Day 2 - 2019: Month of Celebration - Why I found out that Airbnb is really for me :-)

[Roberta2]

Hello fellow hosts

On this month of celebration, I would like to remind myself why I think Airbnb is really the right platform for me.

I have been hosting for over 3 years, and I am a home sharer - I rent out my spare room. From the odd "1 nighter", to the repeat guest, to long erm Guest - I believe my longest was 4 months (A lovely german student in London for a work experience, that ended up referring me to other  students from her university).

Things I learned:

- To be patient

- That I love London and enjoy sharing the city with the guests

- That Airbnb offers me the flexibility to "have a break" - both to be by myself, as to have the room for friends and family

- That I love learning about other people's traditions, food habits, and cultures (but still can not stand kimchi, sorry people from Korea) :-)

What did you learn since becoming a host?

[Cathie19]

Nicely said @Roberta2! 

We also share our home, although the space is separate, under our area. So yes, to all that you have found positive on the Airbnb platform.

Sure, there can be some negatives, but it also helps having a positive mindset and a very big check list in your head! Lol.....

I am the owner of my booking calendar and set the restrictions and requirements to meet our needs. By doing this, I get to be the more positive and relaxed me, when we open the calendar for guests. That means, you’ll get our undivided attention for your arrival, as well as your needs. 

What have I learnt? Maintain a base standard of cleanliness and outdoor landscaping, even when no guests are on the horizon. This does make the going a hell of a lot easier when that last minute notification “ping” comes through.....

:)

[Emily352]

@Roberta2 

Hosting made me discover a lot of things about me that I didn't know at all, while I was trying desperately to learn something about it. The verb “to learn”: keep this verb in mind, because it will be the leitmotiv of these lines.

A shortlist of things that I’ve learned:

I'm much stronger than I thought;

I’m much weaker than I thought;

I have much more patience than I thought;

I have qualities that I was convinced I did not possess;

I lack qualities that I was convinced I possessed;

I'm happier now than before.

I’ve learned to laugh all over again. Some guests made me laugh and each of those laughs was a kick to fear, a kick to my limits and my inadequacies, a kick to the state of the world, and a kick to the habits of the past.

I’ve learned that hosting is much more than a comfortable bed and a hot coffee in the morning, it is understanding the essence of a country from a nuance, from a small detail that you glimpse only for an instant in a perfect stranger.

I’ve learned to appreciate the value of diversity and change that always brings something with it to put in the closet of the experience that is always too empty.

The journey with AIRBNB was hard, rough, exhilarating, painful, exciting, dark, surprising, and other adjectives that I might be forgetting, but I’m sure you've understood because hosting follows its own logic.

I’ve learned that the angles of hosting aren’t all right because hosting is imperfect, scruffy, unquantifiable, improvised, inconsistent, chaotic, casual, ambiguous, different and even filthy.

I’ve learned that hosting should never be trapped, but should be let roam free in the beautiful fields of this artificial box you call the world.

Hosting is time and life, and like all good things, it doesn't have a straight road, it brings you to some pretty unexpected places to let you see something different: every time: this a strange "game" where you do not win or lose, where you do not come in first or last.

Hosting is like love. In hosting, as in love, we grow every day.

[Miloud0]

Salute, 

Yes, i agree with you @Roberta2, from hosting one learns many good things. Thank you for sharing this interesting subject 

Thanks, 

Miloud

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

Hosting is a lot of fun! I have learned a lot with ups & downs but the amazing guests are what makes it all worth it! Thanks for the lovely positive post :-)

[Tadesse1]

YES,AIRBAB COMMUNITY help me to learn about myself 

[Tadesse1]

it help me to be flexible to "make a break"

[J-Renato0]

Lovely post @Roberta2  !  

[Gordon0]

Well done, @Roberta2. Nice to read something so positive. 

[Giuliana142]

I agree with @Roberta2 , we learn so much every day. Patience, cleanliness, respect and tolerance are some of many virtues we gain while hosting or travelling. 

[Helen427]

Thanks

@Roberta2for sharing such a positive experience, as you grow older you may decide to like Kimchi :)

[Lyn3]

Hi @Roberta2 I really loved reading that. Such positive thoughts - thank you.

[Lee447]

I've learned to keep in mind all of the planning and excitement I have for all the trips I go on, and therefore to make sure I treat each guest's visit with as much concern as I have about my own visits

[Rita662]

Hosting is a constant learning process...it can be tired and sometimes exasperating, but for me it also great to meat new people and showing our city around.

[Lizzie]

Such a lovely topic @Roberta2. It's wonderful to see how much joy you get from hosting. As a fellow Londoner, we want to be proud of the city we live in and as a host you are a great ambassador for this. 

Thank you for sharing and congrats on three great years of hosting. Here's to the next three. :)