Categories
Aug 29, 2016
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 4th 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/
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/
Aug 14, 2016
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:
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: - Personal profile: Give attention to your bio. Talk about your experience and interests.
- 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.
- 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.
- Share what you know: Invite guests to events, classes, and so on.
Aug 5, 2016
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 2nd 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.
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 2nd 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.