Hosting a private room – what are your tips?

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hosting a private room – what are your tips?

Private Rooms.jpg

 

Hello everyone,

 

We’re looking for tips from hosts who list private-rooms. Many of you host guests in your home and hosting a shared space has its own set of challenges and things to think about, but there are also many rewards!

 

What are your top tips for hosting a private-room listing? Do provide certain items in your guest room? Perhaps you add extra information on what your guest can expect to your listing description?

 

We'd love to hear your input for an upcoming article. Thank you!

 

Thanks,

 

Lizzie


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105 Replies 105
Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Lizzie

 

 

An overlooked aspect is that of if a person snores, whilst I personally don't, I've had several male guests recently who snore like troopers.

When one is sharing any home and bedrooms are either adjoining with bed heads along the same wall it can pose challenges!!

 

I now try and ask potential male guests who are making enquiries for longer term accommodation and who look like they may snore, it tends to be more common place with larger built/ obese men, if they do snore as it can impact on ones quality of sleep.

 

 

That said there are also others who snore for whatever reason.

 

Would Airbnb please be able to include a filter for "snoring friendly" places??

 

Thanks in advance 😉

@Helen427  Your post is timely for my current situation.  While I usually have guest for 3-4 days, this guest booked for 20 days.  Because of this booking, I have changed my setting to no more than 7 days.  I currently have 2 guests, one of which is a very LOUD snoring person. My own sleep was so disturbed that at first I rearranged my bedroom furniture to get away from the noise and when that did not work, I bought a white noise machine.  That is working somewhat.

 

 

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Linda108

very sensible to put a limit to the number of days.

I had to reword my listing from simple & brief because of an Instant Booking Guest when I first started due to an unpleasant guest.

I now ask guests over 7-10 days to use pre approval method.

 

Wishing you all the best for the rest of your guests stay Linda , I'm sure they will provide you with positive experiences that override the snoring like mine did.

@Helen427. Two options:

- Supply ear plugs for yourself. Seriously! 

- Place a few Breathe Easy nose strips in the bathroom in a little dish, or in the private room. Have a little handmade sign: 

             “ If you feel you would like to try, please go ahead!”

They have many names including better health, nasal strip, better breath.  You don’t have to point a finger, but can say that they may assist sinus congestion after air travel....... or the change of air? 😍

probably available at a pharmacy/ chemist. But they can also be bought online through eBay; and probably other selling sites.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Helen427

 

Lol. My current, long-term, guest snores like nothing I have ever heard before in my life! Luckily, his room is on a separate floor to everyone else's and neither above nor below another bedroom. Otherwise, I can see how this would present quite a challenge. His poor wife!

 

I have to add though that he is a lovely guest. He isn't overweight nor is he a smoker, so I have no idea what is the reason for the LOUDEST SNORING IN THE WORLD, but I'm sure he can't help it.

Sounds like my EX-husband. Like sleeping with a fog horn...  

 

I only rent to women and have had a couple of very loud snorers.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

As a host who has experienced living in a variety of shared living places/ spaces, it's interesting to interact and share stories with others who have also shared similar backgrounds, those guests seem to be more chilled out whereas those who never have tend to be more careful and perhaps on the nervous side.

 

Thanks Airbnb for providing me with the opportunity to live with those who have also had fun flatmate sharing backgrounds...most of my local guests tend to have had flatting experiences locally and internationally and enjoy the fact they have the opportunity to stay short term as it can be expensive staying in motels/ hotels for there purposes.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

Lizzie @

The taking of photographs inside a hosts home is something that you may like to include in your article, subject to who it is aimed at.

Whilst we all have our own photographs on our listing I recently had a guest who had changed Airbnb's as a result of the hosts alleged lack of cleanliness in their home - the guest had taken photos of dishes in the sink, inside the fridge, in the bedroom where the host hadn't vacuum cleaned up some dead insects etc - the Host had been unwell and may well have had issues with visual impairment - one has no idea where these photographs may end up which could have devastating effects on anyone in such a situation.

The Host was an older woman on her own.

The comments the guest left online could well be deemed to be a form of Elder Abuse and Harassment.

We are all under various laws entitled to privacy within our own homes and guests must be advised to respect that.

Perhaps we could have a separate topic about this to discuss this separately.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

I wonder how hosts, and especially those hosting in their own homes, feel in general about guests taking and posting photographs of their home. I know that we have our listing photos out there for anyone to see, but that is different as we have selected the photos ourselves.

 

I feel somewhat uncomfortable about it, but I suppose it is to be expected and there's not much you can do about it in the age of Instagram etc. Luckily, my guests are taking photos of the space because they love how it looks and want to share their holiday experience with friends and family. Most often, they take pictures of my cats and sometimes share these with me.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Huma0, re Photographs and Privacy matters, Guests must be "respectful" of the fact it's our homes, as is our own personal being images and there are International laws in place and legal precedents providing for those legal rights to be adhered to.

 

Some parts of our homes are needed to rightfully be kept private and offline.

It's known some people keep that info offline for "personal safety and security" reasons.

 

Guests are not privy to, nor do they need to know all there Hosts private business, nor should they try to know or spread content online including photographs taken without their Hosts consent.

 

Information in relation to the taking of Photographs and recording of converstions etc ishould be included in Guest information, besides the blanket approach Airbnb have taken of local jurisdictions which some are not familiar with for whatever reason..

 

Whilst some may think it is there right to Instagram, Snapchat etc there are now ever increasing Laws worldwide that protect the wider community.

 

In New Zealand we have The Harmful Digital Communications Act which naturally is bound also by other laws, including Cross border legislation and Harassment Laws..cases of which are able to be read about online..

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

The way my place is built there is an outside staircase to the second floor, where my bedroom and the guest bedroom are, as well as a bathroom.The bathroom is between the 2 bedrooms, with a door on each end of the bathroom into the bedrooms.  I built this place from scratch, so designed it this way on purpose. When I don't have guests, I'll use the upstairs bathroom minimally- a shower before bed, a pee first thing in the morning. But I don't keep any of my bathroom stuff in there- I primarily use the downstairs bathroom. So making it the guests' private bathroom is super quick- All I have to remove is my hand and bath towel and clean the space. The doors lock from inside the bathroom, as is normal, so I lock the knob from the bathroom into my bedroom (guests could easily just walk into my bedroom, but I've had very respectful guests and there's nothing of great value in there anyway) , locking that door is more for myself, so I don't forget I have a guest when I'm half asleep and just walk in there.

So when guests arrive, I show them upstairs to their quarters, and their door opens onto the upstairs terrace (as does mine) and has a lock, there is a small seating area on that terrace, and I really am downstairs most of the day, I rarely go to my bedroom until ready for bed, so I think guests feel quite private up there. And there's a lovely jungley view from the terrace, and lots of birds who come sit in the trees, so many guests spend a lot of time up on the terrace with a book, writing in their journals, or drawing, doing yoga practice. 

They have use of the kitchen, which is downstairs, and the dining table is on the downstairs terrace, so when they're downstairs, we usually have nice chats, share coffee, maybe an occasional meal and often hours talking late into the night over a bottle of wine. My guests have related so many interesting things about what they do and have done, where they've traveled, told me about theor kids and families, etc. I live alone, and while I do cherish my alone time, and am quite busy, it's nice to have the company of guests as well.

I'm not an early riser, so guests are often up and out to town and the beach before I get up.

I've been really lucky- all my guests have been lovely and very respectful of the common spaces as well as keeping their room clean and tidy. 

While I only host single guests in that room, if I have friends or family come visit, and it's a couple, I'll give them my bedroom and sleep in the guest room, or if I'm doing a major clean in my own room, so I have certainly experienced staying in there myself. I actually love that room, so if I don't have any bookings, I'll sometimes keep sleeping in that room for a week or two. So I'm well aware if the ceiling could use a good vacuum or wipe down, if the ceiling fan needs dusting, or other things one might not notice if not lying in bed.

It's pretty laid back- I'll often tell guests to just leave their breakfast dishes, as I have a bunch of my own to wash, or they'll often do mine if they're washing theirs. In other words, I haven't had any guests who act like teenagers, most behave and feel like friends who've come to stay. 

As for the snorers- have had a few, and I apparently sometimes snore as well, although my ex told me it was a very low-key, ladylike snore 🙂 And even though there's a bathroom between my room and the guest room, I can still hear guests snore if they're loud. Earplug time. I often wear earplugs to bed anyway, as there is usually some construction project going on somewhere nearby that starts before I care to get up, cars going up and down the road, dogs barking, etc. and I'm a light sleeper.

Pip22
Level 2
Marseillan, France

This is such an interesting conversation, lots of really useful tips and guidance.  I’m new to this, only went live a couple of days ago, and have been wondering how to manage my calendar as I have two separate rooms - one double and one twin - which share a separate WC and a separate bathroom on the same floor of the house, but I cannot work out how to manage the booking page if only one of the two rooms is booked, which is what I am expecting to happen. Can anyone from AirBnB help me please?  I’ve put in the blurb that clients need to contact me to tell me which room they want, or both, but if I then put the booking on the calendar it will automatically block both rooms which is not ideal.  I’d like to be able to divide the calendar boxes in half or something, colour code them. Sorry, long post but can anyone help me please? Thanks.

@Pip22

You need 2 listings, one for each room if you want to book each room separately to different guests.

 

You could assign one bathroom to each of the rooms or have both as shared and in this case clarify they are shared with other guests (who will be in another guest room on the same floor).

Thank you for your reply, but as the account is linked to my email address if I alter it the whole page is changed, and I want it to be clear that you can have one or two rooms ... 

@Pip22

One account can have multiple listings. It seems you don't really understand how ABB works..... I have no idea what you mean about your email being linked and altering (what?) changes what whole page?

 

You can have listing A for the double room, listing B for the twin room, then listing C for both rooms, with the calendars for A and B linked to C.

 

This means if A is booked then B is still available but C is blocked. If C is booked then A and B will be blocked for those dates automatically. 

 

Or if you want to book only one guest group at a time with the option of one or two rooms depending on the total no. of guests you need to clarify this in your description. 

 

You should go to ABB help - read the info there to do a bit of homework to better understand how things work here 🙂