Community Spotlight: John5097

Liv
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Community Spotlight: John5097

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Hey everyone,

 

It's been a while since we've had a Community Spotlight, so hopefully you'll be happy to hear that we finally have a new one. 😊

 

Today you have the opportunity to get to know @John5097 a bit better! It's a great read, I hope you enjoy.

 

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How long have you been hosting for and why did you first start?

I actually grew up in a bed and breakfast in Charleston, South Carolina. My mom rented 7 rooms in our house and carriage house starting when I was in the fifth grade. I enjoyed guests from all over, answering the phone, answering questions, making reservations. It really didn’t seem like work. In high school, my mom traveled for weeks and months at times, and would leave me to handle the day to day operations.This helped when I decided to host with Airbnb as I already knew the busy times of the year, what guests liked to do, and one of the most rewarding aspects is the level of trust guests still have with me.

 

 

Tell us a little about your listing.

It's a guest apartment at the end of a ranch house that was built in the 60s. The lot is what makes it magical with a nice view across the marsh. It's close to the historic district and the beaches, so guests love it. I did most of  the renovations, so it was fun for me to use some skills I picked up in construction for a project and small start up. 

  

  Watercolor from one of my guests at my Airbnb looking out over the marsh.Watercolor from one of my guests at my Airbnb looking out over the marsh.

 

How long have you been part of the Community Center and why did you join?

Throughout the planning and renovation of my listing I did a lot of research, so it was very valuable to read other hosts and guests experiences for any given situation, such as whether or not to include a kitchen, pet policy, towels, food and on and on. So the community has become a wealth of information. I then started posting more after hosting the first year to discuss issues and challenges as a host, mostly to become more aware of the risk or issues other hosts face, and develop strategies together to avoid them.  

 

 

How was your experience on your first ever Zoom call for the Host Talk?

I was so impressed how talented everyone was! Admittedly I get nervous with any kind of presentation, like giving comments during a public meeting, but this was a really amazing opportunity to share ideas with so many hosts from all over the world. I loved it! 

 

 

What is your favourite thing about the CC and if you could make it better what one thing would you improve?


Hosts and guests are very candid, and it's a place where comments or opinions about policy aren’t removed or edited. Sometimes the executives participate or respond to some of the concerns, which is pretty cool, and I haven’t seen anywhere else. I guess we could all try and be more considerate and respectful.  

 

 

When you are not hosting, what do you like doing?

I like getting outside, riding a bike, paddleboarding, kayaking with friends, going to the beach, coffee shops, singing in the car when no one is watching, taking road trips, meeting new people, moving on in life, and taking an interest in things that catch my attention along the way.

 

 

What is the one thing you cannot live without?

I guess I can't live without the truth, although I have at times attempted to survive as long as possible avoiding it. 

 

 

Where would your dream holiday be?

Alaska, because I haven’t been there yet.

 

 

If you could have lunch with a famous person (past or present), who would it be and why? Also, what would you serve?

I enjoyed Jhumpa Lahiri’s novels and short stories, and always hoped to attend a presentation or reading with her, as she was one of my favorite authors who is actually present.

As I recall, she was born in London, moved to the US, and all of her stories weave together these whimsical offbeat characters from India, usually Calcutta, and modern contemporary characters in the US. One of her novels, The Lowlands, reminded me of the marshes and climate here in Charleston, which is often called the Low Country.

 

If we had lunch I would hope it would be in India, at a restaurant that has a red circle over the door, indicating it’s vegetarian, although I’m almost positive she isn’t vegetarian, and I’ve never actually been to India.

If I were cooking of course it would be one of my favorite curry recipes! Although, I’m sure she would be quite busy as she has a family and also teaching, but it would be fun to visit some city where she is participating in some kind of writing event or presentation, and why not hope to meet someone whose work I enjoyed and might actually meet someday?  

 

 

What's your food weakness?

Well, all this talk about Indian food is getting me kind of hungry. 

 

 

Do you have a fun fact?

Some of The Royal Family stayed at my mom's bed and breakfast. They happened to catch me coming in from playing basketball one afternoon, and were in dire need of tea. I escorted them into the kitchen and put a kettle of water on a restaurant grade gas stove, with over 20,000 BTU but this still wasn’t fast enough. They asked if we didn’t have an electric kettle, but somehow managed to survive a few minutes after their 3pm tea time, only had one small cup, and the crisis was averted.

 

Thank you so much John for sharing your story with us.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions or share any nice comments,  I'm sure he'd be really happy to hear from you 😊

 

Thanks, 

Liv

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17 Replies 17
Liv
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

 @Pascale144 @Omar202  @Mary996 @Christine615 @Alexandra316 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Paul1255 @Kitty-and-Creek0 @Kemi9 @Lawrene0 @Anna1403 @Laurelle3 @Veronica-Of-Excel-Proper0 @Stephanie @Nick @Quincy 

 

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that @John5097 had a really nice time chatting with you at the Host Talk 😊

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Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@John5097 nice profile! I had actually never looked at your listing before, but what an incredible setting and your reviews are amazing. Looks like a really beautiful place. Very cool that you also grew up in a bed and breakfast setting. 

 

If you enjoy Jhumpa Lahiri’s work, you may also enjoy V.S. Naipaul. If you haven't checked him out, definitely worth it. 

@Alexandra316

So far I’ve gotten great guest. Maybe because I did all the work or something.  I’ll definitely check out VS Naipaul. Hopefully more people will do the spotlight. Thought it might be more fun to get to know each other a little better. 

Dale711
Level 10
Paris, France

Hi @John5097 

It was a great pleasure to hear about your hosting journey.

Indeed, you grew up with b&b and meet thousands of travelers. Your guests much appreciate your hosting life and passion.

 

I will be indexed your very positive mindset and always done something well.

Am so glad you're here! Hope to learn from you.

 

@Dale711 @Oh you are always so positive and considerate! Was just thinking how everyone is different, and different skill set. Definitely enjoy learning. Hosting has been such a great experience. I do miss answering the phone. I used to love making bookings. But not much has changed with me. Guest of all ages have been great. 

Nick
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

It was a pleasure getting to know a bit more about you @John5097, I enjoyed the read. I remember the first time we talked; you had just started commenting on the Month of Celebration. How far you've come since then on the CC! To the point you had your first Zoom call with us, you just can't beat that 😀

 

PS we need to talk Indian food at some point. 

@Nick Yeah what a year!I remember you sent the nicest message. Now that you mention it thinking back it was a bit of a roller coaster ride.  It takes work to keep my guest happy but something I really enjoy! So cool to sit in with the Zoom meeting. Sorry it was my first one. I set up my computer but didn't put my earbugs in so may have missed any greetings! Defiantly look forward to more food topics and making progress with the CC and improving the Airbnb experience! 

 

BTW.. I'm starting to meet other host in my neighborhood when I get out for a walk in the afternoons. Its kind of funny because its the first time we've met although we see each others listings and I've sent guest their way, as some return guest are regularly in town for treatment at one of the hospitals, and I may be booked. It was so much fun seeing them and I mentioned getting together to chat, although I'm sure I'll see them again, and that's usually the way I keep in touch with neighbors.      

 

 

Nick
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Oh, how lovely @John5097! Nice to see you are taking the aspect of an Airbnb community to the real world/life and not just on an online space.

You could have fooled me that this was your first Zoom meeting. I would have never guessed if you didn't mention it. You should have seen mine at the beginning of all this; I was all over the place. Muting myself, closing the camera.. it was rough. You were a pro in comparison 😀

@Nick that's very kind of you! 

It was really fun seeing one of my neighbors and host. She said she did more long term throughout this past year. I did send her a few guest her way but I'm not even sure how to message other host. 

I recall I was stressed out when I first started posting here. For example, for my one bedroom listing I had 90 cancelations in the first year, but managed to rebook them all, and kept 90% occupancy rate. There were all kinds of restrictions for everyone, so visitors had fewer options. All of our events in the area have been canceled, etc, which was more stressful for guest and host.  

Anyway, it was great to see other host in the area. The CC seems to be mostly where host come for help, which is very useful. I enjoy keeping up with it. But even for our area there are tens of thousands of Airbnb host and listings. 

This is a screen shot today of Charleston County. My listing is featured in the first three. I'm going to start thinking about ways to get together with other host, maybe just in my immediate area to discuss some of our concerns. I think for most host their day to day interactions with their own guest mean the most, although for me I'm looking forward to the local meetups starting back again. The Zoom meetings were great too! I've done Facetime which is really useful to follow up with someone to give a quick tour of the space. 
Have a great weekend! I'm sure many of us are hoping some of the CC Community Managers will do the spotlight as well.  

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Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Such a lovely topic @John5097! Thank you so much for sharing 😃

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Thanks @Quincy !! 

 

I'm really hoping some of the CC Community Mangers do a spotlight as you all are so talented and it would be great to learn a little more about each of you, and other host as well! 

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hey @John5097, it looks like you've read our minds! We were discussing this a few days ago 😃

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J-Renato0
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

@John5097 

Thanks for sharing  your hosting journey.

Just out of curiousity, if you can say it, of course, what it was the member of the Royal Family who  stayed at your  mom's bed and breakfast.  👑

@J-Renato0 

It was Lady Diana's sisters, family, and Charles's family all traveling together. Lady Diana was supposed to join them but couldn't make it. This is when she and Charles were still married. That's all I'm sure about as they didn't include any more information. It was such a random experience from a long time ago, just another day with the bed and breakfast. I haven't thought about very much and this may the first time I've mentioned it. The other guest had a striking resemblance to Phillip and there was an Aunt or Grandmother who both must have been closely related to the Queen, although could have been cousins or some other relitive. Although they were all incredibly friendly and polite. Now that I think about it when I was traveling in Europe I would have done anything for a cup of coffee on the train! I think its just natural to want tea or coffee when traveling that far as you are out of your comfort zone. Now that I think about it they were incredibly pleasant and cheerful. I think they don't provide a lot of information and it was a way for them to travel and live normal lives. That's what I saw. It was one of Diana's sisters who was friends with someone in town, so some of the other royal family liked to travel with them. Otherwise they were just like all the other guest and my guest now, who are out and about all day checking out all the popular attractions. Even now a lot of celebrities visit Charleston and do normal stuff out walking around. Such a random event from a long time ago. Was just tying to make it interesting and most of things I do are so normal. Apologies for all the blabbering! Trying to work on that! 🙂