Day 5 – A year with more time - for family and guests!

[Solveig0]

I was very happy to contribute to the Month of Celebration again this year. I've not been as active on the AIrbnb community this year, because I've not been as active on Airbnb, but I'm trusting it will return. Immediately I wanted to share my positive memories of the year, and how I feel it has given us more time as a family - and time with our guests. 

First a bit about us. We are a family of 4 living on an old farm in Northern Jutland in Denmark. Two grownups, and two girls on 4 and 5. The farm consists of four buildings built around a closed courtyard. We live in one of the buildings, two are functional – storage and stuff, and the fourth building is a guest house with dining hall, kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It used to be where the animals lived, so the bedrooms are actually in the old pig sty. But it doesn’t smell, I promise, though it has kept the farmhouse charm. In addition to the courtyard and all the buildings we also have a huge garden with vegetable patches, a flower spiral labyrinth thing, fruit orchard and everything you could possibly dream of.

An Airbnb year for us normally sees lots of guests coming and going. Lots of Norwegians passing through for one night only on their way back home to Norway or as the first stopover on the way further down to Europe as we are conveniently 20 minutes from the ferries to Norway. Some Danish weekend guests wanting to get to know their own country a bit better or on a romantic getaway. Some Germans or Dutch doing tourism things. A group or two of Americans looking to find their ancestors. So a mix of short and long stays, some Danish people, but mostly internationals. Some we get to know, some just passing through.

This year started differently because we got new roof on our main building – which was a huge undertaking - and so we closed our Airbnb business while construction went on, not wanting guests to have to struggle getting past construction cranes and muddy fields. We used the downtime to paint the bedrooms and the kitchen and just generally update stuff – new shower curtains, light sensors in the hallways etc. From cold white walls, all the bedrooms now got individual coloring in a color scheme inspired by classical English farmhouses. I like it so much more 😍

And then we planned on opening for a new, busy, season….

And then the country locked down. And Europe locked down. And all the summer activities and football cups and markets that normally draws tourist to our area got cancelled.  

And then our own summer holiday trip to Norway to visit maternal grandparents got cancelled.

And then – almost instantly - our summer weeks got booked up by Danish families planning holidays in their own country. Not a weekend or a day or two, but 5 days, a full week, or even 10 days. Everyone staying put, travelling to explore their own country. 

So we made the most of our staycation at home, choosing to not do anything really, not going anywhere, being more cautious than many of our friends due to having vulnerable grandparents we rely on in our daily lime. The kids were in on it – do you want to go to Legoland and not see grandma and grandpa for two weeks, or would you rather spend time with the grandparents? The answer was easy: Grandparents!

So instead we took it easy. We built a long planned for and awaited playhouse for the girls. We got to the bottom of all the old stuff stored by generations in the barn. I finally cleaned up the enormous flower bed in front of the house. 

And we got to know our guests, as they all had made their stay with us their holiday that year and all stayed for longer. We had bbq’s and brunches together. The girls made friends with the visiting Airbnb kids and tears were shed when they inevitably left for home. Promises were made to come back and to stay in touch. 

Looking back at the year - both in Airbnb  terms and in other terms, I think the girls and us will remember the year as different, but not as a bad year. I hope the girls will remember the year as a year where we had more time, and less obligations. I hope I will remember to relax more in years to come, not running around having to do stuff all the time. The value of staying put. The value of slow mornings because there's no office to run off to. The value of just being present. 

The long awaited Playhouse: 

The bedrooms before and after. 

After, with new paint: 

[J-Renato0]

@Solveig0 

I like your post. Very good to know how your experience with this year is like.
Everything can have its good and bad side. Good to know that you always look for the bright side. I am also an optimistic person. If, on the one hand, this year bequeathed us restrictions, on the other hand we can take advantage of the good things that can come of this, such as more time for things that we would like to have done for a long time, and also more time to be with the family.

[Solveig0]

Thanks @J-Renato0 ! I'm also an optimist and I think its the only way to survive! 😄 How are things in Brazil? There's been so much bad news coming from Brazil since this pandemic started, I hope it is getting better! 

[J-Renato0]

@Solveig0 

If we consider the absolute numbers of deaths registered in each country now, the United States would be at the top (283k) followed by Brazil (177k).
Vaccination is scheduled for the end of January. Maybe before.
The strict lockdown has fineshed. People are going out on the streets and shopings are now opened, but people are wearing face masks and respecting social distance. Wearing face mask is mandatory in most of the cities.
Alcohol gel is available at the entrance and exit of all commercial establishments (shops, bars, restaurants)
I only recently reopened my calendar.
With the exception of some guests who had changed their dates due to the pandemic, I only accept reservations for a minimum of 14 nights and I avoid more than one reservation per month per listing.
This reduces the risk for me and the guests.
I currently have guests who came from Brazil, Argentina, US, UK. I recently had guests from France and Norway. Some come to work or are nomadic workers.
I believe that some guests may think, what is the difference between wearing a face mask, and maintaining social distance in the city they live in and in Rio de Janeiro city?
Perhaps for some there is a difference. If they come to Rio, they will exchange the winter in Europe for summertime in Brazil.

[Trudie7]

@Solveig0How fortunate to have been able to enjoy quality time with your young girls. They grow up so fast and you can never replace that precious time.

[Catherine-Powell]

hi @Solveig0 How gorgeous are your two little girls in front of their play house! I love the fact you have given it a street number so it has an address! it is wonderful to read how you have used this year to do all those things you have wanted to do and finally got round to. it is so satisfying! I wish you all the best for 2021. Happy Holidays! best, Catherine

[Miloud0]

Salute,

Thank you @Solveig0  for sharing with us your post. Really it is so interesting.

Thank you also for the beautiful photos 

Thanks, 

Miloud

[Suzanne302]

@Solveig0  That pic of the playhouse and your girls is adorable!