Hosting when you are under the weather?

[Laura2592]

I have had a fantastically bad case of the flu for the past two weeks and not even been able to set foot on our property to get it ready for guests. At one point our cleaner came down with the same thing and my poor husband had to do all the turnover solo. I got to thinking about how difficult this must be for a home share host. We don't live on our property and its bad enough. I can't imagine how you would manage with a guest if you were bed ridden with piles of tissue and a fever. So how do you manage when you are really ill? What back up plans do you have in place? If you are a home share host, do you still try to interact or do you remove yourself for the guest's health? If you have had to do this, has it had an impact on reviews?

[Kath9]

@Laura2592 good question! Thankfully, I almost never get sick, but I did put my back out once and had to get my son to come over and make up the guest bed. Try explaining to a 21 year old boy how to fold neat sheet corners. We inevitably ended up arguing. Anyway, I explained to the guests that they wouldn't be seeing much of me and spent the whole time in bed. I guess I would do the same if I was sick - just stay well out of the way. And maybe tell them up front and offer a full refund if they want to cancel.

[Sarah977]

@Kath9  A friend who hosts a private suite in her home has her 21 year old son trained to help her or even flip the Airbnb himself, as she works long hours. She says he often spots things she's missed, like a hair stuck to the shower wall, or some dust in the corner of the bookshelf, because his eyes are young and sharp and her's aren't. 

[Beth80]

@Laura2592 . I home share and provide breakfast. The only time I've been really sick,  thankfully I didn't have to do a room flip. My husband was able to do a very simple breakfast and I stayed in bed. But, I have to say it's one of my nightmares!

[Lawrene0]

Same here, @Beth80 . Once when I had a blinding migraine, my husband did a simple breakfast. It was a girls weekend for three retirees.

How they gushed over that toast and coffee! Went right to his head, and got me five stars. 

But, @Laura2592 , I have no plan in place for 14-day flu. (You poor thing!) I guess I would have to cancel. 

Nightmare indeed.

[Paul154]

Money solves many problems. 

I am prepared to and have bribed my housekeeper and my past housekeeper. Offer taxi ride for the housekeeper....  

Also, I'm prepared kick back the cleaning fee, if the guest would accept minimal cleaning. .

I'm also prepared to just cancel.  

Our health is more important than worrying about money.

[Robin4]

@Beth80  @Sarah977  @Lawrene0  @Laura2592  @Kath9  @Stephanie

I have a (not so tightly kept) secret to divulge.....I do my best hosting when I am under the weather!

I have a great wine cellar, and many nights with guests are spent over a bottle or two, maybe even three or four............! I have had nights where I can't remember if I had a shower or not before getting into bed!!!

But, jeez, they were (and are) great nights. It's not for everyone but, I am a host, I don't just want to give them the key, I want to enjoy their company too!

I get far more out of these experiences than what it costs me, and the guests like it too.

You have no idea what goes on in my man cave some nights.....it's all above board, no shady stuff.....

I had a Japanese woman in her late 60's stay here one night, and she was, hands down,  the best jazz pianist I have ever heard! There were 5 of us around the piano that night, God only knows how much wine we drank, but, it is one of those nights that is sitting front and centre of my brain for ever more!

I will never forget that night.

And let me tell you, at the end of it I was well and truly.....under the weather!!

Cheers......Rob

[Jody79]

@Robin4 Hi Robin, I know this is a bit off topic and I'm relatively new to the hosting community, but it's great to see you back!  I love reading your posts, even if I don't comment much on them! 🙂

[Robin4]

@Jody79 

Thanks for those nice comments Jody, I think there is an bit of egotist in all of us, we all like to be accepted and patted on the back now and then. For good or bad, I will never disappear from the CC entirely. I will take breaks from it every now and then, particularly when the trends of comments are all doom and gloom.....as in the aftermath of the Orinda Halloween events. 

My life is fuller than it has ever been and I do have to allocate where my time is spent....each day between 7.00 am and 1.00 am the next morning, I have to spread myself around, not just with hosting but looking after Ade who is all the time deteriorating, and things I do across a couple of other social media sites.

Also, I am trying to get a new invention off the ground....stupid thing to try to do at my time of life but, if I can get this tied up it will make life easier for a lot of people, and apart from any financial reward, that will make me feel great.....give me a sense of achievement!

Thanks Jody......see ya!

Cheers......Rob

[Emily487]

@Laura2592 

If I were the kind of person to say "I'm blessed" this is where I would probably say it. But I'm not that kind of person. So I will just say that I'm SO lucky that the long term tenant upstairs is a housekeeper with three or four dedicated homes that she cleans. I just text her the dates I need her to cover and she walks down one flight of stairs and cleans the AirBnB for me. She even uses her own cleaning supplies so I don't have to open the locked cabinet for her. She then sends a PayPal request to the owner and she gets the cleaning fee instead of me.

[Paul154]

@Emily487 

I am jealous of your system. You're a good business person.

This is why Airbnb is a great engine for our economy. It helps housekeepers make good money.