I had a guest instant book for a checkin today. We have a st...
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I had a guest instant book for a checkin today. We have a strict 4pm checkin time & they showed up at 2:15 saying they chose ...
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Hello everyone,
I'm very happy to say we have a new Community Spotlight (where we ask an active community member a few questions, to get to know them better). This month, we have a host I am sure many of your know well, here in the Community Center. Introducing...
South Korea
How long have you been hosting for and why did you first start?
We made the switch from guest users to hosts in Feb 2017 and we started hosting simply because..... we had a spare room. We enjoyed being guest users so we thought "why not?" - our logic at the time was that a guest room that is occupied at least a couple nights a month is better than a room that's always empty. Henry and I both have full time jobs and I happen to travel a lot, so we didn't want hosting responsibilities to take up too much of our personal time, which is one of the reasons why we decided to specifically target single/solo travelers - we assumed people who travel alone and chose a shared home private room listing would be independent people. We thought we could consider ourselves a great success if we manage to break even on the cost of furniture and extra bedding for the guest room in about 6 months! After a few really weird inquiries (which was making us think "OMG~ what were we thinking?!?!?!") our first guest contacted us just barely a week after our listing went live - an exchange student looking for a place to stay for 4 months. This was not what we had imagined at all...... but our first impression of the guest was good although 4 months seemed really long. Henry and I talked about it and decided to give it a try. Honestly, it was the BEST decision we made~! We've been hosting a lot of long term guests and many exchange students ever since and we love it!
Tell us a little about your listing
Our listing is a single occupancy private room in our home and our home is a typical modern, newly built apartment in Seoul. Our apartment complex is popular with young working couples (and is considered a "starter home" type apartment) because of location and apartment size. The neighborhood has gone through a lot of re-development over the past 10 years, so we have a unique mix of new high-rise apartment complexes and shopping centers right along side traditional homes, buildings and markets.
How long have your been part of the Community Center and why did you join?
I've been a member of the CC - as soon as I decided to become a host. I was certain we would miss something critical due to lack of experience and thought learning from other more experience hosts would be the best way to make sure we didn't make a mess of things. As a new host, I think the CC was especially helpful in allowing me to come up with my listing description and house rules - which were my responsibility (Henry was responsible for getting our guest room ready). Reading about the good and bad experiences helped us to really "prepare for the worst, but hope for the best".
What is your favourite thing about the CC and if you could make it better what one thing would you improve?
I really like how so many people are willing to spend time and contribute purely because they want to help others. I know that there are levels reflecting participation but sort of like super host maybe some sort of way to better recognize the fellow hosts who are top contributors? - something more than the "Top Contributors" list. Maybe a CC version of the super host badge? Making it easier to find old posts or comments written by myself and by others would also be great.
Are you more of a film or book person? What have you last read/watched?
It's really hard to say......Henry and I both read a lot and watch a lot. I think Henry is more of a "music" person. Although he's rusty and out of practice, he plays piano and always has some sort of music on at home, depending on his mood or the weather. We both really enjoyed watching Bohemian Rhapsody recently. In my case, I think I'm a book person even though I probably spend more time binge-watching TV series than reading. I recently borrowed a copy of Please Look After Mom from a co-worker and started reading it at the office during breaks. For fun, I usually stick to mystery/crime/detective novels. I've also started watching season 1 of The Crown and in the middle of watching season 2 of Anne with an E.
What is the one thing you cannot live without?
I really don't think I can name one thing - Henry and my parents and my sisters, a sense of humor, chocolate, sea salt & vinegar chips to name a few.
How do you like to relax at the end of a hard week?
Sleep and just be totally lazy. I can easily sleep for 12+ hrs straight and getting extra sleep on weekends has always been very important for me. Henry and I also enjoy good food and beer, so eating out is also an important part of our "weekend ritual" since neither of us likes to cook. I think I was born lazy, so I feel that one of the best ways for me to really relax is to be my naturally lazy self.
Where would your dream travel location be?
Henry's dream travel location is Fiji. Mine is to just roam the world for an entire year (or two) without any specific destinations or plans (which would drive Henry crazy because he always has to plan ahead and have back up plans).
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? (...astronaut perhaps!)
As a kid, I always wanted to be a doctor - I have no idea why, but from an early age I've always liked the "hospital smell" and loved going to see the doctor. Plus, doctors always seemed to have cold hands and I always had cold hands, so when I was little I thought my cold hands were proof I would make a great doctor.
What's your fun fact?
I read way faster in English than Korean, but type in Korean much faster than English. While it's pretty obvious I'm bilingual, many don't know that English is my 1st language and Korean is my 2nd. Another little-known fact about me is, although I work as an interpreter and often have to speak in front of an audience due to my job, I also have terrible stage fright and absolutely hate public speaking.
Anything to add?
A special thanks to all my fellow hosts on the CC. I know we've never met, but I have come to think of everyone as good friends. And thank you Lizzie for thinking of me and Henry for the Community Spotlight.
A huge thank you to Jessica and Henry for taking the time to share a few fun insights into their lives.
Please do ask any questions about the above or share any nice comments, I am sure Jessica would love to hear from you.
Thank you and enjoy!
Lizzie
@Ben @Claire475 @Rubén @Cathie19 @Quincy @Βασίλης-and-Ann0
Thanks for all your posts 🙂
I really think the way @Claire475 described the Community Spotlight as "sneaked into someone’s home and had a quick cup of tea with them" is perfect!!!
I never say no to salt & vinegar chips @Cathie19 and @Claire475. In Korea, it's hard to find salt & vinegar chips....... several years ago I ordered an entire box from Amazon and got it internationally shipped 🙂 Let just say...... it was worth it, although it was hard to limit myself to 1 bag per day.
Thought I'd share a few photos from our recent trip~
And a few food pics. Most were taken when we took our guests out to dinner - which we do at least once or twice a month with our long-term guests.
We usually ask them to choose between beef/pork/seafood then yes or no to spicy....... and if they are feeling adventurous 🙂
