New to the Community Center? Introduce yourself here (Updated)

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

A warm welcome to the Community Center. 

This discussion is for introducing yourself to your fellow Airbnb Community members, as well as welcoming and saying hello to newcomers in return. Thanks to all of you who have already introduced yourself and contributed in our previous thread, here.  

I'm Lizzie and I am the Community Manager here, along with my teammate @Quincy. I have been managing the Airbnb Community Center since it officially opened in November 2015. It is fantastic to speak with amazing community members here. 

To kickstart this topic, I would like to share a few things about myself:

1. I love to travel, hot or cold it doesn't matter - I'm ready with my sun lotion or a raincoat! 
2. I play several instruments, but my main one is the flute. I always enjoy a good conversation about music. 
3. Lastly, over the past year I have become very interested in all things eco/sustainablilty related.

How about you? Any interesting facts or hobbies?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you. 

Lizzie

[Zada6]

Thanks a lot 

I appreciate your support as well 

[Smári-and-Laufey0]

Hi everyone. We are an Icelandic couple who love travelling and meeting new people, so Airbnb gives us a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world.

[Olena45]

Hello everybody!!!

My name is Olena and we are hosts with my husband Sergio. We live in Maple Ridge, BC, Canada 🍁 We just set our beautiful basement unit and have first guests. We are happy to be in this community!!!

[Manan24]

Hi everyone,

This is Manan from Jersey City, NJ (NYC area). I have been an AirBNB host and guest and looking to continue to be both. Always looking for an excuse for travel. I am looking to connect fellow AirBNB hosts especially the ones who own out of state properties that are being managed by co-host or Property Managers to get their feedback on investing out of state properties.

Manan

[Diane1099]

Aloha,

I'm Diane, I live in California and my Airbnb rental is on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. I did not know about this Airbnb community, so thanks for the email invite.

We've owned our condo for over 30 years (including being demolished by Hurricane Iniki in 1992). However, due to limited hospital facilities on the island, this Covid situation had us completely shut down and unable to rent to travelers even longer than the time it took for us to rebuild after the hurricane. The great news is that Kauai opened up to travelers a few days ago so our bookings are coming in again. 

My question for the community is about your cancellation policy. Which one and why? 

Mahalo. 

[Marcus-And-Amanda0]

I am always set to flexible. As a matter of fact, I have a policy... I don’t charge guests for nights/days they don’t stay, regardless of the reason. I think it’s the right thing to do, and it is often very much appreciated by our guests, especially when it involves some kind of emergency. I have found that when somebody cancels and I refund them, I am almost always able to rebook, plus that kind of hospitality shows up in the reviews and ultimately the visibility of our listing. Even a slight boost can get you a few extra nights booked that you may not have booked otherwise. I know there may be some locations that have low demand that may not be able to be so flexible, but here in San Antonio, my reviews and our rankings keep us at top allowing us to recover easily.

[Residence-16]

Hello Lizzie & Everyone

We are super excited to be part of this community, when you are in Johannesburg please be in touch for the luxury self catering apartments.

[Jim1620]

Hello I am Jim Cox on Lewis Smith Lake, Alabama.  .....Not to be confused with Smith Lake Australia or Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, USA.  My wife and I have been hosting a bed and breakfast here on the lake since 2004.  I am past president of Alabama B&B Association, which has dissolved due to the small number of B&B's in the state and the retirements of many owners.  I listed some of my units on AirBnB several years ago.

Our occupancy has boomed during the Pandemic.  We are in a rural setting on a beautiful clear lake with water toys for guests use.  Much of our business has come from nearby towns and cities from people who are stressed and want to get away to a safe, quiet destination.  We have continually upgraded the amenities and facilities to offer our guests more and better.  One of the things that most guests require is a good internet connection.  Another is privacy and separation from other guests.  We have two Airstream camper trailers for guests.  There are our most popular units.  They are some distance from the main house and I have added an outdoor shower and a screen porch, firepits and charcoal grills.  This has been a fairly inexpensive way to add more rental spaces.  

I hope some of my experience helps.

[Camilla231]

Hi Jim,

Thanks so much for sharing. I have a farm in central Virginia.   I am brand new to the hosting side although I did operate  my Farm House out as a B&B six years ago.  I transitioned to wedding/events and the pandemic provided an opportunity to use my Guest Cottage as an Airbnb.  I like you, am very interested in adding additional space.  With regard to your Airstreams, do you have any advice as to models, best place to find them at "reasonable" price, etc.  I have over 100 acres so providing privacy is fairly easy for me.

Thanks in advance,

Camilla

[Camilla231]

Hi Everyone,

I am Camilla and brand new as of February to Airbnb hosting.  I recently became a Superhost and feel absolutely blessed to be hosting people on my farm in Virginia.  I have traveled all over the world and will be happy when I can return to traveling but in the interim the ability to host provides a wonderful opportunity to meet fun, interesting people.  Looking forward to learning more about the world of hosting and how I can continue to make my guests enjoy their stay at my Guest Cottage.

Cheers, 

Camilla

[Neetu6]

Hello everyone, I love traveling and hosting but because of this current situation, I am restricted to do so. Request and wish all the members to stay safe and have patience and courage, all of us going through a difficult phase.

Regards to all, Neetu from India

[Marcus-And-Amanda0]

Hi! We are from San Antonio Texas and we have our own Airbnb in the same downtown neighborhood that we live in. I (Marcus) co-founded a property management company back in 2018. Since then my company  has found a lot of success in outside the box thinking as we experiment with unique amenities and a hosting style that is customized to our city. Having talked to tens of thousands of guests over the years, I have honed in on what amenities that guests may not have even realized they wanted. We also take a slightly different approach to creating listings and communications. But in the end, what we really excel at is giving guests an experience that pushes them towards the things we love about our city... It’s one of the benefits of living and growing up in the parts of town were hosting in! I love new ideas and am very interested non-conventional approaches to hosting! Looking forward to finally being a bit more active in a community like this!

Question: Do you have any unique amenities that other hosts in your city don’t have or rarely have? If so, how does it help your listing?

[Lucie474]

Hello! How is everyone? I have been hosting for 3 years, I am a super host. I am glad it is picking up again. I am from SF Bay area, and I was wondering if anyone needs help managing their properties. SF is stating to re-opened, summer is coming and maybe you want to free your hands. I can also, help sitting up your air b n b, I am a professional photographer, I used to own a house cleaning business, and I have been working in the hospitality for over 35 years. I am very detail oriented, reliable and professional. I am currently managing a small apartment in Alameda. Let me know if you are interested.

property manager, oakland, berkeley, alameda property manager

[Cheryl730]

Hi I am Cheryl. I live in rural Virginia, USA and started hosting in September of 2020. It has been a fabulous experience for me. I lost my husband in 2018 and opening my home to guests has been a very positive and uplifting experience. I have met some delightful people and appreciative the discussions I see on here to help me improve on my guests experiences. 

[Quincy]

Welcome to the community @Cheryl730. We're glad to have you here!