New home share host

[Stephanie2079]

My name is Stephanie and my husband is Garret. We just started hosting this week. We have our first guest on Saturday! We are in San Antonio, TX. I’m nervous as we are listing a room vs a whole place. We have a dog and will be pet friendly. 

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie2079  Welcome to hosting. I'm a home share host, too. No need to be nervous, most guests are great. Just be yourselves, so you feel relaxed. 

One thing I do when guests arrive is to show them to their room, point out anything they need to know in there, like where all the light and fan switches are, as well as that stuff in their bathroom. Then I tell them I'll leave them to get settled, and when they are ready, I'll show them the rest of the house they have access to, orient them to where to find things in the kitchen, etc.

Guests are often tired from travelling, maybe a bit disoriented in a new place, so I try not to overload them with too much info right off the bat. I find they like to unpack a bit, maybe shower, even have a lie down, or let family know they arrived safely, before they emerge from their room.

They'll retain the info you give them better if you don't try to cram it all into one orientation tour.

I work from home, so this is easy for me to do- you may have  to modify that depending on your schedule.

Also important with home sharing- you may find you have to be a bit tolerant with the way other people live and do things, or you'll be irritated or nitpicking them all the time. I find I have to overlook a few things. But if it's something like them not cleaning up after themselves in the kitchen, or diisturbing you with loud phone calls or late night slamming around in the kitchen or living room, address it right away. 

Easy going communication with guests in a home share is key to a good experience. You don't want to be seething in silence, counting the days until they leave. And you don't want to end up feeling like guests have taken over your home. 

One thing- I find your listing rather confusing. It's one private room for 2 guests, but then you say in the description, "There is a shared bath (double vanity) with any other guests staying in the other room."

It sounds like you have 2 rooms for rent, not one. Can you clarify this? I wouldn't know what sort of situation this listing was. Am I sharing with the hosts? With other guests in another room? Where is the llisting for this other room? If you have 2 bedrooms to rent out separately, you need 2 listings, one for each room. And you need to make the living situation clear in your description, beyond that they'll be sharing a bathroom.

[Stephanie2079]

@Sarah977 So I typed a whole thing out and it deleted. Ugh. 

We do have a second room but it’s not an Airbnb situation…yet. My parents are staying in there temporarily until they close on a house. They were and are aware that we were going to rent it out short term. They have adjusted accordingly and put any personal items from the bathroom in their room to include towels and soaps. Each room has their own key code locks. 

I wasn’t sure if or how to put that in our listing so I said the bathroom would be shared with other guests. Is there a good way to advertise that or just be blunt? I have mentioned it to anyone inquiring so there aren’t any surprises when they show up. 

Great thoughts on the checkin. I would have inadvertently bombarded them with info. Thank you! We do have a guest book that has instructions on how to turn stuff on and where things are. But letting them settle first is great before showing them the rest of the house. 

I’m a bit nervous because I know every guest has their own expectations just as we do as hosts. It’s a matter of learning when to be firm about things and when to relax and not freak out. Lol 

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie2079  Yes, be very clear about the situation in your listing description. That guests will be sharing the common spaces with you and your parents, who are temporarily living in your other spare room, and that the  bathroom will be shared with your parents. 

When that situation changes, you just go back and edit your listing. And if it changes after you already have bookings, then just let the upcoming guests know in what way it has changed. Or if your folks will likely be leaving soon, just do as you're doing and explain in messaging.

Honestly, I have never found that my guests had expectations beyond what was offered in my ad, although YMMV. As I mentioned, just be yourself, don't think you have to act some certain way as a host- that would be stressful. It's your home, and while you need to be a little tolerant, it's the guest who needs to fit into your lifestyle in a homeshare situation.

Some guests will be chatty and friendly, and want to hang out a bit with you, some will even end up  feeling like you've known them a long time,  some will be more private. Just establish your boundaries. You don't want someone laying about on the living room couch all day, sluglike, or leaving their personal belongings strewn all over, cluttering up common shared space. Nor ones who think all you have to do all day is sit around and chat with them and monopolize your time.

But the flip side of that is you also don't want guests who just hole up in their room all day, scurrying out to use the bathroom or the kitchen, and then hiding away again, because that can feel weird, like you're living with some phantom presence.

There's guests I've spent lots of good times with, laughing  hysterically about something over a bottle of wine, and some I barely see- they're out and about a lot,and tend to stay in their room when home. But even the more private ones have been perfectly pleasant when we cross paths. 

You may also get guests who seem a bit strange, but may be on the autism spectrum. I've had a couple of those I suspected were in that category. Not unfriendly, but obviously rather uncomfortable with social interaction. So don't take that sort of thing personally. You'd think they wouldn't book home shares, but some do.

I find that exchanging several messages with guests, part information you need to convey, and part just establishing some kind of rapport, even some humor, gives you an idea of who you are going to be dealing with, and keeps things from feeling awkward when they arrive.

[Stephanie2079]

@Sarah977  I updated the listing to reflect my parents. Because I will eventually have 2 rooms, am I able to have 3 listings where one of them has both rooms on it and then the individual rooms? Or would that cause too much confusion with the calendar? Just trying to figure out what would make things easier if someone wanted both rooms or how would they know that might be an option? 

i will definitely need to remember not to take it or reviews too personally. I put a LOT of love in this house and sometimes it’s hard to separate that and realize I won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. 

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie2079  Yes, for sure you can have 3 listings, one that incorporates both rooms. It isn't confusing, because you link the calendars ( I've never done this, as I only have one room to rent, but you can find instructions on how to do it)

If the both bedroom option gets booked, the calendar will automatically get blocked for  those dates on the separate listings. And vice versa. If one of the single room listings gets booked, the both bedroom option will show as blocked,  but the other bedroom will be available.

[Stephanie2079]

@Sarah977 Once the second room is available we will be listing it here after a thorough cleaning and making sure it’s guest ready.