HYH-27 "Airbnb Open 2016" Part 2

Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories

This episode is part 2 of our podcast about the 2016 Airbnb Open in Los Angeles. Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome.com interviewed several hosts there, and there is the same happy background noise that gives you a flavor of the overall vibe of the event. This episode includes June Stoddard, Diane Sherry Case, and Myranda Love. As in the “part 1” episode, we just ran the three short interviews one after another. They average about 8 minutes long. June has a great story about finding Airbnb at the right time to help her with her mortgage and two daughters’ college; Diane is an actor and directs a fun Airbnb TV series about Airbnb; and Myranda is a southerner who moved to Idaho and offers an online Airbnb training program. She hasn’t lost her southern drawl! EPISODE TIMING AND SEQUENCE: 0:00-2:00 Debi’s intro 2:00-10:00 June Stoddard 10:00-17:00 Diane Sherry Case 17:00-28:30 Myranda Love 28:30-31:00 Debi’s wrapup June Stoddard [caption id="attachment_729" align="alignnone" width="233"] Santa Monica Superhost June Stoddard[/caption] June is a widow of 14 years and after her daughters went to college she continued living in her same house just a few blocks from the beach in Santa Monica, California. She was a little lonely in the big house by herself. She thought about Airbnb and decided to try it, despite being initially nervous about having people stay in her house, and then wondering what her hundred-year old mother would think of her “taking in boarders”! The income supplemented her other work and helped pay for her daughters to attend college. She explains her experience as meeting the world without leaving her home. She feels like she has changed people’s lives. She was an actress for 20 years, and has an amazing story about a connection with a couple from England that makes the world seem smaller. She was surprised to learn that in some countries people can take months of vacation and come back to the same job. June has learned to establish boundaries and help out without hovering. Her daughters have moved home so the Airbnb is shut down for the time being, but she has been booked solid for a year and a half, every night, and has made $3,000/month, leaving $1,000/month above and beyond her house expenses. Santa Monica requires hosts of short term rentals to live in the home, and June feels like this rule is good for the overall community. Diane Sherry Case [caption id="attachment_746" align="alignnone" width="225"] Diane Sherry Case: "House Poor"[/caption] Diane is an Airbnb host and actor who directs the TV series “House Poor” about an empty nester who is dating like crazy but doesn’t have any money so starts renting out rooms. The fictional Airbnb host gets a bunch of wacky millennials, some of whom drive her nuts and some that she loves. It’s on Amazon Prime, and a station called Reverie. The first four episodes were filmed in her home, all done with professional actor friends. Diane has a five bedroom house in a beautiful neighborhood in Santa Monica, California, and rents out two rooms for guests staying at least a month. Mostly business women now, after learning her lesson by advertising about yoga and healing and getting some wacky guests. She tells Debi a funny story about organic flea removal! Myranda Love [caption id="attachment_730" align="alignnone" width="225"] Myranda Love[/caption] Myranda Love is a Boise, Idaho transplant from Alabama. She rents a house with two bedrooms and one bath. There was a music festival happening and that prompted her to list her extra room on Airbnb. That was successful and she has helped other people get started on Airbnb too. She shares the kitchen and the one bathroom with guests. She allows one-night stays and has Instant Book enabled, and has had positive experiences. Myranda gives a good tip about setting a cutoff time for Instant Book. She doesn’t use any other booking platform. She is excited about the “Airbnb Superhost School” that she has put together. Having helped other people get going, she developed a 5-module Power Point training program to efficiently train people to be hosts. She also has a module covering co-hosting. LINKS: June Stoddard’s listing in Santa Monica: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/801336 Diane Sherry Case's show: "House Poor" on Amazon Prime. Diane's house listing in Santa Monica: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/668186? Myranda Love’s superhost training program: (we will update this later)