Oh dear, the youth of today...

[Huma0]

Ok, don't mean to be a middle aged moaner here, but I hear a lot of hosts on the forums complaining about clueless/entitled younger guests and especially about how young people have no attention span and don't read ANYTHING. I don't think this is strictly true. It is for some of my younger guests, whilst others have been a dream.

Still, this article made me laugh so I thought I would share it. Should make interesting reading, especially for any homeowners in London!

Confused kids dream of £50,000 properties

While I don't expect 11-14 year olds to know much about buying property (I certainly didn't at that age and my parents were in the property business!) I would think that 18-21 year olds should have a better idea. I do like though that a lot of them thought meeting the neighbours was more important than installing WiFi. That's quite sweet!

One thing I do want to add is that the only people I have met in the 18-21 age range who could even dream of affording a property in London (and whose parents weren't ludicrously rich) were self-made, professional Instagrammers. Yep, and they were getting to travel around the world and stay in 5 star hotels for free. So, while we can criticise kids for being obsessed with social media, having a low attention span and being ludicrously narcissistic with their 'selfie' culture, clearly some of them are not so clueless after all!

What do you think?

[Alexandra316]

Every time I hear people complaining about millennials, this song from Bye Bye Birdie comes to mind (written in 1960):

Kids!

I don't know what's wrong with these kids today!
Kids!
Who can understand anything they say?
Kids!
They a disobedient, disrespectful oafs!
Noisy, crazy, dirty, lazy, loafers!
While we're on the subject:
Kids!
You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids!
But they still just do what they want to do!
Why can't they be like we were,
Perfect in every way?
What's the matter with kids today?
Kids!
I've tried to raise him the best I could
Kids! Kids!
Laughing, singing, dancing, grinning, morons!
And while we're on the subject!
Kids! They are just impossible to control!
Kids! With their awful clothes and their rock an' roll!
Why can't they dance like we did
What's wrong with Sammy Caine?
What's the matter with kids today!

I've had no more issues with younger people than with any other age group. Lots of people don't read. It made me laugh when a forty something couple told me they wouldnt be any trouble the other week because of their age... I have lots of friends in their 40s/50s/60s who still get up to shenanigans. 

[Huma0]

@Alexandra316

I guess every generation has issues with the one that comes after it and vice versa.

My 26 year old housemate takes great exception to the term 'millenial'. In fact, it makes him really angry that people should perceive him as entitled just because of his age.

Looks like we've all been pigeonholed in some way though. I am apparently Generation X, but I don't even know what that means. I remember people referring to my generation as that when I was young, but I can't remember what the traits were supposed to be except that we listened to Grunge music and wore a lot of black!

And what on earth is a Xennial??!

In case anyone is wondering what they are, here's a basic breakdown (by birth year):

1946-64: Baby Boomers

1965-79: Generation X (Baby Bust)

1975-85: Xennials

1980-94: Generation Y/Millenials/Gen Next

[Alexandra316]

@Huma0I'm technically a Millenial and I don't like the label either, mostly because it's usually prefaced by "lazy" or "entitled" :-).  Also just generally not a fan of labels: so many crappy stereotypes for both of our generations. 

[Huma0]

@Alexandra316

Ha, ha! How true. Last night I was at my brother's very grown up drinks party with a bunch of 40 somethings (and some 50 and 60 somethings). Some were very drunk indeed and it was actually the oldest guest (charming guy, maybe in his 70s) who did the most damage splashing his drinks all over the walls!

The best behaved guests I had recently were a French couple who were only 19 years old. They were SOOOOOO considerate.

[Alexandra316]

@Huma0LOL re: your party experience. One of the biggest party animals I know is 72, and he's amazing: love him. 

I have had similar experiences: I've had some really lovely younger guests. A point in the favour of millenials is that they are (generally) more familiar with the sharing economy than the older folks may be. 

[Huma0]

@Alexandra316 

I think that's true re the older folks. I have had a few guests older than me (I'm 44), but not many. The older guests were mostly great and I'd be happy to host more of them, but I get the feeling that not so many people in the 50+ age group use Airbnb as guests.

I turn down any guests under 18. To be fair, I was travelling without my parents as young as 15 and pretty well behaved anywhere I stayed, but I just don't want to be reponsible for minors in my home. We have enough potential hassles to deal with as hosts without adding that to the mix!

Still, the 18-29 age group makes up the vast majority of my guests and I would be out of business if I turned them away. I don't want to get in trouble by indicating any kind of discrimination, but to be honest, cultural differences have had far more impact to my hosting experiences than age.

My next door neighbour is exactly the same age as me, but I get on far better with her 70-something year old mum. At the same time, I am happy spending the evening chatting with an 18 year old if they are bright and well brought up.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Huma0

Interesting and fun read!! Thanks for sharing~~

In Korea we're seeing a "car-poor" phenomenon in the younger generation their 20s or early 30s who buy an expensive import car they can't afford and nearly go broke trying to keep the car. They live in dumpy basement homes with no parking and can barely keep up with rent and utilities $1000/month but they drive around in cars upwards of $50K and also  like luxury brand items so they live off instant noodles or always go around begging for meals so they can get enough money to buy a $2000 wallet but they never have money to pay for parking.

If kids are thinking their parents will pay and buy them a house when they turn 20, IMO its really the parents' fault. Kids are entitled because that's how they were raised. 

At work, I see young employees who earn half of what I make but spend $15~20 per day on lunch and another $4~6 on coffee every day without batting an eye. They have better, pricier cars than mine and easily spend upwards of $2000 on a 5 day vacation at a luxury resort. And they complain they never have enough money. I'm thinking duh~~~~ but I just smile and say nothing. 

House prices in Seoul are pretty high too.... not like London but still quite high considering what the median income is. Henry and I thought about dropping everything and going to London once about 7~8yrs ago before London house prices skyrocked. We should have trusted our gut.

[Huma0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 

That's very interesting. I wonder if this is such a new thing though. When I was still in my 20s, it was all about mobile phones, which were relatively new, or at least to the masses. Young people were more concerned with having the latest, flashiest phone, regardless of their income and back then, you did not get a top notch phone included in your contract. It cost lots and lots of money.

Even when I lived in South Africa in the 1990s, there were young people who lived in slums (townships) with barely a roof over their heads, but they would still have an expensive phone.

I think you are right re the spending habits today though. It seems normal for a lot of people to spend too much on expensive lunches and coffees, holidays etc. but have no money for their rent.

A few years ago, I had a young housemate who earned good money. However, she hated her job in banking and really wanted to do something more creative. I suggested if she saved some of her income, she would then be able afford to take a few months out to study and try out other career avenues. However, she couldn't seem to help blowing every penny on designer shoes and bags several times a month (each one costing more than a month's rent). At the same time, she would quibble over £5 worth of bills. 

I guess it all comes down to priorities. Part of the problem here is that property in London is so expensive that a lot of young people I know feel like they will never be able to buy a home, so why bother? Might as well have a nice holiday instead.

[Alexandra316]

@Huma0I totally agree that some younger people just give up on the idea of property ownership because no amount of scrimping or saving is going to get them there, so why bother? I live in an area of Canada where property is very expensive, and if I hadn't bought a house when I was very young when things weren't so ridiculosly expensive, there is no way I'd be able to afford a house now.  I liked this article in the Guardian about it: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/08/afford-flat-stop-buying-avocado-toast-spending .

[Sarah977]

@Huma0, interesting topic to bring up.

I can tell you that of the 17 guests I have had, I only had issues with 2- the same issue. These girls (not the same booking) were 21 and 29 years of age. Both had plans to meet up with boyfriends who also happened to be in town, never mentioned this, and both brought those boyfriends back to their room in the middle of the night. When I told them the following morning that this was definitely not acceptable, one looked crestfallen and asked if he could please stay as well, the other apologized with the lame excuse "Oh you know how these things just happen, love and all", then said she'd like him to stay with her and offered to pay more.

A lot of young people these days seem to be entirely self-absorbed and have an attitude of entitlement. They have grown up in the age of fast communication, instant gratification, "branding", endless selfies, and reality TV, which gives the impression that everyone can be a star, regardless whether they have any talent or particular skill outside of self-promotion.

I property manage a small house in my town, which is rented out on long-term lease, as opposed to vacation rental, in addition to my own in-home hosting. At one point this house came up for rent, and I offered it first to my 35 year old daughter, who was looking for a place. One of the first questions she asked was- "So will it be alright if I list it on airbnb for the weekends and go sleep on a friend's couch?" I was pretty shocked, said, "Of course not, it's not your house". She got offended, questioning me as to why, and implying that I was being unreasonable (the owners only want long-term responsible tenants) and denying her a right she felt she was entitled to.

I can assure you I didn't raise her to think like this and her 2 older sisters would never act so entitled.

Think of the marketing words these days- Iphone, Ipad, Ishop, "personal size" bar of soap.  These product names and descriptions are designed to play into a "me" culture and appeal to one's sense of personal importance.

I have no idea what the solution to this is, except to try to explain to these young folks when the opportunity arises, why "me first" does not make for a well-functioning society.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977

I think you are right about the 'me' culture and it's a valid point you bring up about the 'I' branding.

I've not had the particular problem you mention re guests bringing boyfriends (or girlfriends) home. I had one guest ask me if that would be okay (he was 30) and I said ABSOLUTELY not.

Housemates, on the other hand, I have had all sorts of hellish experiences with. If someone is long-term renting, I don't mind them bringing boyfriends/girlfriends/guests home. However, I do mind when they think they can sub-let their room when they are on holiday! 

Of course, you were right to say no to your daughter in this circumstance and I can understand why her attitude baffled you. I do think often when young people are renting they think that they can do whatever they like in the property. They do not understand that they do not OWN it and what the difference is. Lucikly, in my experience so far, most (though not all) Airbnb guests don't have the same sense of entitlement.

[Sarah977]

@Huma0, BTW, perfect choice of photo for this topic!

[Marzena4]

@Huma0 It seems to me that after all it's nurture that matters and home training, not age. While hosting I've met a lot of guests of different ages, ethnic backgrounds and walks of life. Because of my profession I meet a lot of people from teenagers to people of my age (I'm just a bit older than you). And while I can see how millenials and Generation Z differ from myself, I've met a lot of younger people with whom I just get on like my peers. And my peers who seem older than myself. Quite a puzzle. I would say that ethnic background really matters a lot. Not possible to blur the borders.

[Sarah977]

I do agree that culture can make a huge difference. While I mentioned the 2 young girls who took advantage, I've also had wonderful, respectful young guests.

To be fair, a lot of millenials grew up in a time of permissive parenting. Both parents working full time outside the home (a necessity these days for most), not a lot of oversight or instilling of values. Buying them things instead of spending time with them. Parents either too exhausted or distracted, or seeing parenting as being your child's friend, rather than guidance counselor and lifecoach. Allowing the kids to be on their devices all the time, rather than demanding that they interact personally and participate in family time.

I figure a lot of the guests who think house rules are something they can bend or ignore or not bother to read are those who were able to cajole their folks from an "Absolutely not" to an "Oh, (sigh) ok". Or whose parents played good cop/bad cop, rather than presenting a united front ( "But dad said I could go, you're so mean, I hate you!")

There are many countries where a child would never think of arguing with their parents or talking back, or texting on their phone during dinner, it would be considered shocking and unacceptable behavior in their society.