Hosting fears

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

What are your common, reoccurring or terrifying fears as a host?

We definitely had several fears (and truthfully some are still lingering at the back of our minds!) as we started hosting a couple of months ago…I thought it would be interesting to share our fears in hopes that by reading our experiences, somebody’s fears can be eased…would you share yours?

One of our first fears was:

Will guests treat my Casita with care?

Honest answer:

The good news is that the majority of guests will treat your house with care, and some may even love your place as much as you do!

But, you have to be conscious that some people are not careful -not even with their own things/house, so they will not care for yours either.

As much as you love your home, it is smart to think of furniture, decorations, etc. as things…and things are replaceable. Do not furnish your rental with valuable pieces or “one of a kind” pieces, and definitely do not keep your family heirlooms there! ; )

Would you share some of your fears and how you have been able to handle them?

[Paul1255]

Hi @Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0  great post!

My only fear when I started hosting my private room listing was will people like my space?

- I guess that's the unknown, and all my guests do like it, and I don't worry now about if future guests will- and even if they don't it would concern me far, far less!

In terms of when I started co-hosting other hosts entire home/apartment listings I had so many fears!

Will guests party?

Will guests respect the property and its contents?

Will they leave it in good condition?

Will they lose keys?

Will they leave good reviews?

And so many other things I can't even remember to list! I have such huge respect for hosts who host off-site, and hosts who use management companies/co-hosts, as you have to be even more trusting and I am sure have even more fears!

I think I handle those fears by understanding that actually those issues happen rarely, and on the whole guests just want a safe and comfortable place to stay and to enjoy their trip.

Best wishes

Paul.

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

@Paul1255  thank you for sharing! ...and yes, being an off-site host involves a lot of trust.

P.S. Your listings are sooo cute!!

[Paul1255]

Ah cheers @Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0 

Yours is stunning- I am going to put it on my wishlist 🙂

[Emilia42]

@Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0, My BIGGEST fear (and possibly only fear) is that Airbnb will shut down my listing for reasons that I am unaware of. All it takes is one angry person to click that 'report' button.

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

Hi @Emilia42 !

Let's hope that never happens!

So far Airbnb has been very helpful and forward with their information...but like you say, there are always "angry" people out there trying to couse problems : (