Day 13: Opening my home

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Day 13: Opening my home

Hello all,

 

It's finally time to share my story!

 

Like all of you, I have also been an Airbnb host for a little while (surprise surprise!). How did I start Airbnb? I had a spare room left in our property and it had been used as a storage room for a long time. One day I had a friend over who convinced me to become a host on Airbnb. He helped me with registering and setting up everything. The next day, a notification pops up on my phone showing that someone wants to book our place. I started checking if everything in my home was cleaned up, every corner, every inch of carpet, door handles etc.. I wanted everything to be perfect.

 

A few days later my first guest from the US arrives and I was nervous in the beginning. I greeted him and showed him how everything works in my home. He was a cool chap and he'd been out exploring the area rather than spending time at home. After my first hosting experience I started opening my home for more bookings. I've also had the opportunity to stay with some lovely hosts when I was travelling around with my partner. 

 

During my time as a host, I have learned a lot and have met lovely people, some of whom I still speak with occasionally. I've hosted guests from all over the world and it has been a great experience, one of which I will never forget!

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24 Replies 24
Paul1255
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Really nice @Quincy ! Which is the guest experience you'll never forget that you mention at the end of your post? 🙂

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hey @Paul1255, for me it's a wonderful experience when you can share some things about each others culture. I especially like it when it comes down to food ;-). 

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Nutth0
Host Advisory Board Member
Chiang Mai, Thailand

@Quincy  “I was nervous in the beginning.” Me too! I remembered I standing outside my first guest room and think what I have to do next! But the same as you it turned to be very good experience.

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

I know @Nutth0

 

Everything went on autopilot after my first guest :-). 

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@Quincy

 

Like you, Quincy, we were so nervous about meeting our first guests, a large family.

 

We picked them up from the port in our island, which is something we always do...   ( it can be so stressful, we know, when tourists arrive on a large ferry in a strange place/country to noise and chaos, so not a great start to a holiday !), helped organise transport for them and pointed out essential services...

They took us out for a lovely meal to show their appreciation !  ;-D

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

I know the feeling @Βασίλης-and-Ann0 but for you, it must have been even greater! It's very nice of them to treat you for a nice meal! 

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Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Quincy

Now Quincy, you would be a bloody lousey host!

There is only so much effort one can put into being a nice warm accommodating human being. And after seeing your efforts here over the past couple of years you surely can have nothing left over to lavish on guests, the well of understanding must be nearing empty!!

In any case, it's all irrelevant because, being an administrator we don't get to see your hosting track record anyway!

Still, I would sure love to think there was a possibility I could have you sit here in our garden one day and discuss this hosting record of yours in person!

 

Thanks Quincy for a great post, and for being that ever helpfull....Quincy!

 

Cheers.......Rob

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Haha, I would love to @Robin4

 

I still have to visit Australia sometime so who knows!  

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Cathie19
Level 10
Darwin, Australia

So @Quincy, by reorganising or decluttering your spare room, you have made positive changes to your life in so many ways. The first nervous steps of preparing and hosting - is a good one to remember. It keeps things fresh and new in our head, for how we prepare, greet, “see” and “handover” that space.

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Definitely, agree with you @Cathie19! It has been such a great experience. 

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Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Quincy

 

I was also nervous about hosting my first guest here. I didn't expect to get bookings straight away and was worried I wouldn't be ready in time. And I wasn't really ready, in that I didn't get all the things sorted that I wanted to. Still the guest seemed to like it and gave me 5 stars. Yay! Now did you manage to clear everyting out of that storage room in time and where on earth did you put everything?

 

I have learnt that things don't necessarily have to be 'perfect', because perfection is different for everyone. One person's idea of 'clutter' is another's idea of character and charm. I think with hosting, the important thing is to do the best you can with what you have got and to be welcoming. Actually, I think that's probably the most vital thing for me. Guests can often be more nervous than us when they arrive at our homes so they really appreciate that warm welcome.

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hey @Huma0, I've donated and sold a lot of stuff through Gumtree! All the other stuff I was able to squeeze in another storage compartment *phew*. 

 

I totally agree with you here on 'Perfection' Huma! 

 

 

 

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Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Quincy

 

Storage always seems to be a headache for me, so I was really interested to know how you managed it all! People might find it strange because I live in such a big house, but they forget that three out of the four bedrooms need to be free from my stuff. I can't just fill the guest room wardrobes and draws with my clobber. 

 

I have also greatly reduced the amount of storage in my house by having two small rooms off the hallway converted into extra bathrooms and getting rid of the two shallow loft spaces at the top of the house, replacing them with pitched ceilings.

 

All of these things add value for me and my guests, but the dilemna is where to put all the stuff previously stored there? When you have a space where you can shove the Xmas decorations, paints, tools etc. etc. and not have to look at them, it's amazing how quickly you fill that space!

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Finding places to store stuff is a pain indeed @Huma0! I forgot to mention that I also have an attic where some stuff is stored as well. 

 

Huma, I was so surprised at how much stuff I have collected over the years... 

 

Unbelievable!  

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