This is why we do it

Answered!
Stephen1156
Level 10
Brogo, Australia

This is why we do it

For those of us hosting for reasons beyond the income - those wanting to provide an experience as well as a place to stay, this review from today is the perfect illustration. What have guests said about your place that points to the experience? I'm keen to know and then stickybeak at your listings.

 

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Top Answer
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Stephen1156  I never forget that we each offer something unique.  My guests tell me why they're coming and that tells me what they want out of their stay.  Here are a handful of recent examples from their messages"

 

“a birthday trip. Hoping for a time to re-connect, silence our cell phones, and relax”

 

“a nurse just looking to finally get away for a quiet weekend with my boyfriend”

 

“a long weekend for a ‘babymoon’ trip before our first child arrives”

 

“traveling to Maine for our 40th anniversary”

 

“a make-up first anniversary trip (since we couldn’t travel last year on our first anniversary)”

 

It's a no-brainer that my main goal, after making sure the accommodation is pristine, is to leave the guests alone, giving them the peace and quiet they crave.  So my communication with them is minimal.  I don't send a message after they get there to ask if everything is all right.  I don't send a message before they leave to go over check-out.  I leave them alone.  Here are three recent reviews:

 

* This is probably the most gorgeous and thoughtfully-designed home we've seen. Every last detail, from the way the house sits on the land, to the beautiful and fully-stocked kitchen, to the luxe bathroom helped make the stay so relaxing. Ann is an exceptional host, and the only difficulty we had was convincing ourselves to actually leave the house and go explore the surrounding trails and adventures!

 

* Ann’s home is unique in so many ways. The location is perfect for a quiet retreat, surrounded by trees, total silence, bright sunny days and night skies of incredible beauty. The house is beautifully designed, with all sort of amenities, books and art, superb bedding and toiletry, complete kitchen, and a great attention to detail, all making you feeling welcome and at home. It reminded us of hospitality found at a Relais & Châteaux property. Communication with Ann was always a click away. A place to return!

 

* Ann's place in Maine was our first Airbnb experience, and it was so nice that we are a bit afraid no other stay will ever match up! The house was in immaculate condition when we got there. It immediately made us feel so comfortable and relaxed. You can clearly see the attention to detail and the care and effort that Ann has put into the house, and into making sure her guests are not left wanting for anything during their stay. A really great vacation. Highly recommend this property!

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36 Replies 36
Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

    Hosting meets two requirements most humans need: an income (that is if you want to be independent) and secondarily socialization.  For many I am sure the freedom of being self-employed is equally important.

    The day I don't 'have' to do it, I won't; but would surely miss the great conversations with so many great guests over the years and will always wonder how live has turned out for them.

Dale711
Level 10
Paris, France

Hi @Stephen1156 ,

Good works, as alway!

You set a high bar with this one. 

 

Happy Hosting!   

 

Robin4
Top Contributor
Mount Barker, Australia

@Stephen1156 

Back in 2017 I had this woman book to stay in my cottage for 4 nights. She said she was regarded as Australia's leading junior swimming coach, she was coming for the wedding of one of her swimming pupils who said he could not get married unless Marianne attended!!!

I thought, Wow this will be good, I told her in the message stream where all the swimming training facilities were in my area and I eagerly looked forward to her arrival. The day came, end of January, bloody hot! This access van pulled up out the front of the property and this humongous woman.....quite the largest most rotund person I have ever seen in the flesh got out! She could not walk unaided, she had a crutch that she used with one arm and the taxi driver helped holding her other arm. I stood there in disbelief, this was not the person I was expecting to host. We got her into the cottage and onto the bed, she was sweating profusely, I rushed up to my mancave got onto Airbnb and explained my situation! They asked if I wanted to cancel the reservation and I said...."I can't, she is here but just be aware and I want it on record that there may well be a problem with this hosting that was not disclosed to me prior to arrival"!

I left her to it that afternoon and evening and she seemed to get on okay. 

The next afternoon it was about 32c (90f) and I was sitting on the rear verandah when she came out and asked if she could join me. I gestured to her to sit down but, I was annoyed, I felt duded and disaster was just around the corner. She started to tell me about all her swimming successes and I was thinking..."For Chr*st sake shut up Marianne, you would empty a swimming pool, not fill one"!!

 

I asked her if she would like a cup of tea and Ade came out and we talked for a while and Marianne started to cry. She told us how her genetic condition had taken over her life, she had to abandon the career she loved, her family had largely abandoned her and she had ended up all alone in a country town in New South Wales. From that point on she was good company, we had a few laughs and passed a nice afternoon.

 

The next morning the bridegroom and best man arrived to transport Marianne to the wedding. He walked up the driveway, all 6ft 4 of him and he was indeed one of Australia's leading swimmers....in fact he has Olympic gold to his name. He looked so odd as he put his arm around 5 ft 2 Marianne, he looked me in the eye and said....."I couldn't have done it without this woman"!!!

 

I thought, well there you go, you never judge a book by it's cover. Marianne was a wonderful guest and we have kept in touch since. When I pass through Neranderra on our frequent trips to the east we call and have a cuppa with Marianne.

Here is the review she left me......

Marianne.png

Stephen, these experiences come out of nowhere, you can't plan for them or predict them. 

 

I had the worlds best Jazz pianist here one night! She was a 67 year old Japanese woman....but that's another story!

 

Cheers.......Rob

Helen3
Top Contributor
Bristol, United Kingdom

Ah  Rob @Robin4 

 

I love reading your posts you are clearly such a lovely soul......and your guests clearly agree.

Robin4
Top Contributor
Mount Barker, Australia

@Helen3 

This is what is so lovely about hosting Helen, every day is a new experience, you just don't know what is going to come next.....but by God, I eagerly await it.

 

I got a booking from Lee!

Lee Booking 2.png

He had absolutely nothing on his profile page except one wish list item, and that was to stay at our property.

He booked to fly in from the west coast of America, stay for a week here in our cottage and then fly back to the US again......who on earth does that, fly's half way around the world to stay in one place and then departs to head home.

I thought.....being all full of myself, this guys a company mole, a mystery shopper, come to check us out, I was going to leave no stone un-turned where this hosting was concerned!

 

Lee arrived and we had a great week, shared a meal or two and had more than a few drinks together but I have to tell you Helen, he was no mole, no mystery shopper......he was just a cowboy from the Black Hills of Dakota.

*

Lee's wife was an ultra-marathon runner and she had been out training a few years before and got struck by a vehicle and never came home. Lee was having a terrible time in accepting his loss and every year he made a point of going to a listing he thought his wife would have liked ...........and in 2017, it was ours!

 

Can you see why I so love being a host?

 

Cheers.........Rob

@Robin4 Slightly off topic, but when I view guest profile pages, they display very differently than your example. And I've never seen the guest's wish list shown. Interesting, how much elements of the platform can vary.

Robin4
Top Contributor
Mount Barker, Australia

@Colleen253 

Colleen, these examples I have shown here are from 2017 when the format of the platform was considerably different to now.  The screenshots I have shown here are ones I took at the time. There is very little about the Airbnb program that resembles what we worked with a few years ago.......it was user friendly then!

 

Cheers........Rob

Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

I notice Marianne said “we” and “us” a lot in her review. Who were the other guests in her party? Did she have an attendant, perhaps?

Robin4
Top Contributor
Mount Barker, Australia

@Pat271 

No Pat she was unaccompanied, this was just the way she referred to herself. Even in her speech she referred to herself as, 'we'......"We have come to accept these things"........"We are getting by ok"...."If you are ever in our neck of the woods we would love to see you"!

She found it hard to accept that after all she had put into life she was left on her own, and that wedding was a massive thing to her, it gave her considerable validation, She needed someone to continue to believe in her Pat

 

It could also have been a subconscious carry over from her coaching days ....'we are now going to do, this, or that'....'This is the way we do it',  everything in her life revolved around the plural and it had just become second nature to her.

 

Cheers........Rob 

Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

@Robin4  How odd.  Maybe she has imaginary friends.

 

Nonetheless, it was a very nice review, and your point is well taken. Wonderful and enlightening opportunities can be missed when we judge books by their covers.

Geri26
Level 10
Adelaide, Australia

@Robin4, it must be the type of guests we attract here in Adelaide.

Most of my reviews are short but the first guest I hosted in September once the Covid ban lifted, floored me with his review - I was just being myself....

Public review:
 
Very quiet location. Absolutely perfect for a good night sleep. Geri is excellent host and her place was immaculate when I arrived. Kitchen is equipped well for those who like to cook. The place is large, nicely decorated, very clean and very comfortable. The studio is protected from the sun so the aircon is not required, but there is one should you need it anyway. I had 5 days of 34+ temps and did not turn it on even once. The temperature in the house was pleasant, day and night. You will need a taxi to go around, but that is a plus. There is no traffic on the road day or night, except for the neighbours.
 
Geri is great host. She knows stuff you need to know before you realise you need to know it. You wake up in the morning, suddenly you know what you need to do, and you think you came up with it all by yourself. Nah. It was Geri. Thanks to her, everything just works fine. I was able to concentrate on my visit and the rest was magically sorted out with very little effort from me.
Robin4
Top Contributor
Mount Barker, Australia

@Geri26 

Geri, you don't get to be a Superhost by just being yourself! You put yourself out there for your guests, you go that extra yard....look at your reviews, you can't buy reviews like that, you are a great host.

 

But the thing is, getting reviews like that spurs you on to do even better. Each year we get a bit more polished at what we do. I am absolutely flat out now, I even have a few potential guests saying,  "I can see that the date we would like is booked but if there is a cancellation can you let us know".....each year just gets busier. 

 

I am wearing out Geri, I am 76 now and it is not as easy as it was back in 2015, and I am struggling to get 3 nights a month off now but, I still enjoy every new arrival and you are right, because there is no influence of Covid-19 here we have this steady stream of great guests.....it's an Adelaide thing!

Thank God we live here mate, hey!

 

Cheers........Rob 

Geri26
Level 10
Adelaide, Australia

@Robin4  @Stephen1156 That particular guest was hard work to get here and I was in two minds whether to bump him or not as he had no idea of Covid lockdowns or airport protocol.  We also went into a mini border closure while he was here but once we sorted the logistics he was a great guest and obviously appreciative.

 

I was just being myself as I find it is my best interest (ie less stress for all and happier guests generally) to make sure guests know as much as possible....

Robin4
Top Contributor
Mount Barker, Australia

@Geri26 

Geri I had a look at your listing and it looks terrific, great location, my query is, charging $70 per night how on earth do you make any money out of it?

 

Like you, I run a Studio that is part of a main residence. Living in the same locale, I am subject to the same cost of living costs as you. I run a full profit and loss and after covering all my costs I make around $65 per night. But if I was charging what you are charging I would be making less than $30.....it just wouldn't be worth doing it! 

 

Profit statement.png

These costs have nothing to do with our personal living, they are what it costs to host additional people on our freehold property!

 

I know Airbnb would be suggesting that you should be cheaper Geri, but it's not Airbnb's concept to get involved with reality. This is the silly nonsense I get from them.......

 

discounts according to Airbnb.png

 

Unfortunately many new hosts get sucking in by this promotional stuff Airbnb throws at you. If I gave away 31%, offering what I do, I would be struggling to break even.

 

But of course that is not Airbnb's problem, is it!

 

Cheers.........Rob