Who is your ideal guest?

[Inna22]

I am pretty sure mine is completely different from most and would love to see if anyone also like the unexpected type.

Mine is a younger group (30s) that have come together for 2-4 day stay.  They are usually self-contained, easy going and friendly.

-shorter stays allow me to keep the cleaning crew busy and therefore devoted to me

-younger groups are self-contained and are busy with each other the whole day. They have no time to look for something to be wrong with my place

-they paid for it together, so not one person who coughed up a large some and now wants to get every single penny worth but bargaining or complaining

-30s will no longer look to throw a rager but still young enough to be easy going

-they are not overly particular and do not ask a lot of questions. They do not care about exact measurements of pillow cases, precise number of steps to front door, list of TV channels or other crazy questions we sometimes get

-they are old enough to take of little things themselves (current 20 year olds sometimes cannot even input a door code) but young enough to be grateful for little extras and to google their own way through town

-they are flexible and do not come in with a set of expectations other than to be able to have a good time in the city

[Huma0]

@Inna22

I am not sure if I have a preferred age group. I have hosted many guests in their late teens and twenties, as well as quite a few older guests from their forties to sixties, but I think you are perhaps right that 30-somethings tend to generally be quite easy guests. However, I have often found that solo male travellers in their 30s can be more demanding than most and female travellers in their late 40s to 50s the most picky and critical!

I would say in general that my favourite guests overall have been the long-term ones (from one month to four month stays so far). I've always got on with them really well (some are still friends and have come back to visit), found them respectful and just enjoyable to be around, clean and tidy in communal spaces (but not always in their own rooms!). Age wise, there's no pattern with my long-termers. They have ranged from 18 years old to late forties.

[Kelly149]

@Inna0 what an interesting question!!

My ideal group is ready to explore, with a plan. They appreciate the space and the uniqueness of the space. They're glad to have a cozy place to begin and end each day but they're out and about enjoying all the fun food and activities that Austin offers. And they have at least one mom in the group. Stereotypical but with a mom in residence the lights get turned off, the small extras we add are appreciated and the place is just overall tidier.

[Victoria567]

@Inna0

My favourite guests are the guests who are surprised at what our beautiful area here in Speyside and the North East of Scotland has to offer, other than Whisky( which is their usual reason for visiting) and wish they were staying in the area longer than 2 nights, but can’t as they’ve pre planned their advance travel route, usually to Inverness, Skye or Edinburgh.

Our area has castles, Highland Games, walking/hiking routes, outdoor activities ,biking trails, coastlines, fishing, golf galore and The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival which is a week long extravaganza the first week in May.

The Scottish tourist board is focusing on Inverness and the Island of Skye and the Route 500 around the West Coast of Scotland, as well as the city of Edinburgh ( well it IS fabulous any time of the year)

My favourite ones are those who appreciate my culinary skills too....I’m prone to a bit of flattery in my old age😉

[Grace329]

My favorite guests are couples, they mostly are busy with each other and just want to enjoy the quietness of our place.

I have had little problems with families who bring young kids- Cleanliness and breaking things!

[Rachel0]

@Inna22 What an interesting topic.  I've been hosting since January 2015 and have 248 reviews so have had a lot of guests in that time, the youngest being 12 and the oldest 79.

I get such a wide variety and have had guests from every continent but my favourites tend to be couples of any age who want to go out and explore London and keep each other entertained while they are here.  I'm always happy to chat over a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits but I don't want to do that all day, so the more they are out and about the better.  I suppose I prefer slightly older couples as I am 68 now and I find that we have more in common, but I am not fussy about age.  My current guest is a single Chinese lady aged 26 who is great!  If I had to chose out of all my guests my best ever would be the two couples I have hosted from New Zealand, both in their early sixties - one couple this summer, and one couple last summer - who were sheer perfection.  Friendly without being over familiar, communicative, independent and appreciative - both couples were here for 9 nights and I missed them when they left.  

[Lawrene0]

I get the hiker crowd, @Inna22, and my ideal guest age range varies, but I have found my 18 to 24s to be an extremely careful and considerate group who are grateful for every little thing and generous with stars. Love them to pieces. Older is great, too, and I agree that the 30+s are generally better at knowing how things work. 

In this vein (not age, but ideal guest), I have changed the focus of my listing summary from what we provide to our guests to what we expect of our guests. So I have been thinking the way you have lately - emphasis on the positive and appealing to the demographic that works here.

We'll see how it goes. Thanks for bringing this up!

[Letti0]

I think my best groups include a mom and a grandmother. They control the children and keep the place clean. They appreciate the extra's we offer more so then groups or couples without children. We basically cater to families with children and it's suprising how many families travel with Grandma along lol. Grandma usually keeps them all behaving well, this includes the parents not just the children. So give me a three generation group anytime ;D

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

ideal guests are no-show who don't ask for a refund 😄 😄 😄

[Letti0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  LMAO... But so true.

[Fred13]

I love those also. My all-time favorites, by far.

[Cathie19]

Such a funny cynic!  LOL 😆 

[Emily352]

 My ideal guest

[Robin4]

@Emily0

Ha, ha the significance of that last point is not lost!!

Cheers......Rob

[J-Renato0]

@Emily0

I read your post in the upside down position.. I thought you had made a mistake when posting it. The last paragraph says it was intentional! Now I see it is a post in an experimental style! 🙂

I believe your favourite/ideal guest would be James Joyce! 

Can you image you communicating with him and having to read his messages written in the experimental "Finnegan Wake" style?