What started you on your hosting journey, and how has it lived up to your expectations?

[Alexandra316]

Good day all, 

I was reading the new Community Profile for Robin this month, and it made me think about the reasons we start to host, especially for those who host in our own homes. As these boards often document, our hosting journeys can be both rewarding and challenging, and I'm wondering what made people sign up for this. As a follow-up question, has the journey been what you expected, and do you see yourself continuing to do it long term?

For myself, my husband and I moved to the small town of Vineland, Ontario, Canada, which is in Niagara's wine country, a year and a half ago. We were moving from a small house in a bigger city, and we bought a house that was quite a bit larger than two people (and two large dogs) needed, as it turned out. We found that the lower level of the house got very little use. We had stayed in Airbnbs when we were travelling and really liked the concept, so I had the idea of giving it a try at our own home. I thought our underutilized lower level would make a nice space. It had previously been an apartment, and had a private bathroom, kitchenette, seperate entrance, and seperate heading system already. I started doing research on the market in our area, and found that most of the accomodations were on the higher end of the price range and had at least 2-day minimum stays. A lot of people come to our area for weddings (wine coutry=weddings) or just for day-long wine tours, and I thought people would appreciate less expensive place to stay where they could get away for a night or two. I was a little bit apprehensive: what would the guests be like? Neither of us are exactly what I would describe as  "people persons", as both more introverted, but we still thought it would be an adventure, so we got to work. 

We ended up opening September 1st, 2017, and we had our first booking within an hour. It was for a one-night stay at the end of the same week, and the guest was a famous person (at least famous in Canada) who was coming to Niagara to have dinner at a local restaurant. I spent the entire week biting my nails, and making sure everything was perfect. We also got a bunch more reservations that week for future dates, so it was sink or swim. Friday arrived, and so did the guests: I gave the tour of the flat without being too nervous, and left them to it. Everything with the stay went smoothly, and we had our second guest the very next day. It's been pretty much go, go, go ever since then. We haven't been booked solid, but we've had at least one reservation every week. 

As for being nervous about the guests, I have learned to get over it: our guests have consistently blown me away in terms of their kindness, honesty and respectfulness, and we have met some extremely interesting people. I think we've been lucky to have consistently great guests, and I hope it carries on. I would like to keep doing it as long as it's legal where we live. I do think that when we go on vacation in the winter, we'll probably snooze the listing so I can have a bit of a mental break though. 

[Suzanne302]

Thanks for this post! I'm a VERY new host, as my first guest will not even arrive until next weekend so I can't speak to how things have lived up to my expectations but I decided to host after my long-term roommate moved out.

I'm the only person in a 3-bedroom house and I live in a beach/tourist area so I figured it would be a great way to make use of an extra room and make a little bit of extra money. I was attracted to the flexibility of it as I can rent when I want to, and block off days I don't.

I am a little nervous about what to expect with guests, but based on experiences from two acquaintances  who also host private rooms in their home, they have put my mind at ease. I have poured through this forum on a daily basis and it has been a WEALTH of resources so I am looking forward to reading more responses!

[Alexandra316]

@Suzanne302Thanks for sharing! Your space is really cute, as are your dogs! I have two dogs also. What type of dog is your brindle? Your tripod is adorable. 

Yes, this forum has been a great resource for me also: it helps you to avoid the common pitfalls, and also is a valuable resource when things go wrong. There are a lot of great, helpful hosts here. 

[Suzanne302]

Thanks! Both of my dogs are rescues so my best guess is my brindle is some sort of terrier mix? I have no idea!

[Erin205]

We started hosting when Northern California was dealing with the horrific fires last fall. We opened our home for free to displaced and evacuated families. We had talked about hosting before, but never pulled the trigger. But with such a devastating event, it was so easy to open our home and offer whatever we could at that time. Then it has just kind of rolled into what it is now. 

We have had mostly great, interesting guests, and then some that just don't seem to get, or remember, they are in someone's home, which comes with some consideration and awareness. 

Much like you Alexandra, we have been booked pretty solid for the last 6 months or so, and are wrapping up hosting next week at least temporarily, and snoozing our listing. It has been great, though, as we are using our AirBnB funds to take us to Italy in a few weeks, and will help us take care of some house projects we have been wanting to do. So we will probably go back to it. 

[Alexandra316]

@Erin205Wow, that's a pretty amazing and compelling reason to start hosting. Good for you. 

That's a great use of hosting money. Enjoy Italy. 

[Tara134]

Hello!  I'm in my second week of reservations and out of the 6 bookings thus far, only one had a negative effect on me and was a definite learning lesson.  

I've always wanted to start my own B&B, so after looking at our guest room that only the cat seemed to use anymore, I started looking into shared space rentals.  We live in a large University town with lots of Ag business and knew there would be a good share of both work, vacation, and student business for the area.  Our town is not saturated (yet) with short term room and house rentals, so it was a good time to jump in the mix.  The flexibility of it appealed to me, also.

Of course, the main reason behind it was the extra cash; but I also hoped I would be able to provide a safe place for women and meet interesting people from all over.  I have a picture in the room that reads "Every family has a story.  Welcome to ours".  I try to have some social time with each of my guests to hear their story and I haven't been disappointed yet!  

My first guest was a Superhost and I spent that prior week primping the room and nervously reviewing everything.... for absolutely no reason.  She was a wonderful guest and gave me some great tips to improve the setup of my guestroom.  Now, like a seasoned pro ;), I flip the room, greet the new guest, and on we go.  My favorite guest thus far was a 72 yr old gentleman driving from Ohio to British Columbia to live for year.  He had some stories and was so nice.  

I don't know how long this will go, but I am excited to see what develops!  

[Alexandra316]

@Tara134It's great that you took your less than positive experience and used it to improve. 

The flexibility is definitely great. I wouldn't want to be a conventional landlord.

[Michael956]

I was seriously thinking about leaving the very expensive city I live in and love (San Francisco), but my best friend and owner of the house I live in came up with a solution.  He let me move up from the small garden studio to the empty four bedroom apartment (so rare to have an empty apartment in San Francisco!), and he suggested I open an Airbnb in it.  I rent two of the bedrooms on Airbnb, and will start renting a third next month (I have the 4th bedroom).  It's been an enormous amount of work as I do everything myself, and I had to teach myself how to properly and thoroughly clean, but it's been very rewarding.  My rooms are booked solid and I never have a day without guests, the money has been great, and I've had wonderful guests from around the world without a single bad experience.  Although I may groan occasionally when faced with having to clean the two guest rooms and get them ready for the next guests (and soon to be three rooms!), and then clean the two bathrooms, kitchen, living room and the long hallways, I feel a sense of satisfaction when it's done and I can look forward to an evening of sharing a glass of wine and  good conversation with my guests.  Hosting has really enhanced my social skills.  I'm normally a fairly shy and introverted person who likes a lot of "alone time", but I've found I had untapped conversational skills and I've had many magical moments when a group of well-educated and well-traveled guests are gathered in my kitchen and it feels like the perfect small cocktail party.  I always strive to keep hosting a creative experience by constantly adding new features, amenities, enhancing the house decorations, adding fresh flowers, trying new breakfast offerings, etc.  It's been a very rewarding experience and I see myself doing to for the next few years at least.  

[Alexandra316]

@Michael956I'd say that the never-ending cleaning is one of my challenges also, esepcially when I come home from work at the end of the day and do a turnover. As you say, definitely a learning curve there! Laundry is my nemesis. 

I've seen your posts and comments here before, but I've never looked at your listing. What a beautiful place you have. I absolutely love the decor and furnishings. 

It's really amazing the type of people you get to meet through Airbnb. So many interesting life stories. I've defintiely found the same thing, that it's helped me to improve my comfort in talking to people I don't know.  

[Michael956]

@Alexandra316  Thanks!  I need to update my photos as I've added tons more quirkly art pieces and plants since those were taken.  I'm about to start cleaning the house now as a new guest is arriving.  It's the bathrooms that are my nemisis.  I must enter them with a cloth and spray bottle of disinfectant 20 times a day.  Nobody likes walking into a bathroom that looks like it's just been used, so I've gotten compulsive about cleaning them.  

[Sarah977]

Oh, come on @Michael956, fess up. "Without a single bad experience". What about that guy you couldn't wait to leave? The one who helped himself to your food and did a load of laundry every day with a pair of socks in it? (I have a good memory). Sounds like you forgot about him the moment he walked out the door, which is great- the one crummy guest gets forgotten quickly among the hoards of wonderful ones.

[Michael956]

@Sarah977 LOL.  Yes, I remember them, but those transgressions seem so minor now.  Compared to some of the horror stories I've read, they were almost angels.  I imagine I'll get my "guest from hell" someday, but hopefully not soon. Your place looks lovely, by the way.  I lived in Mexico for about 10 years (Mexico City and Veracruz), and now I own a small house in Brazil.  I'd love to be an Airbnb host down there, but it's not in a town where any tourists go or in a neighborhood any tourist could find.  

[Huma0]

Since buying my cherished house, I have always shared it with others as my journalist's salary would never cover the mortgage + upkeep of a big, old house in London. I have had many housemates (long term lodgers staying from six months to over two years) and have lived with wonderful people who are still good friends, some okay people and some truly dreadful ones I wouldn't wish on anyone. Unfortunately, some people think because they pay rent, they can do ANYTHING they like in your home and I have certainly had some odd (sometimes criminal) goings-on in mine!

After a stretch of bad luck with lodgers, including a couple of real psychos, I decided I needed a bit of headspace from it and would give Airbnb a go in one of the rooms, but only temporarily... One room soon became two so now I only have one housemate instead of three. At one point, I had three rooms on the go inbetween housemates but I prefer the security of having at least one long-term person living with me, preferably male.

How has it gone? Well, it's been busier than I could have ever expected. I now actually really enjoy the rare occasions when one of the rooms isn't booked so I'm not so frantic. I have never done so much laundry in my whole life and have become very, very good at cleaning.

I've always been a sociable person and my job involves constantly meeting new people (even interviewing celebrities from time to time) so there's no room for shyness. However, you do occasionally get difficult guests. Most of the time it's just small annoyances, or the fact that they think they're staying in a hotel, but I just take a deep breath, put a smile on my face and carry on.

After all, these are the minority. Most guests have been lovely and I believe I have learnt a lot about different cultures even though I thought I was well travelled before! As I'm based very near the centre of London, most of my guests don't spend that much time in the house other than showering and sleeping, but it's been fun hanging out when they do.

It's better money than having long-term lodgers but way, way more work. Another upside is that my house is finally clean. I mean properly clean. That was never the case when it was full of lodgers, even though I had a professional cleaner.

Airbnb is really not for everyone though. An aquaintance recently asked me for advice on starting hosting but decided against it after I explained all the work that was involved. So, I lost out on a referral fee, but I didn't want her to find out the hard way that she was not ready for it!

[Alexandra316]

@Huma0LAUNDRY! Definitely my nemesis. We just started to contract a laundry service, and I'm already in love. The sheets even come ironed, which makes it so much easier to make perfect beds. 

It really is a lot of work, not just physically, but also mentally. There is so much to remember and do.