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

[Helen427]

@Julie1603

Welcome to CC

Remember if you recieve a not so favourable review you have right of reply with public feedback, that way you can balance things out for potential & future Guests who are looking at your listing.

There's helpful information here in CC if you use related keywords in the searchbox.

All the Best

Central To All Home & Location, New Zealand

[Amanda965]

Hi, Laura,

Here's what I would really find useful.

1) A way to list quiet hours. I share a shower with guests, and my bedroom is directly across the hall from it. I don't think it's unreasonable to require showering during the hours of the day when I'm not asleep. I state in my House Manual (see #2) I have quiet hours from 9 PM to 6 AM. The surrounding times should be a God's plenty to find time to take a shower, and I'd rather that be clear before the booking. Give us a way to note quiet hours and what is and is not acceptable during them.

2) Make listing previews a real walk through, so we can test where the House Manual appears after booking and let guests know. I have not seen it shown in the initial listing, so I can only suppose it shows somewhere after they book, which I can't see.

I had to resort to emailing guests my House Manual, which still doesn't guarantee they'll read it and is cumbersome. A direct link would be ideal with a way for hosts to track or be notified that guests have actually opened it.

I want to know specifically where to direct them to look for it to get important parking info, info about my cat (see #3), where to find linens, what is available in for kitchen use, etc.

3) Make a way to clearly indicate a what specific animals live on premise and what kinds, cat/dog/whatever, and how many. I state my cat in my listing, even incorporating him humorously, and note specifics in the House Manual guests need to pay attention to (he's an indoor cat, who takes advantage of new people to escape), and yet, I've had any number of guests not pay attention to this very important information, and some have even seemed surprised to find a cat in the house. A coupe have seemed duty-bound to mention in their review that there is a cat, like no one else will know unless they note his existence in their review. He's in my profile picture, for crying outloud!

I make a fairly big deal of making it clear there's a cat because I do not want anyone with a cat allergy to be surprised when they arrive. I even mention him in my response upon booking confirmation, so they have one more out if for some reason they manage to miss that there's a CAT in the house.

[Michael1981]

Amanda,

Tell it from the mountain-top!

I have six dogs in my home, all of which simply adore complete and total strangers.  I shear them like sheep so they look funny with no hair, no dander, LOL, and I do mention them in my listing very clearly; yet, every now and then I get people stating in their reviews how they would not have booked with us if they knew we had dogs.  I even state that I allow the guest to bring their doggies as well, and how I can help acclimate their pets with mine if they want their doggies to get social interaction during their stay...yet some act as though it was never mentioned that there would be dogs...Oh, the indignation!  LoL.

[Helen427]

@Amanda9 @Michael 

Make sure you include a photo of your cat on your Listing to, directly after the photo of the bedroom...

Some people simply do not read, maybe they have challenges like dsylexia, or head injuries which impact on functioning others take for granted.

Do remember you also have right of reply under there reviews for public viewing that you may like to use, if you don't already, to balance it out in a positive way for potential & future Guests.

All the Best

Central To All Home & Location, Auckland, New Zealand.

[Christine1466]

Thanks Laura for leaving your busy schedule and visit Airbnb superhosts . 

I live in Edmonton Alberta Canada and I have been a super host for one year and five months.  We host peop from around the world and most of our guests come back, and for some this has become their second home far from home.

We are very happy to be part of  Airbnb hosts and community.

I have three listed Airbnb private rooms in my own house where we live with my husband, but are listed as three homes.  Two private rooms are on the lower level with a huge bathroom shared and also well furnished huge open lounge. The other rooms is on the main floor and has its private washroom/bathroom.  We provide towels but some guests take knowingly or pack them up and etc. Also we enough fridges for soft drinks and food where guests keep their left overs and any guest who want to cook, we provide pits and utensils/cutlery.

We share my huge kitchen,  dinning area and huge family living room with guests 

who we welcome to share meals with us , especially those who check in and find us eating our dinner or breakfast for those checking out earlier. Also we provide free tea.

I have two requests-  please try to give a full profile of the guest and secondly 

also list my three rooms under one roof.

once again thanks and be blessed according to God’s riches in glory.

Super Host

Christine Sosi 

[Helen427]

@Christine1466

Welcome to CC,

If you use related keywords in the seacrh box of CC there's helpful advice from fellow ABB Hosts/ Guests on how to list your 3 rooms as a private room in a home.

All the best

Central To All Home & Location, Auckland, New Zealand

[Samantha484]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and impressions of what gaps there are to fill. My question is about children in a household. With young children ages 4 and 6 I never thought I would want to host a private room, or even in the guesthouse (which is separate from the mainhouse). How does a host manage expectations around this -- I guess upfront disclosure and if they don't want to be near children it isn't the right place to stay? Curious if you have any things to say about this. Even from a safety perspective. Thank you!

[Lyn68]

Airbnb could easily fix this with 1 line question amongst all the other ' things you need to know about this listing'  as when one lists it says something like  ' is this suitable for children under 12?'  so if children in household it could appear in same category.   Only know this as I paricularly looked for not accepting children under 12 as I have a pool and did not want responsibility of others' young children with a pool on property.Some prospective guestts must read conditions as have had 2 queries relating to babies and teenagers.

[Helen427]

@Smantha484

Welcome back to CC

If you use related keywords to your question in the seacrhbox in CC there's  likely to be helpful advice from others in similar situations as your own.

All the Best

Central To All Home & Location, Auckland, New Zealand 

[Ranjana0]

Hi Laura, 

It is a beautiful experience that you have shared with us. Thank you so much for the amazing experiences. 

The reasons for starting to host and on Airbnb are amazing. I got introduced to it due to inviting someone I didn't know at all from Russia and UK. From there it has been just amazing experiences one after the other. If you ask which was your best and favourite experience, I won't be able to choose one. Because all are beautiful experiences. 

I was a teacher for more than 25years, but Airbnb is taking care of our bungalow, dogs(GSD's), my daughter and me since I started hosting in 2016.

Thank you so much Airbnb ❤️

[Laura_C]

Hello @Ranjana0,

It is wonderful to read your response here. Your story is so inspiring to me and I'm sure many others here.

It lovely to hear you were a teacher for 25 years, that is incredible length of time (my mum was a teacher too, in Australia!). I am sure this experience has been a great basis for being a fantastic host and I'm so pleased that you are getting so much pleasure from your new life as a host.

Thank you again for your lovely reply and here's to many more great experiences ahead!

~ Laura

[Marianne365]

Dear Laura

Enjoyed hearing of your experiences from a guest point of view!  I am not a single room hoster, but an entire property hoster, and wonder if you are going to do the same research on our sector?  My own opinion, confirmed by my guests, that the listing of single rooms and entire properties together makes for an unfair comparison.  Interested in what you think.  Please visit Ireland one day, we would enjoy having you stay.  Best Regards.  Marianne

[Lyn68]

Hi Marianne from Australia,  As a single room host I couldn't agree more with what you have said. The categories need to be clearly separated. What I want from the site is far different from what you want. I object that reviews don't reflect those differences.  Please don't think that I object to what you are doing as I don't, but I would like a level playing field. What you need is far different from what I wish to achieve and we are in 2 entirely different markets. L

[Joan147]

Hello Laura,

I would like so much to use the INSTANT BOOKING!!  But sad to say I  cannot use as I do not have an option to mark a minimum of at least 2 persons!!  My private room is big enough, and very comfortable for 3 persons..... while if I use the instant book with no minimum of persons my room automatically will be booked for dates of just 1 person!!  Also an most important I want my guests to enjoy all privacy, so I do not wish persons sharing room  not knowing eachother...... while if there is a minimum of persons they could be relatives, or friends, so it would be nice sharing!!   Of course if they are 2 I will not take the third person, but just leave their dates for them relatives!!

Many thanks for the oportunity to comment about this.

Regards

Joan

[Judy312]

Laura, It's great that you were able to do this. We have been lucky to not have had (knock wood) guests from hell at our home, but  I will add my name to those who question the tendency to give more credit to guests than to hosts (and we are both), especially since Airbnb changed the criteria for SH. I don't understand why some people will write a note telling you what a wonderful stay they had, and then give you less than 5 stars. The bed we have in our guestroom is actually a custom-sized hotel bed, and in 20 years of guests visiting (not only Airbnb), only one person complained about it being too hard...but there's a lost star. Or the woman who complained because her GPS wasn't working and she had a hard time finding our house...I give detailed directions, from all routes into the city, in the message I send ahead of our guests' arrival, but she chose not to use those. Then she complained that the numbers were too hard to see, but there is a light right next to them! So there is another lost star. So all of these little things chip away at your SH status, and there seems to be nothing we can do about them. We try very hard here, while maintaining our own lives, and we've enjoyed most of the people who have stayed with us. I don't obsess over the superhost thing, but if we lose the status over someone who thinks they are staying in a hotel, doesn't read the whole listing, or is just impossible to please, I don't know that I would feel good about continuing. There should not be stress about this endeavor!

Thanks so much

Judyg.