Homeshare Hosts: When will you feel comfortable having guests again?

[Suzanne302]

I've had my calendar blocked since mid-March but as "stay-at-home" restrictions start to loosen up over the next month or two I'm sure future reservation requests may begin to trickle in again. My area has fared well but obviously I'm hesitant to host guests in my home from harder hit areas. I'm fortunate in that I don't depend on the Airbnb income to pay my bills, but it's certainly been a nice "cushion" for me when I am actively hosting.

Short term rentals will be allowed in my area again beginning May 8th. I want to open my home again, but I'm not sure when I'll be ready to do that. I do know when I do, at minimum I'll be implementing stricter cleaning protocols and a minimum of 2 days between guests. Right now my calendar is only blocked through May, but I may extend that depending on what happens in the next two weeks. I'm not worried about requests coming in for future dates as most people aren't planning that far in advance due to the situation we're all in.

For homeshare hosts, what do you think needs to happen before you open your home again and what new procedures might you be utilizing?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Fred13 @Melodie-And-John0 I tend to use As rare as rocking horse s**t interchangeably with As rare as hens teeth depending on the company.

[Melodie-And-John0]

Never heard that one @Mike-And-Jane0 , thats a good-un.  Another corny rurified saying around these parts is "Finer than Frog Fur", gotta admit, thats pretty fine for sure!  JR

[Fred13]

"Finer than a Frog Fur"!! Wish me luck, I am using that one on my next guest and see their reaction.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Fred13 , The word "Than" connects so many of these comparisons and contrasts, simple and effectively without a masters degree in English literature to deeply examine, a Md in physiology to identify the body part or PHD in Mathematical Statistics to understand the odds.  

Delivery is important, certain voice types or personalities just cant pull them off, Im sure you will be fine but sometimes it takes a little practice to deliver it flat without a grin or a chuckle.  One of my favorites for describing a very waterproof product you might find handy in Belize is "Tighter than a ducks ass", after all, if that weren't the case for waterfowl in general, they would sink!   

My Sr Drill Sgt in Basic Training had lots of "than's" to inspire us and condition our minds, one of the things he hoped we would become with his tutelage was "Handier than a One Legged Man in an Ass kicking Contest, he was the master of the Complex "Than", lots of descriptions inserted paint a vivid image of exactly what he needed us to understand and respond to instantaneously, otherwise "Our ass was grass and he was the lawnmower" .  Although that wasn't technically a "Then" phrase, its actually a more advanced "And" utterance/ bark but that's a whole nother thread!   Stay well Fred, JR 

[Helen427]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

@Melodie-And-John0 @Fred13 @Suzanne302 @Kath9 

"As useless as teats on a stallion" is another good one to remember 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Helen427 , excellent and so true, Slang, colloquialisms and local phraseology are so interesting if not occasionally offensive.  Folks around these parts say the same but sub "Boar-hog" for "Stallion"!  There is another very unflattering phrase that replaces that Stallion with cloistered members of a religious community of women.  Completely inappropriate and disrespectful for sure but I've found that Farmers (and their spouses) in general can be a bit rough around the edges, harsh, straight forward and less than politically correct often if not always. 

That may come from the harsh relentless realities they face daily that require more doing and less flowery talking.  More than one of my farmer/ bosses growing up prescribed the same motivational statement, "If you can't work and talk at the same time, Shut the ______ Up and get working!  The military version recognizes multitask challenged with, "Can't Chew Gum and Walk at the same time".    The phrases are endless and mostly numerous, Stay well, JR

[Helen350]

@Suzanne302 

- I host a social worker every Mon & Tues. He's upstairs, I'm downstairs. Shared bathroom & kitchen. Previously was Weds as well, but cut down because of virus. He's been staying 3 years & 1 month, never was Airbnb.

- I'm hosting a carer for a severely disabled young man, who travels from 300 miles away. He first stayed on Airbnb, in March, then we came to a private arrangement. Initially in my house, then I put him in my rental next door, sharing with my long-term renter. Both have ensuite bedrooms, but shared kitchen, shared living room. He tells me he might have work up here till June or July, & I've told him that if I get another long term let next door, he will be  welcome back in my house. We're both OK with that.

- Once a month I have a working doctor (ex-Airbnb) stay the weekend whilst working (not on a Covid ward, an out of hours GP, doing home visits & drop in.) I bunged him next door last time, when it was empty. He'll be with me next time, if the cottage next door is let. This weekend he's in another town, staying in one of his old Airbnb rooms; home share, off platform, obviously, cos on platform's not allowed!

When we ARE allowed to host again, I may contemplate only letting ONE room at a time, not three, to cut down possible guest interaction & contamination. I DO wipe door handles & taps with disinfectant before using when my lodger is here, so I will continue doing that should Airbnbers return....

I agree with @Helen0 that where the guests 'have been' & their habits, awareness, cleanliness, is a greater factor than extra cleaning.... No one licks the floor, & most surfaces do not get touched.... Even if someone's deposited the virus on my surfaces, the onus is on me not to touch my mouth, nose, eyes with unwashed hands! Same for the guests!

The Punchline -   the doctor stays one weekend a month, in my house & did not even ask post lockdown if I was still happy with that, just rang from the hospital 2-3 hours before arrival as usual, to check I was expecting him!  (I left the door open so he could let himself in & we exchanged pleasantries from opposite sides of the room!) And he's staying with another home share lady this weekend!

[Suzanne302]

@Helen350  Interesting, thanks! I actually had a regular Airbnb guest who had been coming to the area to work a few days a week since last August. He asked to book monthly for Nov-March even though he was still only coming for a few days at a time. It made it easier so he didn't have to pack/unpack for each visit and didn't have to worry about booking.

He has actually contacted me again because he will be doing limited traveling for work again soon and I'm considering letting him book for later this month. Still not 100%, but I figure it's like letting an old friend come stay with me.

[Helen427]

@Suzanne302 

 Your last sentence sums it up well, look at hosting as letting an old friend coming to stay.

 You have fabulous reviews and from what you have shared here in CC  many happy & fond memories with your previous guests.

Focus on the positive as you will one day feel confident again when you are ready to share your home again & have those joyful times again.

Have you reached out to any of your previous guests who you particularly enjoyed to see how they are?

Maybe if you reached out to the ones you did share common bonds with to see how they feel about traveling & invite them back before opening your home back to random strangers as a way to regain confidence & decide if you still wish to host.

There will be guests who will appreciate sharing time with your dogs...who may have lost loved ones from other causes.

Sunny side up!

Be positive

[Kath9]

@Suzanne302, funnily enough, on the back of this conversation, I got a booking request last night for tonight! Your post had reminded me to block off the month of May in my calendar, but I hadn't gotten around to doing so yet. Anyway, it was a request (luckily not an IB) for a 1-night stay from a woman in Albany who said she was staying with her son while waiting to travel back to her home in Broome (which is in the same state but 2,500 km from here - our state has been divided into nine regions that no-one but essential services can cross). Anyway, it was totally unexpected! I had to decline because the pittance I would make for a 1-night stay would definitely not be worth the extreme cleaning measures I would have had to undertake (especially given that the house/garden is a lot messier than usual!) and the risk to both myself and her. I couldn't really understand it - if she's staying with her son, why is she looking for an Airbnb? Unless she's beginning to outstay her welcome. But honestly, who is wanting to book a room with a shared bathroom in a stranger's home  right now? I'm a bit annoyed because the decline will now count against me. Needless to say, month of May is now blocked off.

[Helen427]

@Kath9

There's all manner of reasons why maybe she can't stay another night.

Perhaps he's got work tomorrow,  or she feels like she's a burden or wants to be independent as she travels back home, or is doing her return home in bunny hop stages of travel.

They are not uncommon reasons to need a nights accommodation.

We all have the unknown who we may be letting into our homes & maybe we need to stop & remember that those making enquiries are likely to feel the same, do I , don't I share with another?

Would we leave our own family/ friends on the street, or unable to have a safe place to stay if they did or didn't have Covid19 & were wanting shelter?

It's a little like when we first started hosting, do you agree?

[Kath9]

@Helen427, I agree, she probably had a very legitimate reason. But given that she wasn't homeless as such, I just wasn't prepared to take on the massive effort that would have been involved to make a measly $30 or so after taxes and expenses. Probably mean-spirited of me, but one thing being an Airbnb host has taught me is how to say no!

[Pete69]

When will I feel comfortable having guests again? I'm not too worried about Coronavirus. The odds of me dying of COVID-19 are about the same as me dying in a car accident if I drive 9 miles per day. That's according to a Stanford researcher. Aside from that, once I get the results of my anti-body test and I test positive I'll be feeling really comfortable.

[Melodie-And-John0]

True what your saying @Pete69 , Your young and I suspect don't have immunity issues to contend with.  Keep in mind, your health isn't the only challenge when mixing hosting folks in our homes or second homes and the virus, even if you can't carry it, the surfaces of your listing can from our last guest.   Making sure our suites don't make people sick is nearly as important as not getting sick ourselves, imagine what that review would do for business, "My grandma and grandpa both got covid and died after I stayed at Johns private cottage in the woods and brought it home to them...".   

Im sure none of us want either that review or anything close to that on our conscience.   That said, I feel the risks can be substantially mitigated using best practices of distancing, cleaning and contact avoidance.  Stay well, JR

[Helen427]

Good to see you pop up & on form @Pete69 

It probably hasn't helped that there's so much misinformation bandied about, and standard Tick the boxes for symptoms of other illnesses are now resulting in people been classified as Coronavirus/ Covid 19 who probably don't even have it.

It appears to be happening a lot with our elderly in aged care homes.

 I'm aware of a couple of cases where they are trying to get cause of death as Covid19 removed as they had pre existing symptoms that were the actual cause of death.

 I'm picking Covid19 has been written on bulk health records to justify numbers of those who have scaremongered that hundreds of thousands of people were going to suddenly drop dead in a short time frame.

Sad all around.