Make the most of every day

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

Make the most of every day

I got a photo of my youngest grand daughter Ivy this afternoon, and it rather shocked me as to how time is getting away from me.

 

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It was only 3 years ago and we held her as a baby....

 

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Older grand daughter Madison is the most wonderful creation. She is on the spectrum, is Autistic and after year two she probably won't be able to continue mainstream schooling! But my God she is going to be a great musician. At nearly 7 she is playing the piano and the guitar.

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I had missed spending more time with her!

That current photo of Ivy has made me realise how much we miss out on in life because we are all the time chasing something we really don't need to chase.

 

I have enjoyed having a break from hosting, being able to spend time reminiscing and talking with my kids, my neighbours and my friends. 

Hosting does sort of take over your life, we are all the time preoccupied with that next guest! In a way I hope I don't slip back into the way I was last year. I need to devote more time to Ade and the kids.....

But Airbnb is relentless! I lost all my bookings of course back at the end of March and start of April, but things are okay here now....the virus has gone so I opened up my booking calendar again on Wed 6th May thinking I may a guest or two per month until the world gets back to normal. From empty calendar we went to this........

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And there you go, we are straight back into it again.....13 bookings in two weeks. 

People naturally want to get away from home, experience something new and it looks like, as we come out of the social distancing thing, we as hosts are going to have a lot of business on our hands. Most of my new bookings are locals who just want a night or two away from their house....they want to start living again.

This cloud does have a silver lining, I just hope I can get the balance right this time around....and get to hug those gorgeous grand kids a bit more.

 

Cheers.......Rob

 

16 Replies 16
Ian-And-Anne-Marie0
Level 10
Kendal, United Kingdom

@Robin4 

Lovely as grandchildren are, you do need to be careful posting family photos on forums from a security risk point of view..

 

How do you find those HomeAway bookings Rob, since they've been taken over by Expedia? Any tips on increasing reservations from there, and do they allow hosts to retain control over their booking deposit and cancellation policy?

 

You do realise that many hosts in many parts of the world have had no bookings for March, April and May, are still being hit with cancellations for June, July, August and beyond, and won't see any signs of a recovery for some time to come, so your post may leave a sour taste to them, IMO.

 

 

Bah Humbug! @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 !

 

I enjoy reading that @Robin4 's hosting is back to normal, I'm pleased for him, it's a note to self to do the tidying & painting that is long overdue so I'M ready to host one  day again, and a reminder to enjoy this leisure time, rather than glueing myself to the telly, waiting for Boris to say accommodation may accommodate once more!

 

And it's an encouragement, that just as South Australians want to get away for a break, so will Brits, once allowed to!  - Granted, some will hide away at home, but many will travel - like the ones we discussed earlier on another thread (Donald's) who already are trying to circumvent the rules to go on holiday! 🙂

@Helen350 

..do the tidying & painting that is long overdue...  glueing myself to the telly,

 

People would pay well to see those. You could sign yourself up to Experiences with them!

 

I know, sorry, it just came out. Too many hosts in desperate situations. Scrooge. Apt!

LOL again @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 !

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

Ian, I should have thought a bit more about that, I don't want to appear to be 'gloating' with regard to others hosting situations. My pre-occupation was in trying to say, for many sooner rather than later restrictions will be lifted, life will gain some degree of normality and when that does it will be like releasing the cork from the bottle.....people will just want to get away from their own environment for a bit. 

 

Rather than make any further public comment about my hosting I will keep future comments to a DM message stream.

That way hopefully others won't be offended!

Cheers.....Rob

@Robin4 

Easily done Rob.

 

Meanwhile check this out:

http://www.comec.org/digital-kidnapping/

@Robin4 

Agree about enjoying the break from hosting and spending more time with family :-)) 

Henry and I aren't in a hurry to get back to hosting..... all things considered we've already firmly decided we won't be hosting this year and we're undecided about next year. 

 

Henry really likes having the kitchen all to himself~ 

 

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And we both agree that WE want to be the ones travelling..... once travel restrictions are lifted~

@Jessica-and-Henry0 , I am happy and sad at the same time for you, ypou know your going to miss it!!!!!.  Before I was a host, I didnt think like one in many ways, now that we have done it for 4 years, it seems like its part of us.  When things went quiet, we the place seems too empty!  But, it has been very nice to go hog-wild on projects and touchups that we would have had to tap dance around to get done has been excellent.  Its also been nice to be more impromptu about what were doing, just isnt allot to go out and do at the moment!   I am glad Henry is getting a chance to enjoy doing something he is so obviously great at doing without spectators or competing for his own space and you get the pleasure of enjoying it fresh off the heat without having to wait for a table at a restaurant or even tip the waiter!!!!  I guess you could do without guests for a little while.... Ha ha!  Stay well, JR

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Can you please stop posting photos of Henry's culinary creations- it makes me so jealous and hungry 🙂

Melodie-And-John0
Level 10
Munnsville, NY

@Robin4 , Rob, she is precious!  So nice to hear the great news about guests returning!  Stay well, JR

Cathie19
Level 10
Darwin, Australia

Well @Robin4 , there’s one sure way to NOT go back to the hectic Airbnb days, and to find a balance with your new found free time: change your calendar settings! Lol

Block more days, or like me, have your calendar “closed”/“blocked” as my default setting.

This way, we get to choose how many bookings and when.....

 

With our borders still closed, only locals could make use of our space if we open the calendar. Currently my July bookings are from interstate and are at this stage, all not possible. No flights no entry!

 

That being said, we have external tiles removed outside our pool area, waiting on a “NT home improvement trade incentive scheme”  to be accepted. We have the tiler, just can’t go ahead with it, so the space is in a hiatus! 

 

On the upside, so many households applied, for it across the fortnight the scheme was open, that there is a huge delay processing and approving them! This was to subsidise and keep tradies and the economy busy during Covid19. 

 

 Our next door neighbours are getting house extensions, so that will probably close my calendar for the short tourist season 2020, due to prolonged noise. So everything is on hold...... not sure it’s worth opening to a lower price, further subsidised by construction.

Just too close, too noisy =  bad reviews! 

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@Robin4 i am with you, but you should not post baby pictures in a public forum. on the other hand I know you don't give it a s*** and  I agree with you LOL

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@David6824 

David the only public site I put personal photos up on from, time to time is here on the CC.

I have a strong feeling anyone who uses this site is an Airbnb member and the fact that they are here indicates they have a commitment to Airbnb and other Airbnb users.

There is no way I would ever post those sort of photos on Facebook or Instagram. I think we are a bit better than that here!

 

Cheers.......Rob

My left hand always telling me doesn't trust my right one  @Robin4 .

Do not post of your grand babies pics unless on FB  and just strictly with your relatives.

gotcha?