About private room

[Merrilyn5]

Hello everyone,

Kindly, i would appreciate all possible response to this as i am new to the whole thing. I am a student with a two bedroom apartment, my apartment isnt all totally for Airbnb as i live in it but the other room is a separate place set and designed only for guests (Airbnb).  This is a private room with a non attached bathroom. It has a private entrance too ( i mean every room should).

I have had two guests in one week of listing and they have been females like me, and in all those times i just lock myself in the room, take my food, drink and all. Is this okay? I mean, am i over doing it? Cant i be in the living room watching tv or something. Must i give that sort of privacy?
Also, To be or not to be situation. Would love to hear from all you wonderful people, dos and don't, could there be theft, rape, bad situations possibly that can happen. I did list in the description that i live in the home, is that dangerous?

Any inputs much appreciated. Whether stated or not, thanks. 

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

@Merrilyn5  You list a private room, not an entire apartment. That means the guests have their own private room but share common spaces with the host. Of course you can use your own living room. The guest is a guest in your home. Don't act like you're a guest in their home. Guests who book private rooms in a host's home expect to be sharing living space with the host. If I were a guest in that situation, I woukd find it weird and creepy that the host squirreled themselves away in their bedroom all the time.

Also, as a home-share host, you can specify Females Only if that is more comfortable for you.

There is something very confusing on your listing, though. Your private room is listed for 1 guest, which is fine, but then you show the couch in the living room as an additional sleeping space. And one of your reviews mentions "we" , that it was a couple staying. If you list for 1 guest only, only 1 guest at a time can stay. So then make sure they are only booking for 1 and remove the couch from your sleeping spaces.

If you want to accept 2 guests at a time, then list for 2.

My advice, as a single female home-share host myself, would be to stick to 1 guest. If it's a couple, you could easily feel your home is being taken over by them, and as they have each other to relate to, you could easily feel like a third wheel.

[Merrilyn5]

Thank you so much, would make corrections in my errors… I am new to the whole thing. I appreciate every time and effort you put down for me. I listed it for 1 guest but they kept coming as 2 and didn’t even realize it’s not an entire apartment, clearly they don’t read description and all, they just book. But this would be the last time I would be bending my rules.

I would do just as you’ve said and now I feel more comfortable.

Thanks.

[Sarah977]

@Merrilyn5  I'm not sure if you are using Instant Book or not, but if you are, I'd suggest that as a new host, and a single woman renting a private room, that you don't use IB. Make it so guests have to send booking requests. As you have experienced, guests don't bother to read what you have written and is right in front of their eyes. You have made it quite clear in your description that it's a private room in your apartment where you live.

When guests send you a request, communicate with them, making sure they understand that it's a home-share, that you only host 1 guest at a time. Ask them to please read thoroughly through the listing info, including your house rules.

And if anyone shows up with 2, when you've made it clear you only take 1 guest, you have every right to turn them away. You should also be clear about them not inviting other people over to the house- it's a security risk for you. You can always make a decision at the time if they ask, like for instance if a nice guest asks if their sister could come over for a couple of hours to have lunch with them. But don't feel you have to agree to anything that makes you uncomfortable.

The same thing happened to me when I was a new host. My second guest, a young woman, while she realized it wasn't an entire apartment or house, was also a newbie guest, and didn't realize she couldn't have someone else in the room she booked. She sprang her boyfriend on me the first night. I was new, and wasn't sure how to handle it, and they were both very sweet, so while I let her know that you can't book for 1 and then have 2, I let him stay and charged them a bit more for utilities. 

When a similar situation happened a few months later, I was more savvy, and told her the male friend couldn't stay. 

Another thing about home-sharing. If a guest is doing something that disturbs you, it's important to mention it right away. Don't stew about it and resent it and then end up feeling like you can't wait for them to leave. Or if you wait days to say anything, it will feel like a confrontation you are dreading, instead of saying at the time, "Hey, XX, would you mind not leaving your clothes and stuff strewn around the living room? Gather it up when you go to your room? Let's keep our personal stuff out of the common areas so it doesn't get cluttered. Thanks, I appreciate it." 

I've had to let little things not bother me as a home share host- not everyone lives like we do, so you can't be too nitpicky, but if a guest is leaving dirty dishes after their meals or something like that, you have to get that behavior straightened out right away.

[Merrilyn5]

Ahhaaa! Learnt a lot 🥺. Thank you so much. It would be just perfect from now on. 

@Sarah977 You are awesome!