Hi everyone! I’m excited to have gotten the opportunity to share strategies with you for hosting during seasonal fluctuations. I hope you’ll find this information useful as you continue along on your hosting journeys.
You may have seen me around in the Community Center, but if not, I wanted to briefly introduce myself: My wife Jutta and I became Airbnb hosts in Germany in 2010 — we are some of the dinosaurs here on Airbnb! We started hosting a private room in our apartment when our daughters moved out, and we still get so much joy out of meeting new people from all over the world (even when we’ve had to keep a bit more distance from our guests due to COVID-19).
Our experience is that guests currently book at very short notice. So don't worry if your booking calendar for October and November still has many gaps: travelers are currently not making long-term decisions due to the constantly changing general conditions. So as a host, I've gotten into the habit of staying flexible - but I've still set a two-day advance notification in the calendar.
Besides the Cannstatter Volksfest - which is unfortunately canceled this year because of the pandemic - the autumn season in Stuttgart is characterized by chestnuts. School children shuffle through the fallen colored leaves to look for them and make nice things. The chestnut alley at Solitude Castle is especially popular with families. And when the snow falls, it's a great place to go sledding.
Thank you!
Till
[Unless stated otherwise, my comments are based on my personal Airbnb hosting and travelling experiences.]