Interacting with your Rooms guests

Some guests book Rooms on Airbnb because they enjoy meeting new people, while others prefer to keep to themselves. How much do you like to interact? You can let guests know in your listing settings.

Choose one of these four in-person interaction preferences in your listing settings:

• I like socializing and spending time with guests.

• I like to say hello in person, but keep to myself otherwise.

• I won’t be available in person and prefer communicating through the app.

• No preference. I’ll follow my guests’ lead.

You can also write clarifying details in your listing description, such as what hours you’re typically available to offer help during a guest’s stay.

Richard, who hosts a Room in downtown Toronto, loves opening his home to guests. “It’s more than just bricks-and-mortar accommodation,” he says. “It’s engaging with guests in meaningful conversation—being open and listening to people.”

Richard greets his guests at the front door when they check in and gives them a tour of his place. “I think there’s a human element that we’re all looking for in life,” he says. “I give them access to everything from the balcony to the barbeque, so they feel like this is their home away from home.”

Richard also enjoys showing guests around town. “I like to pick out their passions,” he says. “Then I focus and say, ‘Let me give you some highlights that aren’t on your typical city tour.’ To me, travel is the textbook of life.”

Ruth, a Host in Perth, Australia, likes to say hello to guests. She then shows them the suite of three bedrooms, two private bathrooms, and a living room that make up her Room.

After the short tour, Ruth lets guests have the space to themselves. She only goes to their part of the house when she does laundry.

“I think that initial meeting is key,” Ruth says. “Some people don’t want to interact at all, but others do, and they’re just delightful. That’s been an unexpected pleasure.”

Dandara, a Host Advisory Board member in Maceió, Brazil, prefers to let guests decide how much they want to socialize. She says she tries to get a sense of this by how talkative they are when she shows them her home. 

She always ends the tour on her balcony, where she can point out her favorite places to go and answer any questions. She’s found that guests open up over time, and some even become so close that they’re now “part of the family,” she says.

Dandara finds that she and her guests tend to connect at the breakfast table. Everyone contributes a little something, like fruits and cakes. “And there you have it—a magical moment is created,” she says.

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.