I have less than a year of hosting experience and so far, I'...
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I have less than a year of hosting experience and so far, I'm happy with the experience. I've been privileged to have amazing...
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"Wherever I am, I live"
Dear Hosts,
Have you as well used the pandemic time to rethink your home: the spaces you host in, who else would you have liked to host and so on?
We all stopped, making it a memorable event. Many of us have tried to look forward and to prepare for the many opportunities ahead.
Following a stream that has been growing, I started to look at a target group that was new to me: the remote workers.
I delved a little deeper into a phenomenon that was already there, but since I had the opportunity, I studied more closely the needs and habits of this mobile population.
I discovered that there are many of them in the world. An estimated 10% to 12% of the total workforce (around 500 million workers) and that working remotely is more sustainable (and here my heart expanded: I love talking about sustainability). In fact, working from home 4 days a week reduces traffic pollution by up to 10%, saves a global 247 trillion sheets of paper each year and generates a 67% decrease in corporate waste production (npj data, owl labs).
Today, more than 16% of companies worldwide allow their workers to work remotely, including Airbnb.
But letโs go back to my accommodation: I first replaced some old IKEA furniture (sideboard and sofa) with two console tables that I got from a couple of local craftsmen (a carpenter and an iron artist). They are flexible pieces of furniture that, depending on the occasion, the light, and the type of work to be done, can be repositioned at will. Joined together they create a large area.
To complement them, I purchased two comfortable desk chairs and two living room armchairs with footstools. For a remote worker, sitting on the soft seat, being able to look up from the monitor and admire a view (in my case the mountains around us) can be an indispensable alternative to a desk and a wall.
Secondly, I changed my WiFi network provider, I switched from an expensive provider to another with a more satisfactory contract: I performed the speed test and recorded it in my listing.
WiFi, in general, has become necessary but even more so for remote workers. Mine is good wifi, considering the location, but unfortunately, it is still far from excellent performance. For a remote worker, the minimum required speed is between 15-25 Mbps download for video calls. If, however, there is a need to download data as well, then an ultra-wideband 100 Mbps download connection is preferable. Upload speed is hardly ever a restriction.
The remote worker appreciates small conveniences. I have equipped the kitchen with an espresso and cappuccino machine and a kettle, teaching all those who are unfamiliar with it how to use a moka (coffee with a moka is a different matter...). Of course, there is no shortage of dishwashers, microwaves and toasters. The round red kitchen table is the relaxation corner for coffee breaks and a chat.
A pivotal change in my place was the introduction of remote control for the heating. I can now customize the switching-on and switching-off schedule, in compliance with the local regulations (yes in Italy we have a cap on home temperatures). I discovered that my remote workers prefer heating in the middle of the day and in the evening.
Remote workers have the opportunity to select the place where they want to live according to the peace of life they are living, in terms of work and personal life.. Working in different places is enabling, it allows us to develop new ideas, new lifestyles and new ways of working. It frees energy and creativity.
A remote worker chooses a destination mainly according to what they can do in their spare time. For this reason, I have created my local guide and included the 'local goodies', including what can be found around the house in a one-hour break (during the pandemic it was the famous 200 m distance from our home for us in Italy). Contact with nature and outdoor activities are a must for remote workers, and so indications of what they can do when they leave home become very valuable.
The second desire is to feel at home, being a local. Again, it is important to suggest those two or three local food specialties, products, and corner shops in the neighbourhood that they would not be able to find on their own or a place where they can find friends.
