Hello everyone,
I often come across threads here in the...
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Hello everyone,
I often come across threads here in the Community Center where you have mentioned your pets, so I though...
Latest reply
Hello everyone,
It has been a little while since we have had a Community Spotlight, we have previously spoke with @Gerry-And-Rashid0 and @Andrea9, so I am very pleased to be able to share the third feature in the series. To recap for those of you who is unfamiliar with this, Community Spotlight is where we ask a member of our community a few questions and get to know them a little better. 🙂
This month we will be speaking with...Alice.
Durham, NC
*Click on the spoiler tabs to read more!
How long have you been hosting for and why did you first start?
We just passed our 2-year anniversary in March. We started really for altruistic reasons. When Jeff was getting his PhD, he’d go off to other campuses to do experiments and they would put him up in the worst hotels. Literally, there would be women knocking on the doors, “Hey buddy, would you like some company or drugs or maybe both?” One had the auspicious name of “The Glass Slipper”. We thought, since we’re so close to Duke University, that maybe we could provide a better place for a Graduate Student than having to stay out by the highway in a Super 8.
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We set up our profile on Airbnb, hit “post” and had our first reservation a few hours later for a guest checking in that night. We’ve been non-stop ever since. The funny thing, it took us almost a year to get our first Graduate Student so our guests have been varied, unique and in Durham for all kinds of reasons. We’re very fortunate, not only that we have the space to provide a quiet, comfortable room for all types of travelers, but that we have met so many wonderful people as a result.
Tell us a little about your listing
Our historic home, built around 1905, is quietly tucked away in historic Morehead Hill, a Durham, NC neighborhood just southwest of the city center. While we have renovated other older homes, we did not do this one. We purchased it after it had been completely gutted and updated in 2013 and we’ve continued to make changes as we’ve owned it. Overall the home is just shy of 1600 sq/ft, with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. The guest bedroom, which has a full-size bed and an attached, private, full bath, is located in the front of the house, just inside the front door for ease in coming and going plus providing privacy for our guests. They are welcome to all the common rooms in the house – especially the back porch, which is the big win.
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You can’t tell from the front, but the house starts out at grade and by the time you get to the back, you are on the second floor, so the screened-in porch is a lovely, elevated haven in the middle of our backyard green cave. For our guests who like to walk to local spots, we’re only 10-minutes to Downtown, DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center), Durham Bulls Stadium & Duke University. The Durham Co-Op is only 5 blocks away and by the end of the June, we will also have a new restaurant (Grub), Frozen Yogurt shop (Local Yogurt), and coffee shop across the street from the Co-Op. Durham is under a great deal of renovation and reclamation like other urban areas in the US. Right now, it is still a series of “doilies” where hubs of vibrant spaces have cropped up but haven’t completely knitted together yet for a full, city afghan. We’re very happy we moved to the South and we really love Durham.
How long have you been part of the Community Center and why did you join?
I can’t really remember when I joined the Community Center, but it was before it was migrated to the new platform. When I came seeking other hosts, there was a lot of conversation about the Community Center being disbanded. So when was that - November or October of 2015? I do recall my first experience and post. There was some concern on my part that my listing wasn’t clear about something and I asked the other hosts to take a look and provide feedback. The first couple of posts were genuine and kind, providing mostly positive, constructive options about the particular thing I was needing help.
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Then some host, piped in with an entire critique of my listing, and not really in a nice way. She went on about how we mention alcohol in my listing several times and that our profile picture shows us holding a glass of wine. She chastised me for promoting alcoholism and that I was inviting addicts to my home. She gave me an earful that I wasn’t being inclusive because of it. She also told me that I shouldn’t show pictures of my kitchen if I wasn’t allowing people to cook in it. It really threw me… was I really so off-base? So I hungrily read and read and read and realized, there was a community here that was supportive and maybe, this one person, was not so much. It also helped me realize that there was a need for an alternative voice that some of the posts were very group-think and not critical in a way that I would be. So I started posting more. I never did see another post from that one host, so clearly, my listing was some sort of trigger for her or maybe, she stopped hosting…. I don’t really know but I am grateful that her overreaching response encouraged me to get more involved.
Favourite thing about the CC / what do you like best?
I like hearing from new members and providing support. I really like pointing to the Help Center to help people learn that they have resources to figure things out for themselves. HINT: I think there should be a link to the Help Center on the Main landing page of the Community Center and the ability to link to it more easily 🙂
What’s your favourite film or book of all time?
I will stop and watch “Aliens” any time. Just thinking about Pat Conroy’s “Lords of Discipline” makes me emotional.
Do you have any hobbies or special interests you would like to share?
If you couldn’t already tell, I love wine and lust after great bubbles. I have been a judge for the World Series of Wine in Cleveland several times. You can see me sipping a bubbly here in their commercial.
I’m also a gourmet cook - you need to do this to have a reason to drink so much wine! This is partly why we don’t allow cooking. I have expensive equipment and Jeff is a fanatic about super sharp knives (yes, we’ve watched guests cut themselves very badly before we stopped allowing it). It’s not uncommon for me to spend upwards of 3 hours preparing a meal, so we just say no to eliminate any hard feelings and anxiety (and severed fingers).
If you could have a dinner party with anyone, in history or present day / famous or not, who would it be?
I could not imagine passing up the chance to sit down to dinner with just about any stranger, famous or otherwise. People are fascinating!
Where would you go for an ideal weekend away and what activities would you do?
Sitting on the beach in the sun is not for us, we’re do-ers when on vacation and want to experience as many cool, fascinating things in the area we can. Because of this, Airbnb fits right up our alley with being a part of the local community and seeing the things that they find so great. Art Museums are a must, and not just the big, touristy ones – the little ones that showcase a well-loved and cultivated collection of its owner. Recently we went to the Driehaus Museum in Chicago and the Detroit Institute of Art. Both were just lovely and we recommend them. Food and wine are a foregone conclusion and we have to budget ourselves before we go because we could easily double the cost of our trip stuffing our gullets!
Thanks so much Alice for taking part and sharing a little bit more about yourself. It is always so interesting! 🙂
Please do feel free to response to Alice with any questions about the above, I am sure she would love to hear from you.
Enjoy!
Lizzie
Missed past Spotlights, catch-up here:
