Community Spotlight: Caroline1094

[Bhumika]

Hello Everyone,

We gladly present this month’s spotlight Caroline (@Caroline1094) , who is a Superhost and Community Leader of the Dorset, England, local Host Community. Apart from being an Airbnb Host, Caroline is a designer and works in the TV and Film industry. Let us know more about her Hosting journey!

How long have you been hosting, and why did you first start?

I have been hosting for four years. I first started because we lived in a remote village with only one pub with rooms and family and friends of neighbours often came to visit and there was nowhere to stay. We had a big house with a ground-floor bedroom/bathroom so hosting seemed obvious. I found it more fun and interesting than I expected and provided breakfast (below) which was a great way to meet guests.  When we moved to the coast I was keen to continue hosting, so we bought a little flat 100m from the sea and designed and furnished it with the sole intention of having a dedicated Airbnb business to add to our income.

Tell us a little about your listing.

It is a self-contained apartment in a holiday complex that was built in 1964. Marcus, my husband and I decorated and furnished it in the mid-century style that was popular when it was built (and again now) and made it as holidaymaker user-friendly as we could. We travel a lot for fun and for work, so have a good grasp of what works for a short stay in winter and summer. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a big open living/ kitchen space. We added a workspace with good light and lots of plug sockets. There is a big safe communal garden and it is a two-minute walk to the first beach. My favourite features are the vertical blinds I designed to look like a giant deckchair and the super efficient little kitchen. 

What does the word community mean to you?
Community to me means support. It means paying attention to the people around you and noticing if they are OK. It means creating an atmosphere where others feel comfortable getting involved in each other's lives. I have recently discovered that I seem to have a natural ability to create this atmosphere.

During Covid, I was part of a volunteer group that delivered groceries and meds to a wide rural community of people who could not go out. Now I am part of the Arts community of the town I live in helping to run workshops for kids who would not otherwise have any artistic expression. Of course, there is my newer role as Airbnb Host Club leader! People now stop me in the street and ask questions or advice and know my name! What a surprise that was!

How long have you been part of the Airbnb Host Community and why did you join?

I have been part of the Airbnb Community for just over a year. I joined because I wanted there to be someone like me to go to for hints and tips and support with hosting. If I am ever part of anything, I want to be right in the middle of it to find out how it ticks and whether I can help make it better. I wanted to encourage sustainability in a sector that can create a lot of waste and share my principles on this. 

Tell us about being a Host Club leader, what does it entail?

I think the most important thing about being a Host Club leader is the willingness and ability to really empathize with other people and what they are going through. There are so many different types of hosts in my area and so many property categories that they fall into. They are all ages and backgrounds and they all expect something different from Airbnb and hosting. Listening is therefore important. I find that the help I get from Airbnb actually makes this role quite easy, but I also need to be on top of all the changes and upgrades to be able to help others. It takes time, and it takes diplomacy and imagination. But it can be very rewarding when it all works and problems are solved and people help each other out. 

When you are not hosting, what do you like doing?

Swimming in the sea. Taking our lurcher on long new walks. Solving design problems. Rebuilding and decorating our house. Mending things. Planting things. Driving. Dancing like a crazy person to funk and soul music. 

What's your food weakness?

Tapas and sharing plates of tiny morsels. A little bit of a lot of delicious things. 

If you could have lunch with a famous person (past or present), who would it be and why?

It would be the actress, Emily Blunt. We would have a long lunch in Paris, and I would pitch her my film script. There is a part that she would be perfect for and she is a very good producer so could get it made!

Do you have a fun fact you’d like to share?

I put the bananas on Freddy Mercury’s head in the video I’m Going Slightly Mad.

Anything that you would like to add?

I have met a lot of really fabulous people being a host leader. It feels great to be part of something big and successful although there are problems ahead with regulation etc. Knowing we are a powerful community makes this prospect less daunting, and makes us wonder what else we could achieve as a Community.