Heather (daughter) Mum (Laurelle)
My topic for the Festival of Hospitality is “Hosts in the Family”. This is a comparison between Mum (me) living in Australia and my daughter who lives across the ditch in New Zealand.
How Airbnb came into our lives
It began when I read an article in the travel section of the Sunday papers and I thought my husband and I would try it on our next holiday 2014 in the Uk. I chose places to stay with hosts and we could share the kitchen and in those days they supplied a light breakfast.
I came back from our travels with positive reviews of our experience to our family and friends.Our daughter had made a working life change and moved to New Zealand and an opportunity came up for her to adventure into Airbnb in December 2017. Our daughter was able to give us inside knowledge of what to do and what not to do as a host before we started our Airbnb adventure in November 2020.
Our two listings
🔵 Australia: “Hidden Gem Cottage on Duncan St" Huskisson. New South Wales.
🟢 New Zealand: “King Edward Studio”. Motueka. South Island.
🔵 Huskisson is a small village and lies within Jervis Bay National Marine Park. It is claimed to have the whitest sand in Australia. The cottage is behind the main residence with a shared yard and private back garden. It is a 600 metres walking distance to the beach and 1km
to local shops and restaurants.
🟢 Motueka township is close to the mouth of Motueka river and is the gateway town to the Abel Tasman National Park. It is also known for its artistic community. The studio is behind the main residence with a large shared yard/garden with an outdoor setting and the property backs onto a rural kiwi fruit orchard. It is 1.5 km walking distance to tidal wetlands, 2km to the ocean and 1.5km to local shops and restaurants.
Both offer parking onsite, and accommodate children though not pets.
🔵 2 bedroom cottage, with 3 beds which sleep x4. It has an open lounge, a dining room, kitchen, and patio.
🟢 Bedsitter Studio with 1 queen bed which sleeps x2 and can accommodate extra person if required. It is an open space with a bed, single lounge chairs, and a combined kitchen-dining area.
”Hidden Gems” Cottage private garden Huskisson
Heathers garden “King Edward Studio” Motueka
Both listings have a maximum stay of 1 week, with Instant Booking on.
🔵 2 nights - Public Holidays and School Holidays 3 - 4 nights.
🟢 1 night - Public Holidays and School Holidays 2 - 3 nights.
🔵 Australia: Most of the guests staying are from Australia, during Covid mostly from NSW.
🟢 New Zealand: Mostly overseas guests staying, and during Covid mostly New Zealanders.
- Things to do in the local area
Both Huskisson and Motueka are made for outdoor tourists:
🔵 - Markets: Huskisson markets at Lady Denman Museum Saturdays. Oval markets. Sundays both are once a month with fresh food, vegetables, handcrafted arts and crafts and bric a brac.
- Activities: Walking tracks along the foreshore and fire trails. Huskisson foreshore is geographical, flat and has a shared cycleway from Bay to the Basin. Whale and Dolphin watching water tours. Water activities, fishing, diving, kayaking, indoor heated swimming pool. Ferry across the inlet to other parts of Jervis Bay. Visit the Maritime Museum. Native Botanical Gardens tours and Aboriginal food tours within the gardens. Carnival rides and shows during summer/Christmas holidays. Picture theatres and Indoor climbing.
🟢 - Markets: Motueka has Sunday markets each week with a variety of handcrafted arts and
crafts,food and bric a brac.
- Activities: Walking paths around wetlands and along the ocean foreshore with a wonderful collection of driftwood. Also see the wreck of Jane Seddon lying in the mud and read the history of it. Visit the local museum and Rose garden. Motueka is geographically flat - great to ride bikes along many shared pathways. Fishing, kayaking, all watersports Abel Tasman walking tracks access by water taxis. Bus tours around outline areas. Wine tasting and tours. Skydiving, flight training. Picture theatres.
When you look at the two Airbnb’s in the family between mum (me) and daughter, we both live in similar local areas by the beach and national parks in two different countries.The activities are similar but Motueka has more intrepide tramping walks staying in huts overnight. We both offer similar but different accommodation and have adapted what we offer to our individual personalities. We both enjoy and present the garden as a feature of our Airbnb’s.
Does the hospitality business run in your family as well? How does it compare for you?
Myself, my daughter Heather, and our husbands
This topic is part of our Festival of Hospitality 2022. You can find the full line-up here.