Top tips for Hosting without burnout

[Kelly3]

Let's share our tips for keep hosting without burnout.

I have been active in the hosts community in my city, and I see a lot of hosts stop hosting after 2~3 years.

Some of them were such enthusiastic hosts, yet they loose that energy over time (sometimes even faster than other hosts) and leave Airbnb. 

They say hosting becomes repetitive, occasional 'negative' guests makes them under-appreciated, and it is just not as exciting as before.

I certainly have had my ups and downs, now I think I am at some what of mental equilibrium - also I started a new project so that excites me these days.

What are your tips to prevent Host Burnout?

[Rachella0]

@Sara I occasionally get guests like this. If they stay in their room, it's fine with me. If they're doing it for two long in our front room (for example staying in two days in a row) on days I'm not working outside the house, or on days I planned to stay in and clean. I try several things.

If I planned to clean, I just go ahead and clean. I'll sincerely apologise if I'm doing something disruptive like vacuum cleaning, but I go ahead. That usually moves them. 

If it's a weekend or a day that I'm working at home & they're lingering in a common area too much I just turn off the internet. That usually inspires them to move their butts! That may sound harsh but I only do it in extream situations. For example, I once had a guest who said he'd seen everything in London after two days (??!!) and spent the next three days lounging around the living room and kitchen, moaning about the weather  acting depressed. He also ate a week's worth of breakfast food in one day and asked for more. I turned off the internet and he suddenly found the energy to leave.

[Mary20]

BnB means 'bed and breakfast'. That's all!

It is not appropriate that your guest stays in your place all day or even for long parts of the day. You need to make this clear in your listing.

[Julia66]

@Sara2

I wouldn't be able to face hosting if guests were in my sitting room or cooking in my kitchen.  I try to arrange things so that guests are happy to stay in their rooms.  I do allow guests into my kitchen to make hot drinks, but I am in the process of setting up a kettle and the makings of hot drinks in or just outside the guest rooms.  Is there nowhere your guests can go out to eat within their budget, Sara?   I have televisions in the rooms (as well as wifi) and have recently bought some lightweight wicker armchairs (Ikea) with pretty cushions so that they have somewhere comfortable to sit, and a little table for drinks and laptops etc. 

I need to cook breakfast and some dinners for guests, as there isn't usually anywhere to eat out here, but I keep this simple and now do it on autopilot.  (I would rather cook myself than clear up after guests cooking).  So I do see quite a bit of my guests, and enjoy the contact, but I do need my privacy when I'm not 'on duty'.

My advice to @Sara2 is: shoo them out!  And always charge enough not to resent anything.

[Ivan-and-Wendy0]

Re: Flexible Check In Time, I've encouraged airbnb to create a "TBD" option...

I have a flexible schedule, and I like to accommodate my guests' needs as best I can, so along with my "Accept" action, I always send a note that says "Send along your arrival time as soon as you know it, so we can coordinate check in." Far too many guests say "Okay" and then never follow up, thinking "Flexible Check In" means I'm always available for check in, at whatever time is convenient for them. So why not have a Check In Time option that means the Guest and Host will coordinate to find a time that is acceptable to both parties

(Sadly, as with most of the ideas I've shared with Airbnb, I've never heard back, and it has not been implemented. It makes me feel like my experiences as a host for the past SIX years don't mean much to the company. Ah, well. For now, I like the income too much to give it up...) 

[Helga0]

I understand the problem but don't see what airbnb could do to improve it. Another box to check or case to fill? But what would bring the guest to get back to the form and fill the box after getting his tickets? It's easier to send a text or mail.
What I do is check every few days, which bookings are finished and which are missing details like ETA or open questions. A reminder two days before arrival works best. If they really do not give details, I tell them when I'll be unavailable. If the guest is very complicated and will probably have no phone working in France, I tell them where to find free wifi (everywhere) and give the access codes to catch it coming out of the metro (standing before a bistro) and mine, so they can contact me sitting in the garden. Last year, I had many guests and only a very few calls / texts to foreign phones to make.
I can live with that.

[Donna15]

This thread has been so helpful. 🙂 I've been able to fine-tune my listing even further, making it as tight as possible so that guests know 'what they see is what they'll get'. 

(Right from the beginning I've made a point of blocking three days before and after a booking. That gives me the space I need. Plus I make a point of blocking days I know I'll be going to the cinema, or eating out with friends, or whatever. As much as I enjoy my  AirBnB commitments, I don't want them to take over my life.) 

Thanks, everyone!

[Elizabeth164]

Hi Ivan: I now have 2 check-in time slots: 2-4 and then 7-9. Guests don't have to tell me when exactly in either of those slots they'll arrive, but they can't arrive from 5-7, when I eat dinner. And during my busiest hosting months, I no longer allow for early check-ins or late check-outs. I need from 10 am til 2 to change beds, do laundry, iron, clean, and do my personal chores. I am no longer providing breakfast during my busiest months, and guests may not use my kitchen. I set up a breakfast/sitting room that has a tea kettle, microwave, small refrigerator and coffee maker. In short, guests can't come into my private living quarters.  But, my home is in a small busy city and there are zillions of places to eat. In the past, I've had guests arrive late, and proceed to use the microwave at all hours of night.... which drove me nuts, and drove other guests nutso. So, I am very clear that guests are expected to eat out lunch and dinner.  The biggest issue tends to be guests who think I'm a true  B & B... and expect to get breakfast, so I now indicate on my house manual that I am not a traditional B&B.

[Prue0]

Design the stay and create boundaries: I used to do full on expensive B and b- up at 6.30, running round trying to make everything perfect and charging accordingly but I got older, burned out, moved house and when I decided to start again, in a less formal way, because i needed the income, I designed it differently. I do not get up early. The front room in my house is a guest sitting/ breakfast room with tea coffee kettle fruit croissants cooked from frozen the night before cereals etc. There is a fridge for milk jam and butter. Guests can get up when they like and help themselves. I clear the room in the afternoon. I show arriving guests where my space is at the back of the house and tell them they are welcome to come and find me there if they have any queries or need more information about anything but I make it clear that my private space is not part of the air b andb offering and it is not to be judged as such. That clarity takes a lot of the pressure off. Occasionally and only if I feel like it I might ask someone travelling alone if they want to share my supper. I am lucky that my house is on a street packed with cafes and restaurants so guests can find food quickly and easily within a 5 minute walk at almost any time of the day or night.

I hate cleaning so I employ cleaners but I do make beds. I make less money but the house looks better and I am less stressed. 

I do not iron sheets although they are cotton. I find that they are flat enough if aired folded on top of the tumble dryer.

I take weekends off regularly but realise that I will take fewer this summer as midwinter is not so busy. Next January I might take a whole month off.

So work out what kind of offering is sustainable for you and stick with it. It makes life easier and happier.

[David-Kiran-Maria0]

@Prue0. I do exactly such as like you, but with a slight difference with your workaround:

a) Me too hate cleaning so all floors are cleaned by my iRobot which is starving their hair

b) I got a slim trolley where all detergents are in and carry into all rooms, I just focus on making beds and clean the bloody bathroom.

c) I in case have also a spare wireless 24v hoover and a mini powerful Black and Decker one for focused quick spots.

d) Breakfast is self service, I leave frozen croissant in the night and will be fresh in the morning, plus they have coffee maker, espresso machine, kettle, toaster, orange automated juicer, cold press juicer, micro, small fridge and a tray filled up with butter, jams, teas' selection, sealed snacks, bread. During my 'help yourself' breakfast tests I found guests loved hard boiled eggs, so easy to make and put in their breakfast boxes the night before.

e) I call the help girl just in busy stressing days with several check-ins and out. If you check my house rules whatever is not included is extra.

So not by chance imo italians and british so practical and lots in common, that's maybe why my best friends all bloody brits 😉

[Mathew0]

Another thing I've found helpful is to message them confirming key details about the listing during the booking process- for example, people thinking they're getting the whole apartment, or that the couch is a fold-out. So I'll say "Hi ______, thanks for interest in my listing! I just wanted to be 100% sure you know what you're booking- this is literally an airbed and a plain old couch in my living room. Is that what you want?" I know from a pure sales perspective, that doesn't sound great- but it also means you only get people who know exactly what they're paying for and save yourself lots of headaches when they arrive and when they review. Nothing is worse than checking a guest in and hearing "Oh.... you live here?" because you know this will only end in them either cancelling (and leaving you boned on your money) or a bad review. 

Further, I'll message the day before, and make them give me a *specific* arrival time,or confirm that their plans are the same- since people don't seem to think they should tell me their flight is actually going to land at 10pm and not 1pm - and send them a map with garages nearby marked, etc. Again, I think politeness makes us want to be loosey goosey and assume people are smart, but this is a business and these are totally reasonable expecations.

Finally, as many others have said, you need to find the kind of hosting situation that fits you. I've learned that I really like short stays- people coming to town for a concert, for job interviews, for a road trip, etc. Other people really like long stays- I've done 5 days once and even that drove me up a wall. So also don't feel bad about setting min/max trip lengths that fit your needs. People show up, I  give them keys and a 5 minute little tour, pour some drinks, make chit chat for 20 minutes, and then they're out and about. That's perfect for me.

[Isabelle3]

Like Helga most of my earnings go back into the house, maintenance, furnishing ect..  I see the progresses and that is a great motivator.  I have decided to take a more bussiness approach to avoid that desillusion and "burn out" feeling.  

[David-Kiran-Maria0]

I run this spare business since 2003 when I lost my main job and became my main income since 2008, from 2010-11 I got into Airbnb.

a) I had a big experience with guests, so many weird I could write a top selling book and few of them how  they do love to leave bad feedbacks whatever the xp was good or not doesn't make the difference to them it's their attitude can't be changed and you have to deal with it, my barman says human beings are interesting because so different, got it finally. What does speak is your average ratings and nice feedbacks, when you feel to give up get back there and read it again and again

b) To avoid misundersandings and useless repetitive questions I left house and rooms rules all over shared spaces, guests are welcome and to feel like at home but respecting my rules, can't do whatever they want or it is passing in that moment in their freaky minds

c) I often spend my spare time thinking how to improve starting from feedbacks this turns my mind in a general good mood, I recently invested in an automated orange juicer, a cold press juicer and sensor movements night led spots

d) Not bad at all to be alone and relax expecially in low season such as now, but I actually feel safer when I have guests in so we feel safe each other

e) Was a pleasure when rarely happened to glimpse in the dark an all nature made girl b side getting into the bathroom before me during the night lol

f) I have around €450 travel credits and will go use it when I'll start feeling such as like my bloody shower mat

[Ireen0]

Hi there! I try to focus on the nice experiences I have - the flowers, home baked cooking, nice notes, souveniers etc etc. AND I strive to have a few email exchanges with my guests starting from their initial inquiry till they arrive. In most cases that already creates a good understanding and helps a lot! In the beginning I was so eager that I accepted everyone and I indeed had a few very unpleasant experiences, due to language issues (my Korean is non-existent...) or travel fatigue (not everyone travels well esp. not if you plan to 'do Europe' in 2 weeks or so). Well, as the saying goes: live & learn!

[Lisa39]

Bes practices:

1. Select guest very carefully, ask them what purpose they come to visit. I avoid those who come her for medical purposeses.

2. List down all the RULES. This is very important, write them in their languague if you think most of your guest will form that counrty, for me, I write it in Mandarin version. Not only that, berfore they book, I ask them "Did you agree with the rules?" and they say "yes" I will rpely "During your stay if you happen to violate any of the ruels, you have to be out and it will be fully charge, think carefully before you book." If they do book, before they arriving I will send them instruction again how to come here and also rules to follow.

 Very important ask them to tell the partner or whoever is coming with them, so that BOTH of them follow the rules.

3. Do not discount out yourself, Airbnb is the best and worth their money, remember with the money they spend on Airbnb, they coculdn't even step into hotel and not even a motel! So don't discount yourself. Don't offer all this hotel services, unless you charging same price as hotel. All this bellboy service, laundry service, driver service etc... JUST DON'T involve, I usually say "call this number/download this app and they are professional to help"

4. Don't overly freindly, just tell them what a host need to do, e.g. direction. That's it! I often find that the guest ask me to drink with them, to tour city with them, to help them buy stuff, to help them look for long term room, again, this type of to do list really makes me headache. Is like hosting them, with mini hotel services + mini $$ 😞

5. Willing to walk out the deal if they discount your service at the begining. I do check back whats going on once I decline the geust request, especially the one coming for IVF purpose, they bring trouble to another host. So again believe you instinct when they first approach.

[Olga31]

Good points. Sometimes people are trying to get a discount and I always send them a link to a motel nearby that charges twice as much and has glorious reviews about bedbugs and dirty bathrooms. 

Hotels don't provide breakfast and good coffee for free, they don't have laundry inside or huge patio with the view of the ocean. I provide all of this for fraction of the cost of the hotels in the area and still have 4 star reviews for the value.