Have you kept in touch with any former Hosts or guests?

[Liv]

Hey everyone,

I think it’s safe to assume that many of you are passionate about travelling and meeting new people. 🙂

Being a Host and welcoming so many visitors to your home can be a lovely way of making new and unexpected friends; and as a guest and traveller you’re also very likely to find yourself in a position to get to know different people while exploring new places.

You may have friendships that were formed during a trip, or you may have hosted guests who have since become friends. Either way, it’d be lovely to hear some stories of friendships forged through travel. 

Have you kept in touch with any past guests or Hosts that you’ve stayed with? Have you ever made a friend while on a trip?

Thanks,

Liv

[Huma0]

@Liv 

I have only stayed in an Airbnb three times as a guest, including one trip that was booked by someone else so I had no direct contact with he host. I haven't stayed in touch with the other two hosts. One I never met and with the other, it was actually a traditional B&B that was listed on Airbnb, so I wouldn't say I formed a relationship with any of the hosts.

Guests, on the other hand, are another matter, especially as I host in my own home and have had many long-term guests. So, yes, I have stayed in touch with a lot of them.

This month alone, I had New Year's wishes from some and I have two former guests who have become friends visiting me (one just to catch up and the other to stay with me for a few weeks). I will also be seeing a couple of guests that checked out in December. Another two guests who checked out in December wanted to come and stay again from February, but sadly the rooms were already booked. I am sure we will stay in touch though and I hope to host them in the future.

I don't know how many former guests I'm still in touch with, but it's a lot! There are others that I haven't been in touch with for a while, so this is a timely reminder to drop them a note 🙂

[Liv]

Aw, that's lovely @Huma0! It's nice to hear you've made so many new friends through Airbnb and that they keep coming back to stay with you. 🧡

I know many people find it harder to make friends as adults, so it's always nice to hear stories like yours.

[Huma0]

@Liv 

Maybe it's easier because I host long term stays, so my guests often feel more like housemates. Still, I've had some shorter term guests who have kept in touch and a few that have come back to stay again. I don't get a lot of repeat bookings from short term guests because, when they message me, the dates are normally already booked (happened today when a guest who stayed in 2017 wanted to come back). 

Long term guests sometimes see my house as their home away from home. I currently have a guest doing her fourth long term stay with me! I also met up with her when I was in Portugal. It doesn't even feel like she's a guest, but more a friend. I am so used to her being around and would be happy it she moved in for good!

[Stacy310]

 

Thanks for the great question!
I opened my home in Tennessee through the Airbnb platform after the big hurricane threatened the western panhandle of Florida . 
my title was “Will house hurricane victims “.

I ended up hosting a whole family by moving myself and my partner to the basement . They stayed until it was clear and safe to go home .  We were especially bonded to the youngest who was about 3 years old at the time . He kept coming down to the basement to “visit “ us.  The other two kids were teens who kept to themselves, plus two parents who were both very friendly but nervous, and a dog . They became big Tennessee fans after our week together as they waited for potential repair work in their home in Tampa . We stay in touch and actually have visited (and stayed with them ) in Florida. We have hosted the father and youngest son (for free) when traveling more recently, and we text each other to stay in touch , especially about TN football .  Ironically, I am not even a big football fan but they inspired me to watch more often ! 
We kept the listing up and began getting requests from people coming to Knoxville to attend games. That’s when we decided to start charging for the room and change the title of the listing ! 
since then we have two other Airbnb rooms in the home and we have moved to the basement permanently.  I am a musician so the extra income is important to me now !! 

stacy 

[Liv]

@Stacy310 thank you so much for sharing, what you did for them is really inspiring.

Also, both the photo and the story are very heartwarming and it sounds like both Hosts and guests were lucky to have found each other. 😊

[Scott1631]

@Stacy310 

LOL, I'm in the basement too. I have a long term rental in one suite and I rent out my primary suite through Airbnb. I'm trying to earn enough money to finish off the basement which is now unfinished. I had an escape window installed down there to feel safe. I am a 5 star Superhost for the past couple of years. I started sleeping on a blow up mattress in the living room (disclosing that in the listing) until I could afford the $2000 for the escape window. I have made several friends being a guest in Europe and one visited me here in Syracuse, NY. 

[KathyLea0]

I have had several repeating guests and have developed nice communication with them. One of my longer stay guests found out I am a real estate broker and actually used my services to buy a condo in St Petersburg. We have remained close since. 

[Debra300]

@Liv,

There are three guests that I regularly keep in touch with, and each person lives in different countries.  WhatsApp is a wonderful tool for enabling people to easily stay connected.  Two of them live in locations that I would like to (re)visit, British Columbia and Croatia.  The third person lives in upstate New York, and she is trying her best to leave there soon, because the winters are just too harsh for her.  There are a couple of other guests who I've exchanged texts, but this occurs infrequently.  

[Elaine701]

@Liv 

Yes, we stay in touch with many of our guests. Some have become close friends and visit us several times per year (at our home, not necessarily in our Airbnb). 

One former guest (and an Airbnb host) frees us to go on holiday from time to time by staying in our home and taking over guest management at the villa for us while we're away. 

[Helen427]

Thanks @Liv 
Nice topic

Yes I keep in touch and vice versa with some of my Guests, we all bonded over mutual interests and have supported each other through our highs and lows, sad and happy moments.

To our friends across the oceans, it's taken 7 weeks for a Christmas card from date of posting Airmail to arrive at my home from Australia, in case you are wondering where your lovely Hand written Traditional Greetings are.

@Kath9 @Sandra126 @Laurelle3 @Robin4  and others.

And you?

[Laurelle3]

@Liv  because we have a cottage not ajoined to our residence we don't have a lot of contact with our guests as we try to give them privacy unless we see them in the shared space and we exchange pleasanrties.

Also we have only been hosting for 12 months so we haven't had any return guests. We live in a holiday by the beach destination and most Australians visit one area and next holiday to another area because the Australian continent is so big or they travel overseas.

We have had 2 private bookings which they had stayed before, they were more friendlier 2nd time but we still give them their pivacy which seems to suit them and is one of the reasons for rebooking  beside being close to the beach.

[Anish173]

test

[Loni56]

 @Liv olá eu sempre mantenho contato com 

meus convidados alguns de vez em quando 

outros nunca se esquecem de nos 

Outros mantemos uma amizade virtual por algum tempo

e muito gratificante!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Liv 

We have the great fortune to stay in touch with so many of our guests - they have touched our lives and let us know we've touched theirs. It is enriching all of us to share like this. We are still close to guests we hosted in the 1970's as resort managers. As a lifetime traveler, I've been loved in so many places by so many open hearted people. Of course I am still in touch with many of them, and all of them crop up in thoughts and conversations. As members of SERVAS we are hosts and travelers who believe that world peace is promoted by cultural exchange and finding family everywhere. And so it is!