Debi Hertert of Hosting Your Home talks with Todd Brandewie, owner of a whole-house rental near Dayton, Ohio.  At the time, Debi and her family were renting Todd’s house for a family reunion. Todd is a single dad and lives in his house with his four-year old son.  Several nights per month, Todd and his son move to Todd’s dad’s house, or Todd’s RV, in order to rent out his Dayton house.  When Todd got divorced and found himself unable to pay the mortgage, his mom suggested Airbnb.  That suggestion saved Todd’s house and has given him a new outlook on life.   [editor's note]: Many municipalities restrict short-term rentals of whole houses, concerned about depleting the stock of long-term rentals.  Todd's is one of many examples in which homeowners would not choose to share their space as long-term rentals, because it does not fit their family living situations. As communities try to estimate the impact that Airbnb and similar platforms have on long-term rentals, they often rely on unreliable data "scraped" from short-term rental sites, and assume that houses like Todd's would be available for long-term rental if the short-term options were legislatively removed.    It is misleading to count such houses as impacting the long term rental market. A common example is an owner who wants to have space always available for their family who come visit.  We are supportive of protecting long-term rentals through good legislation, such as requiring the owner or long-term tenant to live in the home most of the year. Regulators should become aware of these types of sensible uses and make sensible rules. SHOW NOTES: Debi introduces Todd Brandewie and his mother, who is also an Airbnb host and got Todd started.   Deb talks about how well the house is working for her family.  When he rents out his own house, Todd vacates to his dad’s, or to his camper which is at his dad’s, or travels out of town.  He does a lot of cleaning himself, but does have a housekeeper who helps, and even his friends help if necessary!  He really understands how important cleanliness is in vacation rentals. Deb asks Todd how he manages moving out of his house and back.  She tells him this is the first time she has stayed in an Airbnb of this “model” where the owner lives there but leaves when they have guests.   Todd talks about the number of nights he likes to book and it covering his mortgage and some utility bills.  When Deb asks Todd to “Tell us your story”, Todd talks about thinking people would never come to Dayton, Ohio, but realizes now that there are many reasons people travel, and tourism is only a part of it. Most of his guests are coming to see family.  The family focus led Debi to recommend listing on ClanVenture, another vacation rental platform.  Access to the Airbnb platform has allowed  Todd  to keep his house after his divorce.  He shares custody of his four-year old son. Todd told all his neighbors what was going on when he started renting.  Most of his neighbors don’t even know what Airbnb even is. He said he gets lots of guests who are new to Airbnb, with no reviews.  Deb asked if Todd is worried about anything in his house getting wrecked or taken, and Todd said he doesn’t really worry  about anything in the house. Todd described his one bad experience, which was a group of dog show people who were not respectful of his property.  Followed by asking Debi for any suggestions for  improvements.  She mentioned pillows – the need for choice.  4 per bed, two soft, two firm. They talked about mattresses, and Debi told Todd and his mom about Tuft and Needle, the mattress company that has a promotional program and a waiting list for a free mattress for Superhosts.  There was a discussion about sheets, using white for everything so can bleach, getting the little black cosmetics washcloths; Todd gets frustrated about people leaving lights on all the time, and benefits of changing out to LEDs.  He expresses his gratitude that  Airbnb has allowed him and his son to keep their home. Deb asks Todd about some memorable guests.  He joked about people leaving wine and beer, but then said several people from the Lion King cast rented his house for 28 days and invited him over for a party with the whole cast, and how fun that was. And they gave him 4 front row tickets to the show!     Links: Todd’s house: https://airbnb.com/rooms/12264444 Clanventure:  https://clanventure.com/ Tuft and Needle:  https://goo.gl/PSrHHX  

Portland, Oregon Airbnb host Nina Liebow talks with Debi Hertert of the Hosting Your Home podcast about Nina's life and how she came to hosting with Airbnb. Listen in as Nina shares her wonderful story, her Japanese connection, and her deep, heartfelt feelings about hosting. Nina hosts in the historic Irvington neighborhood in the heart of Portland. 1:20 Debi introduces Nina Liebow, who tells Debi a story - way back, in high school, Nina was at a used book store and found a book titled “Make a B&B anywhere you live”. The book was meaningful to Nina. She had grown up in difficult surroundings, and when she was old enough to be on her own, her spaces became very important to her. She lived and traveled in Asia much of her 20’s, often staying in a “Ryokan” which is a one room space, with a tatami mat on the floor – this one room would be changed in function throughout the day, from living space, to eating space, to sleeping space. It was always women who managed the Ryokans and the sense of welcoming and caring that these women provided really resonated with Nina. She felt a loss of ego that made her feel comfortable. 4:00 Nina describes how she ended up in going to Asia. It was with a jazz dance group, providing basic entertainment for hotels. She would sublet her apartment in LA for 6 months and go to Japan, come back, miss Asia and do it again throughout her 20’s. 7:00 A time came that her travel bug came to an end. She by fluke ended up in Portland, and bought a for sale by owner house. Her aunt Sharon in LA had just bought a duplex thinking that they’d both live in the duplex, but Nina bought her own house and Sharon never ended up moving to Portland. Nina began managing Sharon’s duplex, renting mostly to Japanese students. When she first moved to Portland, she found “The Portland Whitehouse B&B”. She wanted to work there so badly that she went every day for a week asking for a job and Mary, the owner finally said ok. Nina loved working there and stayed about 18 months, but had to leave when she got pregnant and wasn’t feeling well enough to work. This experience made here think once more about sometime having a B&B herself. 10:00 after having kids, and a few years later, she was asked if she would host Japanese young women in her home.  For years she did this and learned how to take care of others in her home. It wasn’t really like Airbnb, but there were some similarities. 12:30 Nina found herself divorced. She got her basement finished off and then her friend Sue told Nina about Airbnb. She minimally decorated the space and had her first booking in 3 hours. That was two and a half years ago. She loves making sure the people are ok, happy, then leaving them alone.  She speaks Japanese and has attracted some Japanese guests. 15:20 Nina’s older daughter moved out for college and said mom could rent out her room. She had a funny story about redecorating her daughter’s room. But her daughter loves it when she comes home now! Nina began renting out the room, to women only, out of a safety concern. Deb asked about her experiences with the women-only rental and Nina told her a nice story about now accepting couples and how that came about. Nina says she couldn’t really ever have a true B&B because she’s not a morning person! But she loves doing her Airbnb hosting, and likes people to be comfortable. For her the biggest feeling is that she’s traveled, has been to places that feel scary, and wants to have a place for a single woman to feel safe in someone’s home when she travels. 17:40 Deb asked about financial aspect. Nina replied that all she ever wanted was to be a homemaker, a mother, but our culture doesn’t honor that, and she married a Japanese man who did honor that. It was a very traditional lifestyle. She has over the years taught children’s dance and that has helped her economically. Nina took a break from teaching, and when the divorce happened, being able to stay in her home was so great. Airbnb has enabled her to keep her home. She describes her really nice feeling when a guest comes and expresses appreciation for the nice space, or clean room, and that our family never says that so it’s great to have this affirmation. 23:30 Deb asked Nina about how she gets Japanese guests, and she said she’s only had a few, and talked about how she got her first Japanese guest, Achiko, a very fun story. They are best friends now. Nina doesn’t really market, but thinks she should. She does show on the Airbnb listing that she speaks Japanese. 27:23 Pilates: One of the other clientele base she is trying to build on is the studio where she did her Pilates training has people come from all over the world; they have hotels listed, and Nina went to them and asked them to add her listing. So she gets Pilates guests. 29:00 Victoria: Two years ago, her divorce had just happened and she needed to get away. She had just started hosting in Portland and stayed at an Airbnb in Victoria. She took a yoga class there and was so impressed that she decided to go back and get certified as a trainer. She spent 3 months there and goes there still. She has a strong connection with it. She’s going through a phase of her life where she needs to go inward and that’s a good place for her to go. Airbnb makes so much of this possible. She told her host in Victoria that she would like to find a 3-6 month sublet up there, and bring her kitties, and the Airbnb host there said things are slow in the winter; maybe they could work things out… 32:00 "Your second cousin": A women in her 50s wanted to make a reservation with Nina, but was worried. She asked Nina about what it’s like staying at an Airbnb, describing herself as quite nervous, has never done it before, what is it like? Nina told her “well think about it like your second cousin you’ve never met. You know your family, but you’ve never met, but you know you’ll get along”. The lady warmly confirmed this analogy. 32:30 We're all people, and we're connected: In an emotional and heartfelt voice, Nina told Debi: “This is so silly, it teares me up, it’s such a big company but it comes from that premise of Brian Chesky’s theme that we’re all people and we’re connected. Airbnb really proves that there is so much more good in the world than there is bad. It brings out the best in people. And our world needs it. I think part of this is that in a tiny way, it’s a way of giving love to the world. I get to do this in a different way than with my children. I love doing this; I get to stay in my home, take care of people, and still be independent.”

Join Debi Hertert of the podcast HostingYourHome.com as she talks with Bob and Sue Low, the Portland citizens and now Airbnb Superhosts who prompted the City to change their ordinance prohibiting short term rentals. A concept:  “Age in Place” 1:40 Sue starts by telling about the remodel of their home in Lauralhurst and moving to their basement during the remodel.  After living in it for 6 months they had some friends who  knew about Airbnb and who had recommended they try it.  They did, and were excited!  It was the summer of 2012. They met some really nice people, but then their neighbor filed a complaint.  Bob then said that in September of 2012 the City gave them a Cease and Desist order regarding their short term rental.  At that point, they went about trying to get the City to change the ordinance. 6:30  They researched out the status quo and found about 1,500 listings for short term rentals on various platforms such as VRBO, Home Away, FlipKey, and Airbnb.  They decided to let the City know the magnitude of the activity, indicating that the City should somehow deal with it.  They got an appointment with Commissioner Dan Saltzman, put together a PowerPoint of the current status and showed the potential for revenue generation by the City.  It would serve home owners who needed the income to "Age in Place".  When they finished, Saltzman said it had merit and encouraged the two to talk to other Commissioners.  There had just been an election so they had to wait until the next calendar year.  They then met independently with each commissioner and their policy person, and this took around a year.  The commissioners really saw a benefit of doing this.  They also met with City officials Paul Scarlett, Susan Anderson, Sandra Wood and others, and started going to the meetings the City was holding about the new comprehensive plan and testified for including short term rentals in the comprehensive plan.  They asked other 10 people who were doing short term rentals to write to the City to tell them they were doing these rentals, why they needed this income, and wanted to be able to be licensed. Bob and Sue discovered that Austin, Texas had formed policy around short term rentals and shared that information with the City. 12:30 At that time, they also started talking to Airbnb.  They sent their action plan and PowerPoint to Airbnb, and Airbnb wanted to come to Portland to help streamline the short term rental regulations. Airbnb established a major office in Portland about that time, and Debi remembered going in spring of 2014 to City meetings, planning commission, City Commissioners.  At some point it turned over to Airbnb working directly with the City 14:30: Sue said her neighbor had gotten some other neighbors to rally against them, so they went to the local neighborhood associations, SE Uplift, and the Laurelhurst neighborhood association, and there were a number of people who also spoke in favor.  The Laurelhurst  board sent a letter to the City opposing short term rentals, but without talking with the members.  There were other meetings and the City sent someone to the meeting to see what the issues were. 16:30 A NEW ORDINANCE, INSPECTIONS, CURRENT STATUS – Sue talked about the safety inspection requirements brought up by the City.  The City did approve short term rentals but wanted to require safety inspections. Bob did a review of the public hearings including the Planning Commission meetings.  It was an interesting journey.  But within a year, they got the law changed.  Debi thanked them for getting it all started. Deb asked Bob about the current status.  What happened after the law was passed?  Bob replied that it’s pretty straightforward now.  You need to pay an application fee of $175, need an inspection to demonstrate egress and the required interconnected smoke alarms.  He said it’s pretty simple, but that he has heard that a lot of people have been concerned that the inspectors are finding other things and that has to be addressed. Bob and Sue had to put an egress window in, modify the ceiling because they were an inch too low and they couldn’t get a variance.  That cost $5,000 and $6,000 for the egress window.  During the entire time they were lobbying for short term rentals, they couldn’t rent because they were told to stop. So that was about a year.  When the inspector came, Bob met her at the door, she checked the window and smoke detectors and it only took about 20 minutes.  Debi said a lot of people are not getting licensed because of their concern that some other unpermitted work might have been done in the past and don’t feel that the inspectors will stay focused.  Bob brought up the possibility of the Fire Marshal doing these inspections. During the meetings with the City, they told the City that the taxes paid by short term rentals could pay for staff to appropriately license short term rentals.  Sue said they might go in again and meet with commissioners about the inspection process, might float concept of the Fire Marshal doing inspections. 25:10 Debi said she is personally grateful to Bob and Sue for doing this.  She thinks Portland was the first city worldwide to have a permitting process for short term rentals, or at least the first one in which Airbnb collected transient occupancy tax on behalf of the City. Sue said they were excited because after they got licensed they were asked to present at the first Airbnb Open conference in San Francisco.  They were later contacted by people from other communities across the country. Links: Quaint Garden Cottage Apartment (in their beautiful Portland home)  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/543988 More information on their historic home can be found on the Oregon Encylopedia website  https://oregonencyclopedia.org/ and search for “Brick House Beautiful”.  Their home has also been in “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine and has twice been on the cover of “Old House Journal” Oregon Coast property (near Cannon Beach):  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/885296  

Debi Hertert of the podcast HostingYourHome.com talks with Portland Airbnb host Nancy Stevens.  Debi hears a great story of Airbnb support when Nancy needed it most. 0-02:15 Introduction 02:15-06:15 A short tour:  Nancy shows Debi the view, and gives her a short tour, punctuated by a stained glass window that Nancy gave to her late partner to commemorate their favorite fly fishing spot in Idaho. 06:15-15:30 Nancy’s Story:  Nancy told Debi that she had a major health emergency and was hospitalized for two weeks and unconscious for one of those.  Her brothers knew she had Airbnb guests arriving but knew nothing about Airbnb. Her sister-in-law called Airbnb and Nancy describes her as working with almost no information and how much help Airbnb provided.  She goes on to answer Debi’s question about why she started hosting. It’s a warm reminder of the emotional value of hosting. 16:45-21:00 Discussion: Then Debi and Nancy talk about a variety of topics.  The difference between residential and hospitality cleaning; pet friendly accommodations, dust bunnies, and how friendly and nice pet owners are as guests. 21:00-25:10 Superhost topics: They also discussed Superhost status, and the difficulties that Nancy inadvertently created by trying to paste Mapquest URLs into her Airbnb communications.  Debi offers a workaround, and mentions using the filter for Superhost as a valuable way to find the potentially best Airbnb accommodations when traveling. 25:10-27:45 Pet friendly! Pet friendly also works to Nancy’s benefit, in bringing more guests and especially nice ones because they are dog owners. 27:45-30:20 Food, kitchen, house rules:  This is a short discussion of what food Nancy provides, and how she manages to have some space to herself and yet accommodate guests as much as possible. 30:20-32:20 Debi’s wrap-up:  Deb summarizes the show and clarifies the Tuft and Needle promotional program, and how you can subscribe to our podcast.  If you want to receive emails when a new show is on line, just click on the subscribe button on this website.  Or go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play and search for  podcasts and Hosting Your Home and subscribe there.   Links: Nancy’s Airbnb link:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8611065 Tuft and Needle: https://goo.gl/D5WJ8f  

In this interview, get to know Airbnb Superhosts Alex Nigg and Tammi Sims as they talk with Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com. Alex is the creator of “Properly”, a suite of tools that allows homesharers, vacation rental owners and property managers to manage guest turnovers remotely. Properly users can send detailed visual and text checklists to their helpers, and have peace of mind that every detail of their hospitality instructions was completed just as intended.  Properly also allows the community of hosts to share their best service providers, providing opportunity to their favorite helper, as well as a trusted resource to the community.    But any of you who have listened to previous podcasts know that Debi can’t just talk about an app, she has to know about Alex and Tammi!  They put on a great workshop for our local HomeSharePDX (Meetup.com) group earlier in the day.  Before getting into the Properly app, Deb asks Alex and Tammi to tell her how they each got started hosting. [3:30]  Tammi had worked for 20 years for an NGO serving children with developmental disabilities.  She was curious about Airbnb because part of her house in Seattle was vacant whenever she was gone.  Then in 2014 her washer broke.  She thought she’d host until the washer was paid off but then got hooked.  She had hosted about 40 times and was talking with a guest on the porch before he left, and it occurred to her that she felt better about the world, having met and hosted all these lovely, good, kind people.  She thought either she had been improbably lucky, or that we have a world of really good people and maybe we’re not doomed after all! [7:05]  Alex worked for a venture capital fund in San Francisco and began hosting because of his interest in Airbnb’s economic model, plus his other interest in design – making a home function well as a home and then quickly be able to convert to function just as well for a short-term rental.  Then he got hooked too!  He told Debi a touching story about a guest who stayed with him before undergoing an experimental and risky brain surgery.  Before the surgery, family members from different places in the world came to see him at Alex’s house to reunite and wish him well.  Friendships developed. [10:45] Tammi speaks about the surprise that new hosts feel when they begin feeling the responsibility, honor and pleasure of providing a welcoming space for visiting strangers. When asked about whether they still mostly host remotely and whether they use a management company, Tammi said they travel so much that remote hosting is how they operate but that she doesn’t want to give up the email connection that she has with her guests.  She answers questions, helps them figure out where to go etc. So she doesn’t ever want to lose this connection so she doesn’t use a management company. Alex feels the same way. Debi asks them about the details of their personal listings, and links are provided at the end of these show notes. [14:20]  There was a discussion about restrictions in each city – Alex said he is out of town so much that he is considered an “absent owner” in San Francisco and is restricted to 90 days of rental per year.  He discusses the backlash of the emotional aspects of short term rentals in San Francisco. Tammi said Seattle is considering the issue now. Of course Debi had to know how they met – and it is a true Airbnb romance!  They met at a Superhost reception at the first Airbnb Open, held in San Francisco in 2014.  Alex had just started his company “Properly” and had a prototype of the app and figured a Superhost reception was exactly his target audience to show people.  They met, didn’t see or talk with one another for 7 months, then met again at another Superhost function and have been together since! [18:20] Product conception and description Alex told about being constantly interrupted at work by calls having to do with cleaning his Airbnb, and tried various manuals and lists until he finally hit upon the idea for an app that could take the guesswork out of turning over a short term rental.  The app began to evolve, and he has a funny story about one of the Airbnb founders who had started using the app and liked it, and one day called Alex in a panic to see if Alex knew of another cleaning professional who could do a turnover for his house. This is the point when Alex began working on the “Community” part of the app, which allows hosts to recommend and share cleaning professionals.  Assuming the person or company wants to be listed, they are then visible to other hosts who can arrange work with them.  It’s a great referral system.  Alex also noted the difficulties generated by hosts due to the impromptu schedules and how different it is from residential cleaning schedules. He describes the “pro or semi pro” hosts who want the Airbnb cleaned as soon as it’s vacant, typically sometime between 11 and 4, versus the more casual host who are more flexible and might wait until the following morning for cleaning.  Having the two groups helps balance out the demands on scheduling for cleaning professionals.  Debi brought up something that came up in the workshop earlier in the day, that one cleaning professional listed on the app and got 30 new jobs in 3 weeks.  Alex sees this as something of a giving back, that we hosts have benefitted from the home listing phenomenon and now the cleaning professionals (and potentially other workers) can use this app to list their services. [28:15] How the app works: Alex summarizes the Properly app as being two things:  First, it’s a housekeeping app for hosts, allowing them to manage turnovers remotely, with very good detailed lists for the cleaning professional, and allows hosts to follow along as the job is done.  Second, it has a marketplace capability that allows hosts to share their human resources in an area.  Cleaning professionals can be recommended by hosts and can then decide if they want to be on the app and potentially find jobs using it. The product is used by over 4,500 property managers and hosts, in over 50 countries, and 8 languages. Tammi gives her take on it.  One of the things she likes the most is that you can add pictures to the app so the cleaning professional knows exactly how you want things done.  Deb notes that because it’s on the phone, you can have real time interaction with the person doing the cleaning, if you want, via verification photos. [31:30]  Alex goes into the question of how cleaning professionals react to the aspect of optional picture verification, noting that cleaning short term rentals is different than residential cleaning in that the person who sees the work is not the person who is paying for the work, and is less likely to complement the cleaning professional on a job well done.  He believes that for that reason, the cleaning professionals often find the pictures rewarding because they get to show the owner that the job was done well.  Tammi says that it removes so much uncertainty for both parties when there is a new person doing the turnover. They discussed the high value of cleaning professionals in the overall guest experience. [36:00] Debi asks Tammi if she has a warm fuzzy story, and Tammi tells a great story about some young women who were really fun and had signed up for a trapeze class, and one of them eventually fell in love with one of the trapeze instructors and a great rapport was developed [37:50] Debi asks Alex and Tammi if there is anything else they’d like the audience to know.  Tammi talks about some of the values they share and how they work out their time together and travel with such a busy startup company schedule. They both love hospitality and told about putting on a massive feast three days in a row at Burning Man – they only had 5 or 6 people in their group but the others just kept coming for dinner. They love their kitchen time and brought us a jar of yummy jam they made.  We found out during the interview that they made it at 2:00 am so we nicknamed it 2am jam.   LINKS: Properly – the website:  https://www.getproperly.com/en Tammi and Alex’s Airbnb listings: ProperlySeattle: www.airbnb.com/rooms/2197168 San Francisco: www.airbnb.com/rooms/1434314 Coming soon - New Zealand: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4879541

Debi Hertert of podcast HostingYourHome.com visits with Steve Niebrand, owner of the "Hoffman Woods" Airbnb in West Linn, Oregon, a whole-house listing where large families can celebrate special times together. Debi and Steve talk about his very special house on 2 acres near Portland. He explains how he got started hosting, buying a house specifically intending to use it for Airbnb rentals. Steve has had 99% great guests but tells Debi how he came to learn how to directly communicate with guests before they arrive, regarding parties and events.  He meets and greets every group and takes that opportunity again to confirm no events or big parties. Not that Steve minds small parties :)  He frequently joins his guests and has had some fun experiences. Steve has started making and selling "Belos", which are the Airbnb symbols that mean "Belong Anywhere". We included a picture of one of the Belos below, and you can also see better pictures on his listing site.   You can check out Steve's listing at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10810725

This week's podcast is a special treat as Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com tours the brand-new “Hobbit Hole”, Greg Raisman’s artistic creation for an Airbnb apartment in Portland, Oregon.  Greg and Beth and their architects, builders and carpenters have been working on this project almost as long as it takes to grow a new human, and it really is their "baby”.  (One listener recently asked if we would include the recording times in the show notes for people who needed to save time and listen to just certain topics, which sounded like a good idea.  You’ll see times included below). But first, A SPECIAL REQUEST.  Rob and I are really enjoying these podcasts and hope you are as well.  It is a communication medium that is very one-way, and we really want to grow past the one-way boundary.  You can help us do that by simply going to our website, hostingyourhome.com, and request to join our Facebook group. As more listeners join the Facebook group, it enables valuable conversations, and also allows Rob and me to reach out to ask your opinions and suggestions for new episodes.  Thanks!  We love thinking of all of you as we publish each episode! [caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="447"] Hobbit Hole, Portland, Oregon[/caption]   2:15-17:15.   DESIGN: Deb meets up with Greg and his wife Beth as Greg takes Debi into the space through a private entrance.  Creativity and sustainability are the two main themes. Greg works for the City of Portland and is very involved with street projects and active transportation.  Beth teaches at Head Start.  Let's jump in: Greg talks about excavating for the entrance and capturing the soil and clay to reuse.  The clay is similar to adobe (known as “cobb” in England).  As they took a few steps into the space, Greg described how the root system was drawn on the ceiling, then traced onto vellum so the patterns could be used on tubes of burlap. [caption id="attachment_568" align="alignleft" width="300"] Douglas Fir round is the centerpiece[/caption] [caption id="attachment_574" align="alignright" width="201"] Clay is used to round out the edges and provide structure.[/caption] The clay was sieved into slip, and straw was wetted with the slip and stuffed into the burlap tubes. The tubes were finished with a plaster made from a mixture of the clay from the yard and sand, and then oiled. The trunk framework was made using reclaimed teepee poles and all the room corners rounded out. A 4-foot Douglas Fir round forms the centerpiece. [caption id="attachment_569" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Don't freak out when you wake up![/caption] The Juniper wood was reclaimed from Central Oregon, where Juniper is being cut out as an invasive species.  Reclaimed teepee poles are used for lots of things in the space.  A branch is used for a clothes rod, and a special arched door from a burned out church separates the rooms. [caption id="attachment_573" align="alignnone" width="300"] A reclaimed door, from a burned out church[/caption] [caption id="attachment_570" align="alignright" width="300"] Just waiting for new furniture![/caption] The bathroom is unusual, more European with a shower and toilet in one space. The sliding door is shown here: [caption id="attachment_572" align="alignnone" width="201"] Beautiful door, made of juniper from Central Oregon, a sustainable choice[/caption]   17:15-20:15. Debi and Greg discuss how many it will sleep and other logistics.  There is a connecting door to the rest of their basement but will be closed off.  Talks about pricing – he had talked with Alan Colley at the last Meetup group about his thoughts on pricing.  Greg wants a very good photographer.  It is a hard place to photograph.  Even though he is a photographer himself, it takes specialized lenses because of the space. He has a reservation with Airbnb for an architectural photographer to come in after he gets furnished. 20:15-21:15 the two begin talking about next steps – City permit for short-term rental. 21:15-27:15 Greg talks about being involved in city street painting projects for 15 years – over 50 projects. He describes himself as pretty creative and also is used to doing construction projects, so this was a very good fit.  He talked about the overall cost of the remodel project. Mission – Greg really likes Portland, and speaking of their location, says most tourists who come to the City at some time probably walk by their home.  He is on design teams for the City.  He doesn’t build things but is involved in the design reviews.  He knows the City really well, including history, and really likes the thought of exposing guests to the concept of sustainable and artistic construction, influencing them, thinking they may follow suit in projects large or small themselves. Greg talks about his city job, and shares that he is happy his wife said yes to the project. 27:15-29:15 Greg talks about the expense of building materials because of the economy being so strong. Costs are 30% higher and labor is super expensive because of the economy. The recovered materials are free or inexpensive but the other materials are not. 29:15-38:15 This part is a talk about when the space will open, what they have to do before then, talking about who their market will be pricing, etc. Debi shares some thoughts on how to write up the listing, and Greg is thinking about Oct 1 to open.  Marketing to desired visitors: Greg is looking for people who love cities, creativity, and are interested in sustainability. They talked about Business Listing.  Greg wants to avoid pricing so high that people have artificial expectations. Debi suggests starting low to get some reviews, then can raise rates a little. She says she usually checks local hotels, but he doesn’t have one in his area. They also talked about a base rate and then charging more for additional people.  Debi recommended starting with just two guests and see how it goes.  Greg asked if Debi had been to other artistic Airbnb places, and Deb remembered Ashley Kern (“the tattoo lady”) in the HYH-13 episode “No Hope, No Fear”, and also recommends Alan Colley’s & Dabney Tompkins’ episode HYH-11 “Hear the wind give voice to the trees”, and April Brenneman in episode HYH-3  “Josh’s House in the Trees”. 38:15-42:15 Here, the two discussed how to manage the space, clean it, etc.  Debi feels that even though there is good management companies are there, being involved yourself has a value.  Greg is thinking he will do reservations and questions, but having someone to clean, do turnovers, and maybe meet and greet.  They talked about options for laundry, and some cost estimates for cleaning the space including or not including laundry. 42:15-46:00 Debi asks Greg if there is anything he wants listeners to know.  Greg talks about the community and working against social isolation.  He likes the kind of community that Airbnb creates.  And he is very complementary of Debi’s local Airbnb Facebook group and the level of reads of each post.  At work, he deals with customer service, very difficult customer service issues, and finds when people ask questions on the Facebook group the advice on the Facebook Group page is phenomenal.  He finds it to be super clear and effective, gentle, and non-violent communication. In wrapping up, Greg mentions a really key point that we have not heard come up before: How the Airbnb ratings on quality really motivate the hosts to communicate effectively. He looks forward to the coming experiences and what different situations will bring.   LINKS: The Hobbit Hole Airbnb Listing:  not yet listed on Airbnb but we will go back and add the listing number here when it is. UPDATE 10/3/2016:  THE HOBBIT HOLE IS ON-LINE!  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10752148 Other links:

1. Street Art: Check out photos of Greg's and compatriots' "Street Art" projects:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregraisman/9002632560/in/photostream/
2. Living Walls (the lead natural builder):  http://www.houzz.com/pro/livingwallsplaster/living-walls-llc
3. City Repair: http://www.cityrepair.org/
4. Francis Michaelson (lead natural builder with City Repair): naturalbuilding@cityrepair.org
5. Felling Furniture Studio: www.fellingstudio.com
6. JRA Greenbuilders (general contractor and carpenter): www.jragbc.com
7. Communitecture (architectural firm that helped Greg with layout and drew the root system based on his creative concept:  www.communitecture.net
8. Email debi@hostingyourhome.com  Ask to be added to the Facebook group! Any comments are welcome.

   

Soon after Taylor Scheftstrom began working for Airbnb she recognized a need for reaching out to Airbnb hosts in the Portland area.  Debi Hertert of hostingyourhome.com talks with her about working at Airbnb and Taylor’s efforts to build personal relationships between hosts and Airbnb staff. Taylor grew up in southern Oregon in a tiny town of Rogue River.  She was a sports girl, especially horses, and was interested in travel from when she was young.  She traveled to Italy in high school, and at U of O studied photography and political science.  And she took several - in her words - “hair brained” trips including one walk across England in a summer of endless rain. They were broke so had bought tourist cartoon maps instead of the real maps, got lost over and over, and eventually all their equipment got destroyed by rain. But she still wanted to travel! After college, she lived in Turkey for 3 months, and then moved back to Portland.  There, a friend who was already working at the new Portland Airbnb office encouraged Taylor to apply.  She hired on in September, 2014 just as the office was building out and the service was growing very fast. She was recruited for the Trip Experience team.  That team takes calls from hosts who have problems or questions during on-going stays.   The answering team might be in Portland or other cities depending on the time of the call. Now, Taylor does more of the community outreach.  She recognized a need for official outreach from Airbnb office to local hosts to bridge the disconnect.  It wasn’t happening and she felt it was a need.  So she and colleagues came up with the first host dinner at Airbnb in October of 2015.  That dinner was the first time the office had officially – but personally - reached out to local hosts.  Debi recalled starting the Meetup.com group in November of 2014, on the way to SF, because she wanted to connect with other hosts who were going to the SF Open and there was no way to communicate on the Airbnb platform.  Taylor talked about how much progress has been made since then, and Debi complimented her on how great a job she has done in her outreach efforts. Debi asked Taylor if she has traveled with Airbnb, and the answer is that she loves it. Paris, all over Iceland, SF, Oregon including Allan and Dabney’s lookout tower, other fire lookout in Bend;  Washington, a B&B in Palmer Alaska, run by an older man by himself with a full breakfast every day, and British Columbia.  Debi asked her if it’s rewarding to see how well it works, and Taylor does love seeing that.  She doesn’t mention she works at Airbnb unless it comes up.  She likes hearing stories from the hosts she stays with.  She also loves the (NPR) Moth story telling event and podcast, and thought it would be cool to have Portland Airbnb hosts also tell stories.  So, she organized Host Story dinners at the Airbnb facility.  Things can be stressful for the Portland Airbnb employees because they often hear the problems people are having. So these opportunities to hear positive stories from Hosts are fun for them. Debi encouraged her, when she travels and uses Airbnb homes, to let hosts know she works for Airbnb.  Debi loves it when Airbnb employees stay with her, feeling like it is a compliment that they chose her space. Officially, Taylor is the Airbnb Portland community point of contact. She works on community events, works with Dave Mathews on mobilization efforts, and brings together Hosts and guests to join employees in citizenship efforts. And lately, she has been trying to connect hosts with local small businesses.  An example of Host outreach is Portland’s new Biketown rental system – Taylor has been contacting Hosts and organizing free informational rides where the Biketown rep comes and teaches the Hosts how they and their guests can use the system.  It is really great because Hosts don’t need to own bikes. Debi asked Taylor about job flexibility, and Taylor said if you have a good idea that you are really excited about, you can make it happen. It is a really cool part of working there.  She still works part time with the Trip Experience team.    Deb describes the office building and how cool it is – Taylor said all the rooms are employee-designed, like the “Ship Room” that this interview is taking place in. Employees came in one night and set it all up.  It is a fun-loving environment.  The building is an open plan and you can work on a different floor, lounge on a couch, use one of the meeting nooks or whatever.  There are shift schedules with people coming and going at different times, and there are many little “landing rooms”, and “listing rooms” which are based on a listing the team likes somewhere in the world and recreates it for their team meeting spot.  Taylor said they are now going to build out the 4^th floor and there will be 20+ listing rooms overall.  They talked about the themed ladies rooms and how fun they are. Debi’s daughter and others are jealous of their friends who work at Airbnb, often because of the food!  Taylor is super complementary of their food program and told Debi about how hard the team works on sourcing locally and ethically.  The Food Service Team makes it a goal, not only to serve healthy and delicious food, but at the same time to economically support local agriculture and farms.  “Our Table” in Sherwood, Oregon is one cooperative they support and buy food that is ethically and locally sourced. It’s a small farm cooperative, really focused on the local community. [caption id="attachment_563" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Taylor serving at outreach event for local Hosts. Airbnb Food Service rocks! So do vegetables from Our Table![/caption] Debi asked Taylor about challenges at work.  Taylor said it’s hard because the company has grown so quickly.  The service has become so popular that you are always playing catch up.  All the team members want Hosts and guests to get it, and sometimes feel bummed if they can’t get it perfect.  They all believe in the mission (and, she notes, millions of other people do as well), so when it isn’t perfect, they often feel stressed. Debi asked Taylor about living here without a car.  How does that work for her?  Taylor said her fiancé Patrick has a car, but she bikes to work and has always hated car commuting.   Taylor said she still meets local hosts for the first time and really wants all area Hosts to know that she is interested in meeting them and building up communications.  She can’t give her email out but listeners who want to contact her can go through Debi via debi@hostingyourhome.com . Debi mentioned frustration that people have, not being able to find an email address or a phone number for Airbnb.  Taylor says it is hard to find the number on the website, because the system wants to answer phone calls for people who are really in a bind.  But she says the phone number is always on the booking so you can find it there.  And you can go to past trips, and find it.  The number is 415-800-5959.  The toll free number is 855-424-7262, (855-4-Airbnb).  And you can always just Google the Airbnb customer service number.  There is a special number for Superhosts (note that if you dial that number and are not a Superhost, you will eventually get disconnected L ) Be sure to see information about the farm cooperative “Our Table” at  http://www.ourtable.us/

Please join Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com, as she visits with Airbnb Superhost Kym Cumbo and tours the "Slater House" in Portland, Oregon. Kym and her husband Fred live at the “Slater House” in Ladd’s Addition in Portland, Oregon.  Fred has lived there for 26 years and Kym for 7.  Kym began listing on Airbnb in 2012 and has really done her homework as far as advertising and learning how to be a great host. The style of house is known as an “American Foursquare” and was featured in This Old House magazine when they did a story on Ladd’s Addition.  You can read about this house style and the unique Ladd’s Addition neighborhood by following links at the end of the show notes. Kym loves to teach, and turns this love into small businesses, including teaching people how to host on Airbnb, coaching on the topic of divorce resiliency, Reiki, Laughter Yoga, SoulCollage, and a class called “Bring Your Joy Out to Play”.  These activities add nicely to her passion for hosting, often overlapping with guests’ interests. Marketing is something Kym really works on.  She makes sure prospective guests know about her varied interests and of Fred’s jazz band “Ladd’s Condition”, and says many of their guests cite these reasons for staying at the Slader House.  Kym also markets to many institutions and universities in town to encourage them to use her house when they have travelers coming to Portland.  And, unusual for an Airbnb-only host, Kym has a separate website in order to attract more visitors.  On the site she lists her coaching and other activities, and a very clear “Airbnb” link that takes interested visitors to her listing on the Airbnb site. Kym attributes much of her booking success to the personal website, and watches Google Analytics to confirm it. They also have guests from other countries.  Kym told Debi about the availability of Google Translate directly within the Airbnb platform to facilitate conversations.  And Kym also told Deb about learning a good lesson while she and Fred were traveling: you need to find a substitute host to be at your home.  They had Japanese travelers who could not read the instructions for opening the lock and had other problems, and now their son makes a point of being there when his parents are gone. Speaking to the feeling she gets from hosting, Kym says flat out that she loves it.  She feels they attract amazing guests and have made several good friends.  This is something Debi hears from so many hosts. Kym mentioned going through the City permitting process, which also requires notification of neighbors.  She said that now, four years later, every one of those neighbors has had some family or friends stay at Kym’s Airbnb!  She said that she and Fred feel like they are ambassadors for the City and can speak to the local history and politics.  And, she adds that if hosts are only looking at the money, they are missing half of the value of the experiences.  She uses Airbnb when she travels, and encourages all her friends to do the same.  In an interesting personal extension to the Sharing Economy, Kym is now trying to promote the business interests of the guests who stay with her.  This is just beginning but she would like to help them succeed too. Debi recommends some takeaways from the interview:

1. Personal profile: Give attention to your bio.  Talk about your experience and interests.
2. Have a website:  Not all Airbnb hosts will want to take this step, but it has definitely helped Kym gain business and allows her to market “add-on” services.
3. Substitute host:  If you share your living space and will be out of town, find a person who can be there in your place.  This will help bridge language and cultural barriers, and also keep the peace among guests.
4. Share what you know:  Invite guests to events, classes, and so on.

COMMENTS?  QUESTIONS?  RECOMMENDATIONS?  Email debi@hostingyourhome.com ************ A tour of the house followed the formal part of this episode.  There are four bedrooms, two of which are for Airbnb and Kym is considering adding a third bedroom for rental and becoming a formal Bed and Breakfast.  That path has some serious city development fees compared to the minor fees for doing two bedrooms so she says they really have to think it out. ********** Here are some links.  Debi and Rob love live music and couldn't resist including those links :) Ladd’s Addition Neighborhood:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladd%27s_Addition Kym’s Airbnb listing:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/714112 Kym’s personal website: http://www.theslaterhousepdx.com/ One of Kym’s favorite bands (besides Fred’s), Ma Fondue:  https://www.facebook.com/mafonduepdx/ One of Kym’s favorite places to listen to music (and salsa classes twice a week), Vie de Boheme:  http://www.viedebohemepdx.com/ Fred’s band:  https://www.facebook.com/laddscondition        

This week, Debi Hertert of hostingyourhome.com coaches Ann Sigler, a Portland area Uber driver and imminent Airbnb host.  Ann has lived in her house for 36 years, just retired from Intel, and wants to try her hand at hosting.  Debi is helping her get started.  Ann would like to begin hosting in September, 2016. You may wonder where Debi finds people to interview, and there isn’t any one, single way.  Debi met Ann when Debi requested an Uber driver for a ride home from the Portland Airbnb office where she was having a meeting, and Ann picked her up.  They got talking, and it eventually evolved into this interview. Ann does not yet have a listing for you to check out, so here are a couple of pics of her house: As Ann walked Deb through the house, Deb talked to her about furnishing options, and about parents traveling with kids who don’t necessarily need a large bed.  Ann told Debi about water damage to the bathroom.  The damage includes some mold and the insurance will cover part of her situation but not all.  The 2^nd Bedroom was nice – queen bed, blinds, and Deb talked to Ann about people wanting a place to put their suitcase and options.  Closet is cleaned out. Deb talked to her about needing bedside tables and lamps, and extension cords for charging devices etc.  This is a recommendation Debi always makes, is to have extension cords with at least three outlets on each side of every bed, and where possible, at the ends of couches.  There are so many devices to plug in now and people don’t want to have to travel with their own extension cords. Ann’s own bedroom – Deb talked with Ann about locks for not only her room but for the guests’ rooms. They walked outside, and Debi loved the flowers and pergola. They sat at the table, and Deb then summarized the accommodation options as being 2 to 4, plus Ann.  Deb suggested she just start with one bedroom and see how it goes.  She asked Ann about the timeline, with the bathroom needing repairs.  Ann is hoping for September. Ann also needs time to get her application completed for Washington County to operate a short-term rental and the two of them discussed occupancy taxes and how those are different depending on jurisdiction.  Debi has been contacted by people who operate Airbnb’s but are not aware of what occupancy taxes even are.  It’s true that there are some jurisdictions that simply have not dealt with short term rentals and occupancy taxes, in which case it definitely saves the owner a lot of money.  But hosts should perform due diligence and find out what the rules are in your area. Ann confirmed that she had just retired from Intel, a major employer in the area, with several campuses.  Ann’s location is good for guests who have reason to go to Intel and there are good bus and train connections from her house.  Ann brought up that she was an Uber driver and could drive guests.  Deb asked her about possibility of using an Intel bulletin board since she is a past employee. Deb brought up the Airbnb “Business Ready” category of Airbnb listing, in which the host has to meet certain requirements, including no pets. Ann has a cat so that nixes the category for her, but Deb still thinks she could attract business people for Intel and gave her a workaround suggesting “Near Intel/Nike” in the title of her listing. Ann told Debi about her new job as Ex Dir of Beaverton Downtown Association, part of the Main Street national organization.  This job has stipend support from Intel, which supports the connection of retirees and local non-profits. Deb went back to the discussion of insurance for Ann’s house.  When Ann called her insurance company to confirm the policy would cover short term rentals, they said no.  Even though Airbnb has their important insurance policy coverage for hosts, everyone needs their own insurance policy and many will not cover short term rentals. They also talked about hosting both men and women guests and whether Ann felt comfortable hosting both.  The kitchen will be shared with guests. The episode wraps up with Ann talking about her driving experiences with Uber and how she likes to ask people she “Ubers” about their Airbnb experiences, as hosts or guests or both.  

Join Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com as she talks with Airbnb host Kaila Thomson. Kaila and her husband Matt have a house just five minutes from the Portland, Oregon airport in the up-and-coming Montavilla neighborhood. They host two rooms above Matt’s “Ivy League Recording” music studio. Matt is a musician and sound engineer. They have owned their house for five years. Before they started hosting, they had roommates in order to make ends meet, but were tired of it and wanted to get their lives back. They had some friends who had been hosts for a while and told them a lot about Airbnb. When Kaila and Matt got married, they honeymooned in Europe and chose Airbnb listings in every city. They saved money and loved the experience of staying in unique places and meeting their hosts. At each stop they talked to their hosts and asked them what they liked about hosting. Kaila and Matt loved how each place was different, meeting the people, and thought “we could totally do that. We could charge a little more, improve our house, and meet interesting people (and they treat our house a lot nicer).” They visited London, Prague, Munich, Slovenia, and Venice. They got to experience different arrangements: sharing space with hosts, sharing space with guests, and having their own separate space. Now, when they travel, they go to Airbnb first. They have now been married for two years and are at their 1-year mark with hosting. Kaila is 31 years old and says many of her guests are their same ages or a little younger, maybe mid-20s, but they also have older guests. Debi told Kaila she likes to interview people of different ages and is glad to see younger people hosting. Their listing says “Above a Recording Studio”. It might dissuade some people but others really like it and ask if they’ll hear music, and she tells them “you might!” They did have one unfortunate situation where the guest didn’t read the listing that described the music and operating hours of the studio. They get a lot of people from Seattle because it is so close, but also people from all over the world. Kaila likes to talk with the guests to see why they chose Portland and she and Debi agreed that it’s a destination now. Deb mentioned their proximity to the airport and Kaila said they do have a lot of people just staying for a night before they travel on. They used to have both rooms listed for minimum stays of one night but it was too much work, as they have been doing their own cleaning, so now they list one room as a 2-night minimum and one room as a 1-night minimum. Kaila just hired a housekeeper to help out. Both she and her husband work full time in addition to hosting Airbnb and it is a struggle. Her housekeeper is part of their neighborhood, just five blocks away. Deb talked with Kaila about the housekeeper being there possibly every day, and Kaila said they have the arrival and departure times set as 12-2 so if the other guests are there, they know that there might be housekeeping going on during that time. She has multiple sets of linens so her housekeeper doesn’t have to do the laundry. They talked about beds, furnishings, painting the rooms, and house rules: No loud noise after 10, clean up after yourself, turn lights off. With simple rules, they haven’t had any real issues. Debi wondered about walkable restaurants and it turns out Stark Street is an up and coming area with lots of nice restaurants and pubs including one with 19 rotating taps. The Academy Theater only costs $4. The #20 bus goes straight downtown, takes 15-20 minutes and works well for travelers without cars. Kaila includes menus from all the local restaurants in the room. She works downtown herself, and takes the #20 to Olympia Provisions, Oregon’s first USDA-approved salumeria, established in 2009, where she works in accounting. Her managers are OK with her taking an occasional Airbnb call during work, which allows her to be reachable when necessary. Matt works from home with his recording studio, and helps a lot with cleaning and is very involved overall. They have had guests watch movies with them, eat meals with them, and Deb asked Kaila for a story about a great guest experience. Kaila told Debi about Jenny and her husband from London, on their honeymoon, visiting before moving to Vancouver, BC. They connected nicely even though they were all sick and sitting around the living room! They talked late into the evening and became friends. Another couple from California stayed two weeks and became friends. They’ve also had some people stay who they wouldn’t want to stay again, noting this is the nice thing about hosting, is you don’t have to ever have to see them again. Debi and Kaila talked about Facebook, other outreach to past guests, and occupancy rates. The “Blue Room” only had three days last month un-booked. The “Green Room” is a little less busy but she still gets lots of requests. Deb asked her about Instantbook. Kaila said that because Matt isn’t always home and she works during the day, they would just rather not use that part of the platform. Their Airbnb activity helps them meet their mortgage every month and they plan on continuing hosting. One future question is what they will do once they decide to start a family. Deb and Kaila discussed Kaila’s favorite Airbnb on their Europe trip, which was the one in Prague, and the nice extras that the host did at that location. At home, Kaila leaves some snack bars and bottled water for guests, but said that sometimes guests don’t communicate with their hosts when they’d like something. Kaila encourages those listeners who are guests to make sure they read the whole listings and communicate with their hosts, and to look at Airbnb more as a community than a corporation. She says she finds so much information and support on the Airbnb forum. She feels very supported by Airbnb - the couple of times she felt uncomfortable, like about a person putting in repeated reservation requests for dates not available and she called Airbnb and they took care of it. She has had to turn down a couple of people due to feeling somewhat unsafe about them. She normally is fine with anyone who has the verifications and some reviews and answers her basic questions. So she doesn’t use instant book for just this reason. Overall, Kaila gave Debi a very positive feeling about her hosting experience. You can see Kaila and Matt's listings at http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6304219  and http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6317136

This week, Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com talks with soon-to-be Airbnb Host Ashley Kern, as they go over Ashley’s plans and final touches.  Be sure to see the pix at the end of these notes. Ashley and her husband James own the “No Hope No Fear” Tattoo Art Studio in SE Portland.  In a city with over a hundred studios, James is a widely recognized tattoo artist with 22 years of experience.  James also teaches at international conventions and hosts visiting artists.  The teaching aspect has allowed the two of them to travel all over the world and they look forward to using Airbnb more often as travelers.  This has made Ashley want to host other people too, and their home/business which is zoned mixed-use residential gives them the opportunity to include an Airbnb listing. Debi and Ashley walk through the home, built in 1922 in a Craftsman style, and Debi found the combined home/business to be very attractive and definitely looks residential.  The final project Ashley wants to finish before hosting is the outside patio.  Her dad is helping out and was painting the back porch the day Debi visited.  Ashley explains the requirements in her zoning of having to be at least 50% residential, so they can’t expand the tattoo business any farther, but are allowed to do short term rental and chose that path. There are dozens of nearby restaurants but no hotels.  There are many other Airbnb offerings in the popular area.  Their potential guest market includes not only tourists wanting to visit Portland but also clients from other cities, coming to get tattoos, and visiting artists. Debi and Ashley talk about the house potential to be kid-friendly, and business-ready.  "Business-ready" is an Airbnb term for listings that request the designation and have no pets, have high-speed internet and a working space/surface, and allow 24-hour access to the space for the guest. Debi explains this in detail in her introduction to the episode. After walking through the home, Debi encourages Ashley to open soon.  They talk about locks and the insecurity of using a lock-box type access that uses a key; the key can be copied.  Debi recommended that they consider using eRentallocks or Resort Locks or similar electronic locks that make it so easy to change the code between guests that there is no excuse to not do so. As they toured the house, Debi was wowed by Ashley and James’ photos on the walls of beautiful northwest scenes, all taken by cell phone cameras and printed by Costco!  Ashley has scheduled for an Airbnb photographer to come through the space to take photographs for her listing, and she and Debi talk about staging. James Kern Tattoo Art Studio:  http://www.nohopenofeartattoo.com/ Costo photo production:   Costcophotocenter.com Electronic locks:  http://www.erentallock.com/ More electronic locks:  http://resortlock.com/

Debi Hertert from HostingYourHome.com talks with Michael Burke and Caitlin White, as a follow up to last week’s episode “Hear the Wind Give Voice to the Trees”.  Michael and Caitlin have twice been guests at Alan and Dabney’s Airbnb listing: Summit Prairie, and this year they got engaged there! In this episode, Michael and Caitlin offer us the guests’ experience.  From how Caitlin first found the listing, luckily finding an opening, and then in detail what it’s like to stay there.   And why they found it so compelling not only to return, but for Michael to choose it as a place to propose. As hosts, it’s always valuable to hear what the guests think about things and you will hear a couple of fun contrasts, taken from our talk last week with Alan and Dabney. So listen in as Debi toasts the newly engaged couple - (and yes, Caitlin, of course Michael asked your dad!) **Debi also started a new Facebook group.  She intends to use this group as a place where hosts who listen to this podcast can interact.  This group provides a great way for all listeners, whether hosts or guests, to interact. Join Debi’s Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1718050635079172/ Alan and Dabney’s listing is: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3405072

Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com talks with Airbnb superhosts Alan Colley and Dabney Tompkins, self-described “City Slickers” who none the less, live on a very remote 160 acres.  In a house, but it's on a 40-foot high lookout tower. Alan and Dabney lived in Portland in a condo and rented it out on Airbnb while they went backpacking or touring. But they never met their guests. Now they live in the super-remote, rural Oregon and realize that there were the same number of people on their street in Portland as are in their entire rural area; but they knew few people on their Portland street and know everyone in their current surrounds. They were on a ferry to Victoria when they saw a book on renting fire towers, bought the book, and hilariously tried to reserve one in Tiller, Oregon for the next weekend. After the lady answering the phone had a friendly laugh about the non-availability, she gave them a consolation prize of a rental tower in Pickett Butte. They loved it. They loved it so much that they bought property, which only comes in 160-acre lots. Then they had a tower built to closely resemble the original Forest Service fire watch towers. But theirs doesn’t have the fire sighting equipment and they had a great laugh when Debi asked them if they were firefighters. Initially going to Tiller for weekends, they at one point realized they really would love to live there full time. They leased out their PDX condo for a year, and some months later realized it wouldn’t be long enough and made arrangements to stay longer. That was three years ago. Alan and Dabney said that they never realized how much they would appreciate the experience of meeting their guests, and that has transformed their lives. Their first season, they posted their “Off the Ground and 40-Feet Up” listing on Airbnb and had their first booking in an hour. The season filled in two weeks. With so much demand, Dabney relates the “mistake” of trying to accommodate people who couldn’t get in, especially returning guests who they wanted to be able to come back. He started “penciling people in” and found the logistics to be overwhelming. The second season filled in three hours. He leaves some dates open in 2018 so that people can contact him on the Airbnb platform, otherwise there is no way for them to contact him with all the dates closed. He and Alan have the funny experience of being so popular that they get kicked off of the platform every three weeks or so from having to decline so many reservation requests. Debi discussed prices with them – why not increase them if demand is so strong. You will hear a very meaningful response that has to do with the people they want to meet. OK, well everyone has to go to the bathroom, so Debi wanted to know what her options would be. First off, there are 66 steps up, so that would be 66 steps down, which you might not want to do in the middle of the night. Good news – there are other options. Want to propose? It turns out this is a pretty popular place to do that, with four or five couples making it official during their stay. Including our very own Michael Burke and Caitlin White but that will wait for another episode :) There is more:   camping events with catered food for 40 people, with music from local talent. Important outreach to their community to try to include others in the tourism economy.  If you listen through to the end you will hear Alan share with Debi that the wind gives voice to the trees. And that every tree has a different voice.  Remind you of people?   Alan and Dabney’s listing: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3405072 Great video made by Zillow: http://www.zillow.com/blog/life-in-a-fire-lookout-182162/ And a beautiful video made by Alan Colley and his son as a fundraiser for Portland's Open Meadows School: https://youtu.be/SRkQRVd-jkU

Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com interviews two veteran housekeepers who take care of Debi’s three Airbnb vacation rentals on the Oregon coast.  Bonnie (left) and Billie (right, with  Makenzie) bring their wits and humor as they discuss what makes a good guest, funny situations that come up like having to help pack up some guests who were forgetting to leave, and of course the hard challenges of housekeeping. This is a different job altogether than house cleaning for full-time residents.  Some Airbnb hosts already use professional cleaners, and some no doubt think about using them for turnovers or intermittently.  Even if the space is different than the coastal properties discussed here, the critical requirements of housekeepers are the same:

• Reliability of meeting your guest schedule, and
• Feeling co-ownership in achieving great guest experiences

Debi’s beach rentals are hours away, so in that case, a third critical requirement is initiative.  She is completely reliant on Billie and Bonnie to not only clean, but take the initiative to make sure the incoming guests have the best possible experience.  Listening to the interview will convince you that no owner could think of all the things Bonnie and Billie do, much less demand they do them. Reliability is so key that one absence without backup during a back to back turnover could turn into a crisis and 6 hours of driving plus cleaning. Retaining a great housekeeper is one of the most essential challenges for hosts.  The good news is that there is nothing different from retaining any other good employee.  But we have to keep these job satisfaction indicators in mind or suffer losing our essential support:

• recognition
• challenge
• freedom to assume responsibility
• avoiding burnout
• compensation, and
• spending enough personal connection time to build a relationship.

Have fun hosting!  Keep it clean! Here are links to Debi’s Oregon coast rentals discussed on the show: Seal Rock, Oregon (Gull House):   http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16446 Lincoln City, Oregon (Shearwater House):   http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34403 Lincoln City, Oregon (Romance of the Sea)    http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16431

Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com leads a panel discussion about money matters with Airbnb hosts from Portland. This episode was requested by Marcus, one of Debi’s listeners, who wanted to know about the financial aspect of hosting. The discussion covers initial setup costs, gross income, taxes, expenses, how much time is involved, and what difference the income has made in each person’s life. This is a longer episode than most but allows you to hear several viewpoints. Each person on the panel has Airbnb’s top “Superhost” designation of quality and volume of guest activity.  So the numbers on this show won’t match up with an overall average of all hosts but the concepts are the same.  Another topic discussed is occupancy rate.  It varies a lot among the panelists.  Many factors are involved: location, type of listing, allowing single night stays Y/N, using instant book Y/N, number and quality of reviews, how high the company's secret search algorithm shows your listing, how many nights the owner blocks off for personal use or maintenance, etc. You will hear a variety of approaches for income taxes, because it’s a complicated subject, and if you are a host, should inspire you to get an accountant familiar with rental activities.  In most cities, Portland included, owners of short-term rentals  are required to pay occupancy taxes.  In Portland, Airbnb collects and pays these taxes and the owners never see or get involved with them.  It is a simple, elegant solution. Some other rental platforms, notably Home Away and  VRBO do not collect or pay these taxes.  This negligence makes a complex process for the owner, and the City, County and State doubtless lose a lot of deserved tax revenue. One of the big complaints all over the world about the "Sharing Economy" companies is that they don't facilitate the tax collection process.  And why shouldn't there be complaints?  It is simple for the company to collect and pay the taxes directly, and proper for them to take care of this obligation. Cities need to allow short-term rental activity (at least for owner-occupied homes). Owners who earn money from their rentals need to pay occupancy taxes. "Sharing" Companies need to meet their responsibilities here and make it easy for owners and municipalities. This is the first episode in the “Nuts&Bolts” series that addresses issues that come up when people rent their spaces to others.

Apples to Applesauce! You may THINK you’re busy, but there is busy, then there is really busy! This week, Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com talks with Katrina Eastberg about her rental in southeast Portland and her nonprofit “Apples to Applesauce”.  Katrina is not only an Airbnb Superhost, but also:

• founded and runs a nonprofit “Apples to Applesauce” to reduce hunger in Oregon
• plans to start a company “Universal Green Design” which will help people with attractive, non-clinical architectural accommodation designs for disabled owners and guests
• knits and sells the knitting products on the web
• operates an event planning business with her husband, Tom
• creates and sells flower arrangements for weddings
• remodeled her home, with Tom
• and – we lost track of at least one more job!

Listen as Katrina tells Debi what it’s like to live in a perpetually-being-remodeled home while renting a space on Airbnb.  A very rewarding part of this episode is learning about Katrina’s non-profit that is doing a lot for kids in need in Portland. Check out Katrina’s Airbnb close to Ladd’s Addition neighborhood:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2020429 If you want to register a fruit tree or farm, volunteer or donate, please go to http://www.applestoapplesauce.org And, if you are interested in the phone app for house cleaning details, go to http://www.getproperly.com  

Making Life-Long Friends Join Debi Hertert from HostingYourHome.com as she interviews Jill Palamountain and Michael McCarron about their Portland Airbnb.  Jill and Michael have hosted people from all over the world in the short year that they have been operating. They share their space, and it's definitely a big commitment step up from the hosts who have separate spaces for their guests. But Jill and Michael compare their experience to a really positive class in world geography and culture.  Some of their guests have become friends and have even been invited to Thanksgiving dinner. There is lots to learn in this episode! Check  out Jill's listing at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4810197 And Debi mentioned a "Walkability Score" for your neighborhood:  https://www.walkscore.com

Walk Your Airbnb Talk! Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com interviews Portland Airbnb Superhost Kathy Peterman, who has amazingly compressed 5 months of trash into this tiny bottle!  Listen as Kathy explains how she came to walk the Camino in Spain and how she integrated the simplicity she felt on that journey into her life and her rental space.  Check out Kathy’s “veg-friendly” listing at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3478576 and her blog at https://mybestyear.me

No, it’s not a new song!  Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com and Airbnb Superhost Nancy Scott visit at Nancy’s home on a tree farm in West Linn, Oregon.  When families stay there with kids, the kids are up early feeding the chickens. You can tell that Nancy is an optimist when she tells us about both joys and difficulties she has experienced but sums it up as “100% positive” ! And she doesn’t keep her rental open ALL the time - you’d never know it, but Nancy has 13 grandkids.  She holds two “Grandma Camps” every year for them and had up to 9 little campers!  “Camp Little Wolf” is over the summer and “Camp Little Elf” is at Christmas time.  They are two day, one night gatherings of all the cousins three and older who can make it for a fun time of crafts, games, hikes, fun food and roasting marshmallows. Check out Nancy's listing at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1594464

Download this episode
Debi of HostingYourHome.com and her husband Rob talk about how they met, how they got started with vacation rentals, and Debi's podcast about Airbnb stories. To see the Hertert's properties: http://www.oregonshearwater.com

Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com interviews Portland Airbnb Superhosts Charity and Maylene Kuahiwinui (koo-ah-hee-vee-new-ee) and learns how they have built a small business of supporting other hosts.   These two energetic and fun women share their story of how they got into Airbnb hosting, bought a suitable home, then perceived and filled a market niche for supporting other hosts who don't have the time or knowledge to manage their own listings.  Their entrepreneurial drive and individual professional skills in HR and IT have served them well as their business now supports a number of hosts with a variety of services.  You can check out their business at http://www.Turnkeyed.com

In this heartwarming interview, Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com talks with April Brenneman, mother of five and Airbnb host with a tree house! April tells Debi about her youngest son becoming ill and wishing for a house in the trees.  The community response and the effect on Josh are uplifting, and now, years later the tree house is helping the family in a new and important way.

April shared a beautiful YouTube video of the tree house story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbemVJgo6Yg

You can see April's listing for House in the Trees at

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5642410

and the "large comfy room in SW Portland " is at  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1094328

 

Join Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com as she talks with Emily Andrews, a photographer in Beaverton, Oregon.  Emily has hosted some fascinating guests in her unusual Airbnb accommodations, including a 1-day old baby!  Listen through to the very end to see what was so darn fun! To see Emily's listings: Tiny House: www.airbnb.com/rooms/11227628 Photography Studio: www.airbnb.com/rooms/10791897 The Cottage: www.airbnb.com/rooms/7158944 Listings Emily manages: Hoffman Woods: www.airbnb.com/rooms/10810725 Beaverton Home: www.airbnb.com/rooms/11678823 Charming Farm House: www.airbnb.com/rooms/11722042

Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com interviews Airbnb Superhost Carole Wiles in Portland, Oregon. Carole tells about her move from California and her search for a home in Portland that would be suitable for including an Airbnb apartment. 

Carole has traveled extensively herself, and values the concept of affordable accommodations to allow these cultural experiences to others.  

To see Carole's "Suite Dreams" studio listing go the shownotes for this episode.