From muddy floors to Superhost: My 10-year journey hosting yurts

[Rachel1200]

I first started hosting guests at my glamping yurt on our dairy farm in northern England’s Peak District in 2014. Back then, I didn’t even know what a Superhost was. I was just really chuffed that people were booking my yurts, and I was earning money.

I began to realize that things needed to change a little when I got my first negative review, which mentioned mud on the bathroom floor. Of course, it’s muddy, I thought. It’s outside in the countryside during winter. Then I began to realize that rather than accepting this, I had to vacuum and mop the bathroom floor every single day, even if the same guests were staying for more than one day.

I also learned about the Airbnb Superhost program, and that it would be good if I was one. The reviews make us look at things differently, from the guests’ point of view. My yurts are high up on our farm where it’s often cold, windy, and rainy. Still, I learned that I have to deliver a stay that’s dry, clean, decorative, romantic, and warm, just like inside a watertight modern house, but actually yurts made of wool, cotton, oilskin, and wood. I had to devise ways of always improving everything to fulfill every guests’ vision. Non-stop work, non-stop friendliness and helpfulness, non-stop cleaning, always answering messages. Airbnb became my life and I was proud to become a Superhost in 2015 and have been a Superhost 39 times since. 

[Till-and-Jutta0]

Looks so cozy, @Rachel1200 !

[Rachel1200]

Thank you Till and Jutta0!

[Sarah5000]

Thanks for sharing. 

[Rachel1200]

Thank you Sarah5000! 😍

[Rebecca]

Hello @Rachel1200, 

Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. It sounds like you've had quite the journey since starting your glamping yurt hosting! It's amazing how much you've learned and adapted over the years. I can only imagine how challenging it must have been to balance the rustic charm of a yurt with the high expectations of guests.

Becoming a Superhost is such a fantastic achievement, especially with all the dedication you've put into ensuring a great experience for your guests! Have you had any favourite moments or experiences with a guest since you started hosting?

[Rachel1200]

Hi @Rebecca  , yes, I remember one mother and her quite young son, who decided to still come to the yurt despite us being snowed in with a Beast from the East snow event!

They nearly reached us, but not quite, they got stuck on a nearby hill because of other cars and a few lorries stuck in the snow.

We went to fetch them in our trusty 4x4 camper van, and soon had them in the yurt warming up with the toasty woodburner that I always leave ready to light.

As soon as they were in, I trudged off to our farm to fetch a sledge.

I’ll never forget the boy’s face when I knocked at their yurt door with the sledge! 

The review they left me after their snowy stay was very moving. I understand the trials and difficulties of enjoying any sort of holiday as a single parent, as I was one for very many years, and I do more for such guests probably than for any other guest, and that’s saying a lot, as I do everything in my power for every guest!

[Rebecca]

@Rachel1200 - How wonderful  that you went out of your way to fetch them - and in a 4x4 camper! What an adventure for the little boy! 

Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. 😍

[Rebecca]

@Rachel1200 - this is actually very strange! I have witnessed your hospitality first hand and stayed in one of your yurts! As it was my birthday, you also put up some decorations for that extra special touch 😍

[Rachel1200]

Wow that's amazing @Rebecca ! Isn't life wonderful? These connections 🥰

[Kim4581]

Really nice!!!

[Muslim4]

Wow, that's impressive! Yurts are, in fact, the legacy of nomadic civilizations from the countries like ours. Here, in Kazakhstan, for example, they are an exotic part of what is offered to our foreign tourists, I didn't even think they can be popular in somewhere in Europe. 

[Rachel1200]

Hi @Muslim4 , yes, yurts are quite popular in Europe.  However, here in Britain, the wet climate is tricky for yurts, which, as you say, are designed for dry, cold climates, and the rain is a constant threat here, to the cotton, wool and wooden structure.  I have spend literally weeks of my life, added up, to the dilemma of trying to keep the inside of the yurts dry 😂

[Larry666]

@Rachel1200 thank you so much for your story! I too have had reviews that I get me a little bristled and then I realize that guests are actually giving me a gift. They're telling me little things that can be done to improve their experience and they're taking their valued time to do it.  I have improved many areas of my home based purely on constructive criticism. 

[Rachel1200]

Thanks for your feedback @Larry666   Yes, I agree, sometimes guests can mention something or come up with an idea that hadn’t occurred to us before, and we can think; wow, that’s actually a good idea, and I think I’ll do it.

However, sometimes when it’s a negative, they can say things which are so pointless, and anyway, there’s a completely valid practical reason why we can’t do things that way, or incorporate their idea.  I feel happy if they are literally the only person ever, in thousands to complain about it, and feel ok ignoring it 😂