This is to warn other hosts that Airbnb have an issue with t...
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This is to warn other hosts that Airbnb have an issue with the split fee system. They are overcharging all my guests. If I g...
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Hey everyone,
I hope you're all doing well! I've been thinking about the hosting journey that you take and how it shapes your experiences. I wondered, how many years have you been hosting?
It’s interesting to hear the different stories and insights from each of you. Whether you’re a newbie or a experienced host, every story counts.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Lovely to see a post which gets away from STR problems. Beautiful experiences do happen but I guess it's human nature, it's dramas that get the most attention!
I personally started hosting back in 2012, but for the first 2 years I hosted international exchange students for our neighbourhood high school. We hosted some lovely young people most of whom we still have contact with.
The issue with hosting students was, you essentially had to become their parents providing not just accommodation but their meals, their washing, their needs.....we were bringing up children all over again.
But we were paid by the government for it and we did enjoy it. To this day our listing building still bares the name of one of our Italian students, Aurora Laccu......'Auri's House'.
In 2014 my younger daughter introduced us to Airbnb which was starting to become popular in Australia at the time.
Airbnb were on a host recruiting drive, we had no trouble in being accepted, and in March 2015 we hosted our first Airbnb guest, and by September that year we achieved Superhost status which we have held continually ever since.
Here we are 10 years down the track and the magic of hosting is still there. I answered in another post on another site.....
********, Jess that excitement, for me, never goes away! After a decade of hosting and more than 1,000 reviews I still look forward to the next guest arriving. You are right, it's like Christmas, you never know what that next gift will be.....and each hosting is a gift.
A couple of years ago I had a couple from Mt Macedon in VIC book for an evening. They were part of a world wide service club and as part of a cultural exchange they had a 67 year old Japanese woman staying with them. They decided to take their guest to Wilpena Pound to show her something of the Australian outback and booked to stay at our property on the way home.....this being the half way point between Wilpena Pound and Mt Macedon.
It was a lovely warm afternoon and they were sitting at one of our outdoor tables and as I walked up to my man cave to get something they asked if I would join them for a drink....Now Jess, there is an offer I never refuse! Conversation got around to the fact I had a good piano in my man cave. This Japanese woman pricked up her ears and asked if she could see the piano! We moved into the mancave, she sat down at this thing, and Jess......she was 'hands down' the best Jazz pianist I have ever heard. Not widely known outside Japan but she has a large local following and has a number of YouTube clips. She was just amazing, we got a heap of Indian takeaway and listened to our own personal concert with her long into the night! I felt like a year 1 learner alongside her.
You can't manufacture these experiences Jess, they just come out of nowhere, and I have had many similar to that. This is the sheer joy of hosting, I don't look for problems and I don't get them. I wish you every success and hope that your hosting career can as successful as mine has been".
And that just about sums up my hosting, it has been a wonderful rewarding decade with Airbnb.
Cheers........Rob.
