Does hosting in the USA differ from other countries, especially non-Western countries?

[Jiw0]

I'm asking this specifically to hosts in the USA who may have been a guest in other countries, or the other way around, hosts in other countries who had a stay as a guest on a US trip.  

Do you think there is any difference in the overall experience and community vibe in different countries?  

Could the listing model where the host shares their own living space with a guest be more common in the USA?  (Perhaps just due to AirBnB's origins, when the focus may haev been more of sharing a room or even a sofa bad in your own house?)

I personally get the feeling that in the US there is more of a focus on affordable lodging, whereas in other countries AirBnB listings may not even be cheaper than hotels for the same number of people, however they still get booked due to certain advantages.  (More space, 'living like a local', entire homes suitable for families with children, etc.) 

Thoughts?

[Maria-Lurdes0]

This is a very interesting question @Jiw0 and such a welcome change after post after post of "how do I contact Airbnb".  I host in the USA.  

I've stayed in Airbnb places in Denmark and France and both have been entire places, not shared spaces.   I noticed that in both overseas places it was a more casual set up than I present.   There was no info inside the apartment other than a post it with wifi info in one case, and a text with wifi info in the other place.   It seemed that the emphasis was on self-sufficiency and an assumption that guests would figure things out.  Of course that could be totally coincidental and maybe just the hosting style of these two particular European hosts.    I feel sometimes that I have to hold the hand of some guests, giving them detailed maps to walk two blocks to the bus station and instructions on how to turn on the TV.    

I wish I had more interesting comparisons!

[Jiw0]

Haha, yes, just judging from various guests, some are in almost constant contact with this and that, questions, requests, etc., while others you don't hear from for the duration, to the point that you begin to wonder if everyone is still alive. 😉   (I do specifically invite guests to ask questions or let us know if we can do anything at all to make their stay more convenient, and give them a local cell phone to use just in case.  (And so I can contact them of course.. 🙂 )    I guess I prefer somewhere in the middle in terms of chattiness. 

And we have 4 pages of info about the place and the area, getting around, etc.   Not everyone reads that, based on the questions I get, but then there are others who seem to have memorized the whole thing in full before their trip.  Like we're driving over (we pick people up pretty much anywhere) and I point out the supermarket and a couple nice restaurants, and they already know the names just from the PDF I mailed them in advance..!  Those will be good guests, just because they're so committed to make things work out. 🙂  

The thing is though there's not a particular nationality who are consistently a certain way, and we get guests from all over the world. (A lot from China and North America, the rest from Europe and other places in Asia, plus the occasional family from South America, Australia, Israel, etc.)  If anythign guests are more similar along age groups no matter the nationality: families with children vs groups of 20-something friends vs retirees.

I've had two stays as a guest, but both stays at the same place (we liked it. 🙂 ) and that was definitely more like you describe in terms of figuring stuff out.  It was okay though, although personally I think personal contact with guests is very valuable just to make sure guests are at ease and comfortable, and I get the feeling guests also appreciate it.  (Not that there's a whole lot of contact all the time, just the drive over and then I walk people around to show things, turn on appliances, etc.)

[Andrea9]

@Jiw0

I airbnb-ed twice as guest in London and in Stockholm.

Both were private rooms. They weren't cheap, but considering how expensive the cities are and what even cheaper hotels cost, the price was alright, though in both cases the cleaning was on the 3-star side 😞

Me and other hosts (except maybe for commercial ones or those not adhering to regulations) are not cheap, but that's because we keep very high standars with all the competition and also the cost of living in Amsterdam is not cheap. The prices on the whole are much lower than in hotels.

[Ephraim0]

I'm in agreement with you @Maria-Lurdes0, out of the US its certainly more causual. I prefer it that way as opposed to explaining everything to people. You're an adult you should be able to google and research your own vacation. I mean certainly a small primer on the neighborhood and transportation i understand. But I get annoyed when I have to hold an adults hand their whole stay.

[Melanie58]

I haven't traveled abroad using Airbnb yet, but I do think I would if we were going to travel.  Some of the best international travel experiences we have had were "homestays", boarding with a family.  I am not sure that all US Airbnb's are focused on budget - mine is budget because I am looking to make extra money, and I already live in a place.  The place I live happens to be a great stop on the way to awesome places, but not really a main attraction itself.  My city probably would not be an ideal place to invest in Airbnb properties, because you couldn't cover the mortgage with the rents.  People are just looking for a cheap place to crash for a few hours between 11 at night and 8 the next morning.  Judging by the profiles, most people in my city are renting a room in their house.  This wouldn't be true in major cities and many vacation destinations, though there may be a fair number of people who are renting out a second vacation home or something in those cases.

I would think it might be similar all over the world really - an Airbnb in Chiang Mai can probably be considered an "upgrade" to the typical hotel whether a room in a home or a private location, but a smaller town or more industrial city might not be the best place to rake in money.  So probably throughout Thailand there are different types of experiences based on the location.  

One major thing is Airbnb in US is fighting hotel lobbies and government regulation, so part of their strategy is to focus in on all of the "regular Joe's" using the system just to make a little extra money.  So Airbnb, at least in America, has to strategize to keep a clean image.  If they are openly trying to be a platform that gives investors a cheap way to invest money without having to pay taxes or comply with hotel regulations, that isn't going to help them in the long run.  So at least the image of the home sharing concept is really important for Airbnb from a strategic standpoint.

[Sandra126]

Speaking as a non-American host occasionally hosting Americans, they are different guests to any other nationality in what they expect to find etc. As example, my American guests think a dishwasher should be standard and will mark down if not present. This is not isolated, this is frequent. I guess it cuts both ways. My place is more ''interesting'' than ''luxurious'' and best suited to travellers who seek to get away from dishwashers.

[Jiw0]

Haha, yes, it does tend to be American guests who help us improve.  ("What do you mean there's no TV.." 🙂   Although this is a lot more of a thing with older people, for young people the world over the only thing that matters is WiFi, ranking in importance perhaps before water and air. 🙂 )

But that does make us improve, just getting a TV and cable the next day and I have to say it's a genuine improvement that is also good for families with children who sometimes just need to park kids near a TV for a while. 

Other things that are really common in America but not in Asia:  central air conditioning of the whole house (as opposed to individual units mostly in bedrooms only) and indeed a dishwasher.