Laura’s Letter: What I learned staying with private-room hosts

[Laura_C]

May 20, 2019

Hi everyone,

Congratulations to all of you who achieved or maintained your Superhost status in the April assessment! The longer I’ve worked at Airbnb, the more I realize what an incredible accomplishment being a Superhost is. Thanks to all of you for providing wonderful experiences for guests around the world, and for setting the standard for hospitality for Airbnb.

As many of you know, my role at Airbnb is to look after the team that builds products, community, and resources for home hosts like you. When I joined Airbnb last July, one of my top priorities was to quickly immerse myself in the world of hosts and hosting—in particular, to learn more from some of our amazing hosts (and Superhosts!), gather some great tips from them, and bring those back to our host community (and our teams here at Airbnb). There’s nothing quite like firsthand experience, so as part of my journey, I decided to stay in a private room once a week. I have three small children at home, so it was a pretty big commitment, but it ended up being such a delightful experience in some fun and unexpected ways. I’m excited to tell you about what I’ve learned over the past few months.

Getting to meet Superhosts like you was one of the highlights of my recent adventures staying in private rooms. There are more than 161,000 Superhosts who share private rooms on Airbnb— that’s 29% of all Superhosts. And private-room listings are popular with guests, too. In 2018, tens of millions of bookings were in private rooms, which was a significant share of all bookings on Airbnb. Private-room hosts and listings are a really important part of our community.

I had 3 goals for my private-room stays

1. Experience variety (staying at listings with different price points, and different types of hosts: new, Plus, Superhosts, etc.)
2. Have personal interactions (I reached out to hosts ahead of time and invited them to chat with me more about their experiences, and share thoughts on how we can help them more)
3. Gather learnings (What was my experience as a guest? How can we support hosts more? What is the host doing brilliantly that other hosts can learn from?)

So, what did I learn? Well, the first big takeaway was that we need to do more to help you better set guest expectations (which can help with better reviews). This is something that’s really important for all hosts but absolutely crucial for private-room hosts, many of whom share a bathroom or kitchen with their guests. On our end, I think that starts with categorization. How can we better differentiate different types of listings on Airbnb (need a room in a castle, anyone?), especially as we begin to welcome more bed-and-breakfasts and boutique hotels alongside homes and rooms? How can we help you make it clear to guests that there are cats in the listing? (I am much more of a dog person than a cat person, but I have to admit that I made friends with many cats during my stays!)

Next, I learned many things about what can make a stay great from a guest’s perspective. I appreciated a lot of different things—clarity on where I could go and what I could use (shampoo? fridge space? through that random unmarked door?) was a big deal. Having some information from the host on who else was going to be in the house was also hugely reassuring. Knowing the hours of the other people in the household was also great so that I could be a respectful guest (I get up early, and always wanted to be thoughtful of not waking up everyone else in the house!).

In fact, many of you have already shared some wonderful tips for hosting a private-room listing here in the Community Center. (This thread really impressed me, and I enjoyed the comments on this article, too). I’d love to continue to hear from you on this subject, and I’d love to learn more about what we can do to help you as private-room hosts succeed. Please tell me your suggestions in the comments, below.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I was reminded again of what an incredible community of hosts we have. I met one host who started hosting so that she could have more flexibility to support her children with special needs, and another who took a big pay cut to follow their heart and work in the non-profit sector … hosting helped them have the financial flexibility they needed to make that move. I met one host who has developed extraordinary relationships with her guests (many of whom come back often to visit) and another who started hosting so that she could afford to keep her family’s home while her children went to college. I love that Airbnb is helping people around the world build wonderful connections and support their goals and passions in life.

Congratulations again to those of you who are Superhosts, whether you’re sharing the spare wing of a castle, an entire home, or an extra bedroom in your apartment. I hope to meet you on my next outing. Until then…

… Happy hosting!
Laura

[Kaye40]

Yes! That is an issue for me too. Our BnB is one entire side of our house that is separated like a semi-detached house or a flat, with a separate entrance and no shared spaces except the garden. I make this clear by reinterating it several times in the photo captions, but still there are people who are pleasantly surprised it is entirely separate to our home. I have wondered how many bookings we miss out on because of this.

[Jacqueline-And-Brent0]

Thank Laura for sharing your article. I really enjoyed reading it. As for cats, I am a cat person and my guests did really enjoy meeting him as he was the best cat ever and really friendly. Some guests wanted Oscar the cat to sleep in their rooms. Oscar unfortunatley is no longer with us but he was loved. A lot of guests left wonderful reviews about him.  If you are ever in Australia, you have a place to stay with us. We are two hours south of Sydney in a beautiful location in the Shoalhaven Area.

[Geoff-and-Lenore0]

Thanks for your article. It was interesting to read. I host purely to meet people and supply alternatives to less personal accommodation. I have also stayed at quite a few Air BnB's throughout the world and have sorted out how to find a place that suits.

Keep up the good work and make sure you weed out the places who give us all a bad reputation by being too greedy and overpromising without delivering.

By the way we are all supposed to be Air BnB - how come there are places who dont provide some sort of breakfast?? Shouldnt it be mandatory??

[Evelyne72]

Hi Geoff and Lenore,

Airbnb cofounders Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky started out as two cash-strapped roommates in San Francisco in 2007. ... The two called their new endeavor “Air Bed and Breakfast,” a reference to the air mattresses the guests were staying on. We are not true "Beds and Breakfasts". This would demand a costly level of service and staff, which is not what Airbnb is about. The idea is to rent your spare room at an affordable price to travellers who don't want to pay hotel prices. Hosts are not hoteliers or waiters. Most hosts have jobs and leave their homes before the guests, who are on vacation, even get up. I offer a gourmet breakfast because I love to bake and only host on weekends as I am too busy with work during the week. In fact only 10% of hosts offer breakfast in my area. So the answer to your question is that no host "has to" offer breakfast.

[Susan179]

As someone who is renting a room in my house, I miss being able to see the profiles of people asking to stay.  Can you get that reinstated?

[Diann13]

Great idea !

[Fernando--Bugs--and-Coll0]

Thanks for your story.  My husband and I started hosting to supplement our income, as I had to quit my job to take care of him after he was in an accident.  We opened our minds and hearts to it, and have hosted and visited with some great folks.  We hope that the people who book with us, leave understanding why Texas is “The friendly state”. 

[Ron44]

Hello Laura. 

I’d love to have you stay with me. I have four guests rooms in my home and have had some fabulous reviews. Love to set you up with paddle boards or recommendations on trails, and exploring this little known outdoor sports meca. 

[Vivian4]

Hi Laura,

I  greet guests when they come in & invite them to join us for a moment in the kitchen.  A glass of water is usually welcome to all.  Because we have many fruit trees and I like to cook, I usually offer them a cobbler or crisp or some dessert.  This is a great way to open the door for a short conversation.  I am respectful of their time and after a brief visit show them to their room.  They are always welcomed to come back & join us in conversation.  We've found that those few special moments make everyone more relaxed and comfortable in our home.

[Nancy632]

Very interesting information. Keep all the good ideas coming 

[Jenny748]

Hi Laura

Lovely to hear from you.  I have also enjoyed your article, having you share your perspective has been enlightening and I would love to have an opportunity to meet you should you visit, Melbourne, Australia.

My experience has been so rewarding having come out of a partnership that ended sadly , AIRBNB has given me the opportunity to meet people and share many different stories from my guests who have travelled all around the world.  

Cheers

Jenny

[Laura_C]

Jenny ... Melbourne is my home town!! I grew up in Ballarat but moved to Melbourne for Uni & my first job. I go back nearly every year (most of my family is based there ... including my Uncle who is a Superhost on Philip Island). Maybe I should host a coffee catch up for local hosts next time I'm home?

[Sheldon3]

Hi Laura,

It rewards me when the guest leave a great review after I have hosted. My personal experience is the exchnage of culture and while I may have not visited someo of these countries, my guests make me feel like I have through or discussions.

My commitment to share my space amd welcome guests and make them happy comes natural to me.

I am happy to be apart of the AIRBNB team!

[David59]

i'm trying to figure out why pricing options don't include me to charge an additional fee to allow pets (and make guests declare when they are bringing a dog and how many of them). I currently allow dogs to stay and do not charge extra....even though the time to clean after dog hair takes a lot longer than a normal guest without pets. Is this ever going to be a pricing option I can add to my room?

Thank you, 

-David

[Camila171]

How can we contact you ?