New to the Community Center? Introduce yourself here (Updated)

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

A warm welcome to the Community Center. 

This discussion is for introducing yourself to your fellow Airbnb Community members, as well as welcoming and saying hello to newcomers in return. Thanks to all of you who have already introduced yourself and contributed in our previous thread, here.  

I'm Lizzie and I am the Community Manager here, along with my teammate @Quincy. I have been managing the Airbnb Community Center since it officially opened in November 2015. It is fantastic to speak with amazing community members here. 

To kickstart this topic, I would like to share a few things about myself:

1. I love to travel, hot or cold it doesn't matter - I'm ready with my sun lotion or a raincoat! 
2. I play several instruments, but my main one is the flute. I always enjoy a good conversation about music. 
3. Lastly, over the past year I have become very interested in all things eco/sustainablilty related.

How about you? Any interesting facts or hobbies?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you. 

Lizzie

[Rita1877]

Hi,  I am Rita Herrera, from Lima Peru.   I am  60 mother of  2 sons who are grown.  When I decided to offer one of my houses through AIRBNB it changed my life. I was feeling lonely but not anymore.  I  began to receive guests from all the world and sometimes I sing for them  an Opera aria, that they enjoy a lot.   I am Soprano singer. www.ritaherrera.com

Please dear hosts pray a lot to the Lord, to ask for the bless of God ,  He can finish this terrible virus that is affecting the whole world.

God bless you,

rita

[Lara1074]

Yes Rita, I do pray for it. Welcome here. I’m a new member too.

[Lara1074]

Hi everyone, 

I’m Lara. I have a Lebanese roots. I live in Nj-USA. I’m a new host on AIrbnb. Cairo-Egypt is the country I host guest in.
I’m grateful to have this new Luxurious appartment in the 5th floor. My guests like it a lot. I’m honored to join this community.  

[Julie1730]

Hello Everyone, 

I began my Airbnb journey this past September and became a Superhost in January. I love sharing my private suite in my home with others! The extra income is sweet too! 

I am a single mom of an awesome, 22 years old, high functioning autistic son. I teach third grade in my local public school and have been a teacher for 26 years. Love teaching my students! They are like sponges that absorb the knowledge. So empowering! I am also like spending time outside taking in nature, time with my family, and sending time with my church and God. My faith is the foundation to all parts of my life. ❤️

I thankful to be apart of this community where we can learn from each other and grow our businesses! 

Thank you,

Julie M. 

[Sandra3678]

Hello everyone,

I am very honored to be part of the Airbnb Community members and be recognized as a Super-host.

I'm Sandra. I have been hosted in the Airbnb since 2016 and it has been an exciting experience to know people all over the world in my house. 

I am a  25th years old daughter single mother and since 2016 when My daughter went to live in another city to study in the university, I decided to receive people at home like an a Airbnb host. 

This experience has been very exciting for me, where I could know different people and earn money. 

i am really grateful to all Airbnb team. God bless you, all.

Sandy

[Yasmin64]

Hi lizzie and Quincy, 

I am Yasmin a mother of a two years old boy,  a stranger in Ulcinj/Montenegro, also a superhost  for few years now. I am new here in this community. Ulcinj is very calm in the winter, crowded in the summer.  I love hosting and meeting new people in the summer 🙂

[Mary-and-Rich0]

Hi everyone. We sort of accidentally fell into becoming Airbnb Hosts. We purchased  a 10 acre farm in 2014 to create a 501c3 Dog Hospice.

We named the farm Le Château de Chien, French for “the dog house”.  The 501C3 sanctuary for abused, handicapped and senior dogs, we named Petite Trésors Rescue & Sanctuary. At the time our intention was to offer farm weddings to fund the shelter.  Unfortunately, after spending all our money to renovate the house we were told by the county we needed a variance for hosting farm weddings. This was extremely upsetting, due to the fact that the former owners, as well as their daughter who happened to be the family lawyer and realtor broker,  told us we were allowed to do whatever we wanted and, and they had owned the property over 50 years. After applying for the variance, and sending our required registered letters to approximately 50 adjoining property owners, the meeting was scheduled, and the variance was voted down. We were in dire straits since we had spent all our money on the renovations and had 25 dogs in our care. In addition, almost a year to the date of purchasing, my husband lost his job through a company buyout. While renovating we had sectioned off the entire upstairs of the home to offer the potential wedding parties. However, since hosting weddings here was now impossible, our daughter suggested using that space for Airbnb. At the time we knew nothing about Airbnb however we went on the website and listed our property. We were so fortunate to have our first guest be an Airbnb owner herself and she was instrumental in helping us with our listings. From that first guest to present we have maintained super host status. Unfortunately our Airbnb is mainly seasonal due to our close proximity to Indiana National Lakeshore Dunes, hiking trails and beaches. We were still not making enough to cover our costs. Then Airbnb came out with experiences and we jumped on the bandwagon. We now offer many experiences and will customize dates. times, and the number of people in anyway possible to create funds for the shelter. Because we are dependent on Airbnb for funding the shelter, the current coronavirus crisis has completely halted our income and the desperately needed funds to manage our refugees. We we have been forced to file bankruptcy but we are doing everything possible to keep our doors open for the care of our helpless little charges. We currently have 20 dogs who will remain here for life. This has been the most rewarding, meaningful, joyful, sometimes sad, selfless and tiring work we have ever done. We were wondering if anyone else in the Airbnb Community solely depends on their Airbnb and if they have found ways of coping with financial crisis. 
Mary and Rich Dacey

[Chimera-Luxe-Accommodati0]

Aloha, 

I'm Helena hosting with my husband Ben in Honolulu, HI . We both are veterans and we love still meeting people from all over the world. Our "mission statement" is to be the preferred STR when you are visiting Honolulu - to #comealohawithus. As a guest, I was introduced to Airbnb when I was looking for a place to stay until I got permanent housing when I moved to Hawaii in 2016. I meet my hubby here (he's native) and we started hosting in 2018. This is a truly challenging time to be in the travel industry. But with grit and determination, we plan to reopen bigger and better when this is over.

Lena (Chimera Luxe Accommodations)

[Jillian136]

Hello - 

we are new hosts from Richmond Annex in California. Glad to have this group as a resource. 

We converted our garage in our back yard into a little cottage and are very excited to start hosting folks. 

Nice to "meet" you all,

Jillian & David

[Terrie9]

Hello Jillian & David,

Welcome to the Airbnb Family!

[Alok18]

Hi, I'm Alok, a host from New Delhi, India.  I have  a luxury listing for my building with very good guest reviews and a 4.9 rating, and have been a superhost since the beginning.  I'm wondering if airbnb will follow up on its announcement and pay the 25% booking amount on eligible cancellations (non-refundable bookings) for covid-19 related cancellations?   Would appreciate a reply from any host in India.  Thank you.

[Deborah725]

My name is Deborah I live on St Simons Island Ga. Georgia was the first State to start opening up after Restrictions were lifted. I am happy to report a flood of reservations. I did lower my price a little but it was a smart move . I am following a strict cleaning protocol and explain to my guests that I clean everything that anyone may touch. I have enjoyed being a host and wish the community success in the future!

[Anna8892]

Hello community, I am Anna from San Francisco.

Italian, I lived in Paris for 10 years and I am now in San Francisco since 2017.

I am completely new in the hosting industry and I have recently opened my account with AirBnB to manage my Studio in Cote d'Azur, South of France.

Unfortunately, Cote d'Azur is one of the most built areas in France and there are hundreds of apartments offered for rentals. Mine, is cosy and the strong point is the stunning view of the sea, 2' walk for joining the beach.

I am contacting the community if you are experiencing at the moment TECHNICAL PROBLEMS with the platform AirBnB. In fact, after having created my account and my listing in Airbnb some months ago, at the moment I would like to change the cover picture, adding some more appropriated photos. I have checked many times to add new pics to the profile, but I never succeed! I have now 25 pictures describing each room or place in the apartment or other amenities, but I cannot add new pictures!

I have even changed my browser to see if using the new version of Microsoft Edge or Chromo would allow me to modify the listing. Nothing happens, the button "add new picture” doesn’t work. So, my question is? Have you experienced something similar reviewing or modifying your ad?

How can I add new pictures or a different description?

Thank you in advance for all your tips. I am stuck, because I have even cancelled a beautiful description of my apartment, and now the photo that appears is not really appealing... ☹

In the past few months, the website worked very well...I do not understand what I am doing wrong.

Thanks in advance for your support,

Anna

[John4757]

Hello. I have someone letting my flat in London and have no idea who it is.My tenant is claiming she knows nothing and is in Italy locked down. who / how do I contact someone at airbnb? I have reported it to the police but there is little they can do.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@John4757 I fear you will have little help from Airbnb but their contact details are in a pinned post at the top of the 'help' thread. I doubt Airbnb will be able to help so I suggest you search for your flat on Airbnb and see if your tenant is sub letting. If they are then its down to the legalities of this in your rental agreement and a trip through the courts to remove them. If they really are not then I guess you have squatters and I have no idea what action you should take.

Good luck