HOSTING means host will be in house however we will be out of your way potentially you may never see us, you get access to all parts of house except master bedroom/bath, garage, office and pantry! This listing is for guests who needs extra rooms for a larger group without renting rooms separately.

When you need a space that can accommodate you and your family for any occasion, I am far away but close to everything! Food, Entertainment and Expressway!

[Sarah977]

@Adrienne174  I don't quite understand. You are not planning to use your own kitchen or living room when you have guests? That would all be for the guests?

"In house whole house hosting" is quite a cumbersome description IMO and it doesn't really make anything clear. Guests don't have a "Whole house" if you are living upstairs, use the same entrance, and some of the common areas. 

It seems like you are trying to characterize a shared home listing as something else or trying to create something in between a home share and a whole house. I honestly don't think guests will understand and it will lead to all sorts of issues.

[Anonymous]

@Adrienne174   I agree with @Sarah977 , this description is WAY too confusing, especially for a platform in which a successful listing has to get the basics across in just a couple seconds of scrolling through search results. 

You can have a Private Room listing that encompasses several rooms, or you can rent each separately as a Private Room. But as long as you're in the house in any capacity, the words "whole house" should not be in the mix. People who choose an Entire Home property don't just want extra space, they also want privacy - they don't want a home where an extra person is lurking in a closed room upstairs like Bertha Mason. 

[Adrienne174]

@Anonymous @Sarah977  Thanks I have changed wording in the description area and it’s now listed as a private rooms.

[Sarah977]

@Adrienne174  Much better, but you still haven't described the living situation. Nowhere have you explained that you occupy the upstairs, and this -

"When you need a space that can accommodate you and your family for any occasion, I am far away but close to everything! Food, Entertainment and Expressway!",

makes no sense at all. What does "I am far away" supposed to mean to guests? They won't understand that at all.