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

[Dayele0]

Hello from Christchurch.

Regarding photo I.D.  We have at times been sent photos of cats, dogs and sheets, not very helpful when you are accepting a stranger into your home.  Now we get no photo ID until confirmation.

We would really like to have photo ID restored to the booking process.

can press at their end). 

[Laura_C]

Hi Helen - thanks so much for your note. Yes - this topic has come up a lot (here on the Community Center and also on my listening tour). I've just hired a head of Homes Safety, Jen, and looking into this topic and finding some great options for you is top of her list. I'll bring her here to introduce herself soon (once she's settled in)

[Terrill0]

Hi Laura,

thanks so much for your efforts ! I appreciate very much your sharing your experiences and reading about the other hosts adaptations to challenges. I understand not being able to see a profile picture is a good way to prevent discrimination, and I support it for that reason. I personally feel that the profile picture shows me how committed the guest was to representing themselves. I get guests who obscure their faces or intentionally provide an image which is simply NOT a genuine depiction of them (head down or visual distortion),and that’s a bummer, especially if they have no reviews and don’t send an introductory note with their booking request. I wanted to post today because I think I have a setting of my inta-book which requires a profile pic in order to book. I wish instabook had stayed at a 2 review minimum. It’s hard for me to understand how people think you’d want to share your home with someone who (as far as I can see) has a first name and an email address only.

thanks so much !

Terrill

[Helen150]

Hi Lauren - Thanks so much for looking into this situation. It is the reviews that are important to see, not the photo ID - even the last two reviews would be good!  Even my guests have been amazed when I tell them that I know nothing about them until I have accepted them. As they say, what then is the point of them writing a review to get one from the host which then can't be seen by propective hosts.

Enjoy you role with Airbnb and continue to work to improve the experience for both guests and hosts. All the best.

[Cherie72]

Hi Laura

I agree  with Helen, but also must say that it can happen both ways, as it did to my daughter who arrived at her room to find that the male owner then just slept in the lounge and said she didn’t need a key to her room, or the apartment as he would just leave the front door key in the postbox! She felt far too uneasy to stay and immediately cancelled, which then had more repercussions for her.

Cherie

[Juliet1]

---

Hi Helen, I'm a single female host as well and totally agree with you! 

I reject some guests who don't have reviews or a profile description, though I'm more inclined to accept them if they descibe their reason for being in my city, Cardiff in the UK. At the moment we are hosting the cricket world cup, for example.

It's sometimes difficult to tell the gender of a guest from the name, and as a sole female it would be good to know.

It would be great if guests could be encouraged to complete their profiles properly and write a longer message when they request a booking - this personal touch is what makes airbnb so special, afer all.

[Michele147]

I agree - I'm a single female host.  I always require guests to have completed their profile with confirmed govt ID.  If their profile isn't complete, I ask them to complete it, explaining they will be coming into my home and I like to know a little about my guests for compatability etc.  Most are fine with that.  I also rarely host guests without reviews.  

However, this new policy of not releasing a guest's profile photo until a booking is accepted is problematic for me and one that I can't do anything about.

Would love for Airbnb to change this

[Rebecca899]

Don't be afraid to ask for more information. If I have a booking request from a guest that lacks information - I like them to have at least four verifications, at least one review, and something written in the "about" section - I send them something similar to the following message:     

Unfortunately you are currently not verified enough for me to accept your booking. Are you new to Airbnb? It works a little like online dating whereby I can see your profile, and you can see my profile and read all of the reviews relating to my property. Once you have a positive review it becomes much easier as a guest to book automatically, it's just getting started that can be a little more work! As you are new to the platform do you know anyone who has an Airbnb that would be willing to vouch for you?

Nearly always they have a family member, or a friend who hosts, and will send the link to their property. I then contact that host and ask if they will vouch for their friend. As they use the platform, they understand where I'm coming from, and they also don't want to attach their name to someone who might not be a good guest. Once I have heard from the other host I then ask the guest to confirm they have read all of the house rules before accepting the booking.

From 249 reviews over three properties I've only had to do this a handful of times, but have never had a problem with a guest who has gone through this process. Only once has someone not known anyone who has an Airbnb, but through the back and forth of messaging I trusted her enough to accept the booking - I still had her confirm she had read and understood the house rules though. I've had a couple of people not respond to my inital message, and my gut feeling there is that that is probably the best outcome for all concerned! 

[Alan525]

The article is titled What I Learned. 

I hoped for some insights. 

The body of the article says nothing of any substance. 

To me the whole thing is pointless. 

[Olwyn1]

Hi Alan, I also felt that Lauren did not impart much in the way of useful learnings. But I think she has chosen to include the links to the relevant forum thread and article rather than duplicate that effort. I haven't had time to look at the links tonight but I have browsed the forum before and found it a mine of information.

[Susan1355]

I agree with you Helen. I have the same concerns.

Susan.

[Helen524]

Good on you Laura..likewise you’d be welcome to stay at my place!

lots of comments on sleeping habits of guests, and like your other super hosts , I pride myself on cleanliness. 

At first I was overwhelmed with washing, but now I have a huge reserve of extra bedding (I have 3 bedrooms).

I didn’t spend a fortune as I kept an eye on my local op shops, and managed to collect very decent manchester at very reasonable prices. Mind you it took me over a year to accumulate.

Cheers

Helen

[Maria3322]

Thanks Laura- great to see you are out experiencing Airbnb as a guest. As a frequent traveller and Superhost we always choose Airbnb as our first choice. Your takeaway that Airbnb needs to better support hosts with guest expectations is spot on! I am very sick of first time Airbnb users not reading descriptions or house rules and having expectations out of alignment with a private room price point. These days I do not accept bookings unless a first time user confirms they have done this. It would be great if your system could intercept first time users with a chat help enquiry to be sure they are selecting appropriately and know what they are booking. Thanks again!

[Marina131]

Hey Laura.   Thanks for the fabulous article but moreover thanks so much for getting into the actual life of guest and taking tips form hosts.  Our space, Miirlarl- a Sacred Place BNB, is a shared room space listing because we don’t have a full kitchen or laundry so, in an effort to make our place  transparent, we have listed it this way.  Also, our beautiful space is a wing of our 🏰 castle. The entire space is for the use of our guests and they all (well most) seem to enjoy it but then some don’t seem to recognise that it is a private roomand Not an apartment. Anyway I am always in a quandary wondering if we are not  getting bookings because we have lost it this way.  What do you think?

[Laura_C]

Hi Marina - I just had a look at your listing and I think you've done a great job. The Private Room categorization is correct (as it doesn't seem to have a separate entrance), and your description really makes it clear that the space is a private entire wing. And your home looks beautiful!!