Hi @Quincy and @Jean423 ,
I started Golden Hosts in San Francisco several years ago after I recognized a need for a community group focusing on the needs and interests of seniors. We now have over 80 members. Seniors have always been an important part of the hosting community, but here are a few unique features I learned about seniors:
1. Seniors are one of the fastest growing groups of new Hosts on Airbnb and senior female Hosts have the best reviews.
2. In SF (and I suspect many other places too), seniors typically own a home with spare rooms as their children grow up and move away. They prefer to age in place but maintaining the home increasingly becomes a financial burden especially if the senior is retired and on a fixed income.
3. Studies show that loneliness and social isolation present health problems for many seniors such as depression, dementia and high blood pressure.
4. Hosting significantly helps seniors by both helping them earn extra income and alleviating loneliness.
In addition, I've found that seniors are very engaged in local politics. They know the issues, are engaged in local politics, and have the time and passion to participate in political activism. They also love hosting since it allows them to earn an income from home. This makes seniors very important when the hosting community needs to take action regarding short term rental regulations. Before Covid, we met regularly with each of our local Supervisors and Mayor, bringing a group of senior Hosts within their constituency to talk about hosting, what it means for them and to advocate for fair and reasonable regulations. Our local politicians know that the demographic of their voters is getting older, so they are very open to talking to their senior voters. I have found that it makes a big difference when local lawmakers can put faces and names to senior Hosts within their constituency when considering short term rental laws and regulations.
Lastly, Airbnb is a great company. But it is a high tech company with few seniors among its staff. So, often the perspective of seniors doesn't get the attention it deserves. It helps to have a group of senior Hosts that can be called upon to provide that voice, in product development and in policy issues. As a group, we can also help each other understand and keep up with technology and the new features that Airbnb regularly brings to the platform.
Here is a good story about home sharing seniors from a recent PBS Newshour episode: https://to.pbs.org/3B8rCfw
I'm really proud of Golden Hosts. We have tried to meet again as Covid recedes but it seems whenever we try to plan, there is another surge. Hopefully, we'll return to our regular pot lucks soon.
I encourage you all to start a senior Hosts group in your area. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Peter.
