How do you ensure guests feel welcome and promote inclusivity?

[Stephanie]

Superhost, Juliette

Hello everyone,

We know many hosts go to incredible lengths to ensure you foster inclusivity in your home and that every guest feels accepted and welcome. Often this starts from the moment your guest reads your listing description, right through to when they checkout. Juliette, a Superhost in Kenya, has shared some of her own tips and experiences in this recent Resource Center article.*

What do you do to ensure people from across the world feel welcome and promote inclusivity? Perhaps you make sure you communicate with your guests regularly before and during their stay or spend a lot of time on your listing description to ensure that your guests know clearly what to expect when they arrive.

Looking forward to hearing your personal tips and experiences. 

Thanks,

Stephanie

*Link added March 8th

[Amina56]

I can prepare some cakes for the group of my travelers, let all the necessary in the bathroom as champs,shawrgel... or for the kitchen also , it's essentiol for everybody ... 

[Jason1470]

Hi @Stephanie ,

Well well, this topic on inclusivity has certainly created quite a lively discussion, hasn't it? It appears that many hosts have a negative connotation to the term 'ínclusivity' and that it somehow implies that guests are being marginalised or treated without any regard to social decorum by hosts who haven't 'thought this through'...Fair point and it's an understandable sentiment.

However, I tend to think of this question as a way to compare the ABB experience with the erstwhile options which were available to travellers - hotels, lodges, resorts, etc.

As a guest (I seem to be the only one active in the community ;-)), ABB offers me what no other vacation-stay options can offer - the ability to create a social connection.

And 'inclusivity' in this context for me means the opportunity for a guest and a  host to connect: to learn where the other hails from; to understand what makes them different; and to get a glimpse into their culture. Making a guest feel welcome or inclusive is not all about offering the most comfortable stay, a spotless house, top-notch amenities or a well-stocked pantry, although all of these all essential to a memorable experience. It's even not about meet-and-greet upon arrival or a well-thought-out ' activity and local attraction' folder neatly placed in the guest room.

For me, it's often the simplest of acts by the hosts or their genuine efforts to reach out to guests that I rate as extraordinary.

I can speak from my own personal experiences and have two contrasting examples that could probably explain my interpretation better:

At one host's place, we had booked one guest room in a fairly compact unit and shared the kitchen and common spaces with her. The unit was well maintained, amply stocked, and conveniently placed. The hostess was responsive and accommodating and we enjoyed every minute of our stay in this place.

Our very next ABB stay was in a large house hosted by one of the most vivacious person we ever met. On this occasion as well, we had one room to ourselves whilst we shared the kitchen and common spaces with the hostess. It so happened that on day two of our stay, our hostess decided to organise a barbecue party for us as an introduction to Australian culture. We were newly arrived migrants from India, and were genuinely grateful for someone to have gone to such great lengths to make our stay special and to give us a glimpse into their own culture. It was a low-key event with just us, the hostess, her sister, and her partner, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable evenings as swapped stories about our lives and our travels all night.

I rated both of the hosts a solid 5 stars on all counts, but you can very well guess which one of the experiences I will cherish the most!

As a guest, I've only had good experiences on ABB but there are just a handful of those which we rate as extra special not for the place itself, but for the hosts who touched our hearts with a meaningful gesture or a thoughtful act, or in other words made us feel more 'inclusive' than others.

Throw a shrimp on the barbie mate!Do we look like hosts and guest who only just met?

[Jason1470]

Hi @Stephanie ,

Well well, this topic on inclusivity has certainly created quite a lively discussion, hasn't it? It appears that many hosts have a negative connotation to the term 'ínclusivity', and that it somehow implies that guests are being marginalised or treated without any regard to social decorum by hosts who haven't 'thought this through'...Fair point and an understandable sentiment.

However, I tend to think of this question as a way to compare the ABB experience with the erstwhile options which were available to travellers - hotels, lodges, resorts, etc.

As a guest (I seem to be the only one active in the community ;-)), ABB offers me what no other vacation-stay options can offer - social connection. And 'inclusivity' in this context means the opportunity for a guest and host to connect: to learn where the other hails from; to understand what makes them different and to get a glimpse into their culture. Making a guest feel welcome or inclusive is not all about offering the most comfortable stay, a spotless house, top-notch amenities, or a well-stocked pantry, although all of these all essential to a memorable experience. It's even not about meet-and-greet upon arrival or a well-thought-out' activity and local attraction' folder neatly placed in the guest room.

For me, it's often the simplest of acts by the hosts or their genuine efforts to reach out to guests that I rate as extraordinary.

I can speak from my own personal experiences and have two contrasting examples that could probably explain my interpretation better:

At one host's place, we had booked a guest room in a fairly compact unit and shared the kitchen and common spaces with her. The unit was well maintained, amply stocked, and conveniently placed. The hostess was responsive and accommodating and we enjoyed every minute of our stay in this place.

Our very next ABB stay was in a large house hosted by one of the most vivacious persons we ever met. On this occasion as well, we had one room to ourselves whilst we shared the kitchen and common spaces with the hostess. It so happened that on day two of our stay, our hostess decides to organise a barbecue party for us as an introduction to Australian culture. We were newly arrived migrants from India, and were genuinely grateful for someone to have gone to such great lengths to make our stay special and to give us a glimpse into their own culture.
It was a low-key event with just us, the hostess, her sister, and her partner, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable evenings as we swapped stories about our lives and our travels.

I rated both of the hosts a solid 5 stars on all counts, but you can very well guess which one of the experiences I will cherish the most!

As a guest, I've only had good experiences on ABB but there are just a handful of those which we rate as extra special not for the place itself, but for the hosts who touched our hearts with a meaningful gesture or a thoughtful act.

Do we look like hosts and guest who only just met?Throw a shrimp on the barbie mate!

[Jue0]

Great! Thank YOU for sharing...yes those personal small touches make the most memorable moments for a long time! I totally relate and do surprise my guests now and then. As a guest i have enjoyed this too. With the result being we get new lifetime global friendships...this is indeed Inclusivity😍

[Fred13]

   Good post @Jason1470 . I am not into trendy modern-day phrases or labels, I never got or lost the memo; but one thing definitely I am into is engaging with people on a one-to-one basis. Jeesh, if they are kind enough to book my place and in turn make my life that much economically better, is the least I can do.

    So nowadays I take the time with connecting with people to talk about what we have in common, which of course is always a lot and do not pursue further  subjects we don't, which in the grand scheme of things, in all likelihood, they are really not that important. 

   I don't care who is from where, what they do, they look like - they all have a life story and they are all interesting.

[Jason1470]

Hi @Fred13 ,

Well said! I loved the last paragraph...we all do indeed have a story to tell and no story is ever boring!

‘Inclusiveness’ is a two way street and the host and guest - if their frequencies match - can enrich each other’s lives by the brief encounters. It’s absolutely fine if this doesn’t occur as well; but with a platform like ABB, if we wish and are so inclined then we all stand the chance to make life long friends from around the world and have memorable experiences to cherish forever.

[Sarah977]

@Jason1470  Thanks for posting that. I love to hear guests talk about their positive experiences.

I also have a lot of interaction with many of my home-share guests, and because I'm single, and only host solo travelers, we'll often do things together.

I've taken them for a beach day to beaches they wouldn't able to get to without a car and would never know about as tourists, walked around downtown with them their first night here, pointing out my favorite little hole in the wall restaurants and shops, invited them to come along to a party or dinner with friends.

I really enjoy doing this. Some guests are more private, or have all kinds of activities planned for themselves, so it doesn't happen with all guests, but I'd say with at least half.

My very first guest was a super vivacious gal who I invited along her second day to a beach day with a bunch of gal pals. She ended up being the life of the party, and had everyone laughing at her funny take on things.

[Jason1470]

Hi @Sarah977 

Hi @Sarah

You seem to be my type of a host ;-). I’ve had similar experiences of locals taking me to undisclosed spots whilst travelling and I've always found such outings truly rewarding.

I’ve always lived my life with a large latitude and my travels have been no different, although, my style has changed a bit with my wife and two kids in tow. I’ve often spent days on end at a given destination to soak in the essence of the place: to discover the local hangouts and to experience the unedited version of the region’s culture.

Let’s be frank, the most exhilarating of travel spots lie concealed between the popular tourist attractions which are often overhyped or overcrowded anyways; and the only way of getting there is to befriend a local or in this case an ABB host 😉

Travel is not just about taking of photos or collecting of souvenirs; while one fades away the other gathers dust eventually. 

The true essence of travel lies secretly hidden in-between the advertised tourist attractions; it cannot truly be transmitted to someone else afterwards as a story or a Insta photo (although it may compel others to visit the place); it is felt by the traveller alone and the emotions that the local interactions evoke last a lifetime.

That’s the difference between a tourist and a traveller and it’s the one great benefit of being a part of the ABB community - to be able to forge such incredible bonds with complete strangers and to realise in fact that although we are each so unique and  so vastly different; yet ironically we share common interests, we often feel the same feelings and we all crave for companionship and the chance to grow as a person.

[Jue0]

Sarah977 This is awesome...Memories are truly made Airbnb Love...

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Stephanie 

My idea on this topic is that we are discussing the very essence of Hospitality. 

My goal as a host is to do my best to assist my guests in accomplishing  their goals for their visit.

My home is unique, its location unique, this is a Destination, in and of itself. Guests are not just passing through on the way somewhere. This provides a lot of opportunity for me as a host - in my home - to  take cues from my guests. Some are verbal, others more subtle. 

Hospitality goes beyond a financial transaction. It is love. 

[Jue0]

Exactly! Hospitality goes way beyond! Thank your for sharing @Kitty-and-Creek0