UK Hosts hosting a room in your house. How are you doing?

[Kevin1322]

Mostly for mutual support and toss some ideas about.

We host a room in our home 1.5  bathrooms. We have accepted/honoured bookings for late july/august.

I have to confess this is because we desperately need the money.

How is everyone else doing? 

Frankly we are bricking it.

What steps are you taking to keep youselves and your guests safe?

[Helen350]

Long time no see @Kevin1322 !

I continued to host occasional health & social care workers for odd shifts during lockdown. Separately, not together. People on my books, so to speak, off platform. 

In the early days, I was fearful, forcing myself not to shout 'get away from me! But as time went on, I got more relaxed, on the basis that they seemed unworried, & I actually spent NO time in their company, except a brief arrival chat from a distance. (Of course there's less to say with people who've been before, & are not on holiday, just wanting to crash out after work.) 

Every morning after the guests went to work, I wiped the front door handles with disinfectant, also the parts of the bathroom they would touch - flush, taps, doors. I also wiped the same before they returned at night, after I'd used the shared bathroom. And again whenever I used it  at night, if I remembered.

I've got no Airbnb bookings yet, but most of mine are last minute affairs. I'm planning to only let one room, not two or three, because of the '2 households can mix' rule.

I'm conscious of the fact that for a while I'll be more of a hands off host.... I wonder if the tea & chat around the table should be a thing of the past? (Unless opposite ends of the long table!) Breakfast used to be half self-service, & half me making coffee for guests who were up late enough (!) - but now it might have to be completely 'Help yourself'? - Every cloud.....! 

Because my Airbnb is more original doss house style, & less country guest house, I can get away with leaving folk to their own devices.... This could be tricky with hosts who run theirs more in the modal of a trad.B&B....?

My last guests before lockdown, & first tourists of the Spring, who stayed 21 Mar bounced in wearing masks. 'Oh you don't need those!' said I, the government says 2m distance & hand washing is all we need! Now that masks are required on public transport, well you could require chez vous?!

I take encouragement from the social worker, G.P., & 2 carers who stayed during lockdown. Relaxed, aware of keeping distance, but none of them over worried nor paranoid!

I wish you good hosting & a better bank balance!

[Helen350]

P.S. - Just got my first post-lockdown booking. 1 night. From Mr Chatterbox, my most talkative ever guest! (Or was that Mr Albany, Western Australia; close thing!)

What to do, chat wise?!

[Kevin1322]

we are honouring bookings for later this month. 

to be honest I've been tierd up with my day job business, in a world of forms and furlough payments and aggravation from customers.

Sue and I have realised we need the money, and on a personal leve it's been heartbreaking walking pasdt the airbnb room every day knowing that everybody had to cancel.  we were fully booked every avaiable day through the summer.

we are both missing the people. we've made some good friends through airbnb.

we are still not sure whether we can legally take guests, but we're taking all the precautions we can.

[Helen350]

@Kevin1322 The government has said that any household may invite ONE other household into their house, and that the members of that household may stay overnight.

So you & Sue are ONE household, & as you only let ONE room, a single person or co-habiting couple or father & son who live together would be the ONE household you are allowed to have visit.....

I guess if 2 friends who don't live together stay with you, then that is THREE households, not the permitted TWO, .... but is anyone going to police this? - Still safer than going to the pub!

- Because I'm not a 'proper', registered B&B, I think of myself as a private house(hold), when it comes to allowing visitors within the law. 

[Helen3 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Kevin1322 

Sorry to hear about your financial situation. I am in a home share situation and have my first post covid guests today. 

My cleaner is doing additional cleaning and I have separate crockery and utensils for guests to use in the kitchen. I also have a cloth laundry bag they can use to put in towels and linen which can straight into the washing machine and blocking a day between guests.

Alternatively you could advertise on somewhere like Spare Room and ask for a 3-6 month tenant that would be safer for you in terms of Covid than having multiple guests.

There are lots of temporary jobs opening up over the summer from working in the post office, distribution centres, care and health, retail and supermarkets to working on farms. Probably worth a look to help ease your financial situation.

The very best of luck to you.

[Roberta2]

Hi @Kevin1322 

My calendar is... (imagine tumbleweed and crickets, and not at the same time).

My views are super down (from average 300 to about 50), no requests, no questions, nothing.

I am using the time to update my bathroom - it had to be done...

I use to host a lot of foreign students, specially during summer. This will really not happen this year.

Once the bathroom is done, if I don't get any bookings, I may look for a short term flatmate, as all my savings will be gone.

Good luck to everyone.

[Kevin1322]

Our calendar and requests have gone mental.  we're taking bookings, isolating, and keeping to Airbnb's enhanced cleaning protocols,  and actually feeling quite comfortable with it all, even in a shared home. 

On the quiet, just between us hosts,  this enhanced cleaning protocol isn't far off what most of were aiming at, I bet before the zombie apocalypse.   We just needed it in black and white.

Onwards and upwards, Shipmates. 

Keep yourselves safe, keep your guests safe, don''t panic, it's not

rocket science.

Let's get back in the game, at whatever pace you feel comfortable.

The business is still out there.

[Helen350]

Glad things are looking up @Kevin1322 ! - I thought they would, this being the UK!  And you being in a prime holiday area, like me. 5 out of 6 of my been- &-gone guests acted as tho' Covid never existed, no attempt to keep their distance when being shown around, business as usual in UK Airbnb land!

I've had bookings for 1/2/2/3/3/2 days. - Only letting one room at a time now. shut for a fortnight as of today, cos hosting a couple for 2 weeks via SpareRoom houseshare platform. (If only I'd known when I accepted them at a knock down price that the Airbnb bookings would flood in!) - I excitedly await Airbnb bookings for when the fortnight is up!

[Huma0]

@Kevin1322 

I am only hosting long term guests (stays of weeks or months), just as I was already doing before the pandemic, so that helps. For now that means just UK guests. I have my first one since the calendars were blocked staying now. He checked in one week ago.

Like @Helen350 , I have noticed that guests (all of the ones that have contacted me anyway) don't seem to have any concerns related to COVID safety. It is left to me as the host to try to ensure it. The first thing I am doing is asking about their schedules, e.g. will they be working from home or travelling into work on public transport (I am taking guests who are working from home only).

The cleaners are finally back after not coming during lockdown and they are extremely thorough, so that has taken a weight off my back. Still, I do the guest bedrooms myself, as usual, with extra cleaning/sanitising. I am sanitising stuff like door handles, light switches, power sockets, taps etc. as often as possible.

Contact with my current guest has been quite minimal. I made sure to remind him to wash his hands as soon as he arrived and he seems to have continued doing this, as far as I am aware. We are using separate bathrooms and he barely uses the kitchen. I have plenty of windows open to help with ventilation.  We did chat a bit the first couple of days, standing at a distance, but since then, he pretty much keeps to himself, as do I. I have not suggested wearing of masks inside though.

One thing that I feel I have no control of though is what the guest does when he is outside of the house. Yes, this guest is working full time, Monday to Friday, from home and stays in his room almost the entire time. However, I have noticed that outside of working hours he is out socialising all of the time and by that I mean every evening and all weekend. I have no way of knowing whether he is social distancing, wearing a mask or otherwise following regulations when outside of the house and don't really feel comfortable grilling him on this.

Not sure what other people think about this. Anything else I can do going forward?

PS I would normally have three separate long-term guests renting my spare rooms at the same time but that is obviously not an option right now.

[Jane3737]

Hi I am nearly a host but am bricking it all ready to list but scared to.. I have same as you but I got noone to talk to here in UK to help me