Happiness Happens: The Kindness of Airbnb Guests

 

A couple of years ago, I decided to experiment with Airbnb hosting.  I had a spare bedroom and bathroom and it turned out to be very easy to get the room listed.  Within minutes of listing the room, I already had a request!

Of course, once Covid hit, I took the listing down and I only re-listed in May, asking only for guests who've been vaccinated.  With variant concerns, I may decide to put it on hold again, but, luckily, I'm not dependent on the income. That's just a happy side-product of hosting.

The unexpected benefit is how much I enjoy the guests that I meet. 

I've thought and written a lot about relationships and connection and how we form the bonds we do with people.  Even though I will never see most of the people who stay at my house again, the short time we do share together often brings me a sense of joy, happiness, and new knowledge of a culture or idea.

I love the diversity of ages, places the guests are from, and ideas they have and share. I love the differences in personality, from the soft-spoken to the chatty extrovert. I love to hear the stories from those who are willing to share...  of their families, their backgrounds, their opinions, their dreams.

• The picture is from Maria, a recent guest who I didn't even get to meet in person since I was in Minnesota during her stay.  She's from Costa Rica and I'd told her I was going to be in Costa Rica in January for a month, so we have plans to meet up then! It was such a sweet surprise to find the cute monkey keyring she'd left for me. Though we didn't meet, we had such fun email exchanges and I can't wait to meet her!
• Another recent guest, Roger, and I had some wonderful deep discussions about religion and cultures. He sent me a text with a link to a video from a Catholic Bishop, addressing an issue I've struggled with in my faith.  His video was so relevant to our discussion. He also recommended the book, Gilead, which I' plan to check out. Roger, a literature professor, was a wonderful conversationalist and communicator!
• Rebecca, a guest who stayed in June, has a very interesting story - she's a nomad and minimalist! I suggested she start a blog and she did: Rebecca the Elder Nomad! She was on her way to a 6-week petsitting assignment in Boulder and we got together a couple of times to share lunch, tea, and stimulating conversations!
• David, also, is a guest-turned-friend. He needed a short-term stay until his Westminster condo was ready for move in.  We are both singles in our 60's and I even was a tag-along on one of his match.com meetings! I was grateful for his support when he came to cheer me on at my recent singing performance and will be going hiking with him Monday! I value his wit and the wisdom he has to share.

These are just a few of the stories from recent guests, but there have been so many more. I have a little guest book where I ask the guests to tell me what makes them happy.  It warms my heart to read their thoughts..  sometimes a few words, sometimes poetic phrases, sometimes a note of thanks for the stay..  

It's hard to explain the feeling I get from these temporary relationships..  a little bit of sadness for their impermanence, but gratitude that for a short time on this earth, our paths crossed. I was able to experience their kindness and, because of them, I'm a better person.