Airbnb – advice for a potential new host?

So there has been a lot going on the past wee while.  The main thing being I have bought a new house and the entry date is in around 6 weeks time.  For the moment I am living in my parents spare room, surrounded by boxes, bags, clothes…….it’s joyous!  I’ve been here almost 3 weeks, which has gone pretty quickly but I’m basically wearing the same 3 outfits in rotation as I can’t find anything else!

Anyway, last night the thought came to me that I could become an airbnb host, as my new home has 2 bedrooms.  The second was supposed to be used an my office, as I work mainly from home, however there is enough space in my bedroom to have a desk and enough cupboard space to hide all my admin stuff.

The thought came to me when I was looking for airbnb properties in Yorkshire.  I’ve never actually used the site at all before and that is why I think I must be a little crazy if thinking about hosting.

I get the general jist of how it all works.  I am currently pouring over the airbnb website and community forums and noting down little nuggets of information.

Does anyone have any stories/advice/help/information/warnings they would like to share?

I don’t have a property that would be overrun with bookings so I’m not expecting it be a major money spinner but it could be a useful extra income, to allow me to squirrel away some cash – which at present I don’t do (I know, naughty me.  Or completely foolish me may be more appropriate!).  There are a couple of airbnb rentals close to me and they seem to have fairly regular rentals judging by the reviews so it could be something that works.

It wouldn’t be something I could start straight after moving in (if I did decide to go ahead).  The house doesn’t need much done to it before I move in but I need a couple of months to find the spare cash to buy the furniture I’d need to fill the room.

There’s a lot to think about, a lot to research, a lot to consider. I tend to obsess over things for a while so the research will no doubt consume most of my free time (and some of my working time – 1st class procrastinator) until I decide what to do.

Any help and guidance would be much appreciated!

LJ

The rambler returns

 

Hello all.  If you are still there.

It has been a number of months since my last post, a long absence, but I’m back now.

The updates from other pages have still been coming into my email for all those months and recently I thought about coming back, today’s the day.

A lot has been going on since my last post, some good, some not so, but I suppose I’ll get to that eventually.

My anxiety is not great right now.  I thought I managed to get it under control with acupuncture but unfortunately that seemed to be a short term fix only so I’ll try my rambling therapy again and hopefully it will help.

As long as I try I’m at least doing something.

 

LJ

Weekly Photo Challenge – Narrow

One of the flights of stairs you take on the way up to the Golden Gallery of St Paul’s Cathedral.  Not for the faint hearted – go early if you want to reach the top but are slightly claustrophobic; I wouldn’t like to climb these when there is a crowd!  I arrived just after opening and was one of only a handful of people at the top.

Narrow.

Cherry on top

The good thing?  A 10 mile walk through the Lake District.  A short ferry ride from Bo’ness to Ambleside then uphill most of the way before taking in the cherry on top – the views.

Another cherry on top from it – it was downhill all the way back to Windermere from here 🙂

LJ

 

 

Sanctuary

The Daily Post

This is one of the views I get on my favourite walking route near my home.  It’s very much my sanctuary.  I tend to go early in the morning, when I know there won’t be too many people about, so it’s quiet, peaceful, calm, relaxing.  I don’t wear earphones to listen to music when I’m walking, I like to hear the silence.  I love turning the corner onto this view, I know it’s coming and I start to smile.

 

LJ

 

 

A Piece of Advice

Kensington Gardens, London

 

Time flies…….use it wisely.

 

The Daily Post – A Piece of Advice

 

 

Inshriach – near Aviemore

Shed of the Year 2015

Gin distillery

To the river!

Beer Moth

Beer Moth close up

Inside the Beer Moth (also has a wood burner and sink)

Get chopping

Get chopping for the sauna

Inside the sauna

 

Last week I was at a work day out in Aviemore and we spent the night at a fabulous spot on the Inshriach House estate.  This place won Shed of the Year 2015 and I can confirm it is a thoroughly deserving winner.  Crossbill gin is distilled in the shed and it also includes a ladies waiting room, honesty store and small bar.  A 15 minute walk from the shed is the Beer Moth (the truck in the pictures) which you can rent out, there is a sauna in a shed nearby and another shed with a compost toilet.  They also have a shower and flushing toilet for use across from the main shed. I believe you can also stay in a yurt and a bothy and you are truly at one with nature out here!  I imagine it would be very unlikely to come across too many people so you will get some real peace and quite.  The main shed is a great party venue – they set us up a long picnic bench and served up a tasty bbq, we didn’t even mind when it rained a little later in the evening!

Have a look at this place if you are visiting the Aviemore area.  The lodgings can be rented through www.canopyandstars.co.uk and you can get more info on the estate at www.inshriachhouse.com

 

LJ

Looking up

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is ‘looking up’.  This shot is looking up at Tower Bridge just before sailing under it.  Obviously it’s only a small part of a huge bridge!

 

LJ

Independence Day

Happy 4th July festivities American people! 

Taken on the front porch of the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island.
LJ

Opposites

 

This weeks weekly photo challenge is ‘opposites’.

This picture has the green of the tree, with the barren, but completely breath-taking and mind-blowing, landscape of the Grand Canyon in the background.  It’s also a view over to the North Rim from the South Rim.

This was taken in the Grand Canyon National Park probably around 7.30am.  It had been a much earlier start for sunrise!

Partners

For the Weekly Photo Challenge theme – partners – I present to you The Kelpies, the largest equine sculptures in the world situated at The Helix, Falkirk.

If you are ever in that part of the world, pay them a visit, they are mighty impressive!

From the top photograph it can be pretty hard to imagine their size as you don’t know where I was positioned to take the photo, this second shot should help show it though!

www.thehelix.co.uk

Solo Travel

I’m currently in holiday planning mode.  I should say that this is not at all unusual for me.  I spend about 360 days of the year in holiday planning mode and plan, price and ALMOST book about 5 trips a month.  I’ve just never been brave enough to take that step yet.

I like a certain type of holiday.  I’m no good at lying on a sunlounger or a beach, my concentration span is way too short for that kind of thing.  I prefer to be up early and be out and about exploring all day long.  I went a sunshine break with a friend last year and although I enjoyed the relaxation at the time, the thought of doing it again for a full week doesn’t really appeal to me.

I’ve already had my London trip with my Mum and sister last month and I have another, solo, trip there planned and booked for August.  I have a rough idea of things I would like to do but I’m waiting to see what the weather will be like nearer the time before making any set plans.  Although I really should get the theatre tickets books soon to guarantee my coveted aisle seat!

I’ve also booked a short weekend in the Lake District in July.  I’ll be going solo to that but will be joining a group for a yoga and hiking weekend through a company called Mountain Hikes.  I attend a hot yoga class every Monday and I love it.  I also do some classes at home through the Yogaia app on my ipad.  I thought about doing a yoga holiday, however I’m not really into the whole retreat thing of detoxing and eating vegetarian food.  I simply wanted a normal holiday with some yoga thrown in too.  I did find two possible options for this when I happened to pick up a copy of Om Magazine for the first time and it had pages and pages of yoga holidays and retreats.  I looked at two companies as possible options – Yoga Escapes and Cala D’Or Yoga.  Both looked fun and relaxing and I very nearly almost booked the option in Cala D’Or for the end of September, however cost stopped me.  The Yoga Escapes option is £1500 before I’ve even booked a flight and the Cala D’Or option is almost £900 before I’ve booked a flight.  For that amount of money I would rather head off to my great love in the world – the USA, at the moment I struggle to justify that amount of money for a week in Europe, although I still really want to do it! (Are you starting to realise why I plan so many trips but never book them??)

I may have mentioned in a previous post that I have a great love of TripAdvisor.  I view the forums more than I view my social media pages and I have picked up a wealth of information from them.  I did a search on the Solo travel forum for yoga holidays and it brought up a post with an option which I have head-over-heels fallen in love with.

St Lucia – The Body Holiday

I 1000000000000000000% want to go.

It’s a strange name for a hotel, I’ll give you that, but I just love the sound of it.  It’s sunshine, it’s all inclusive, if I don’t want to leave the resort I don’t have to, there’s eating options, there’s drinking options, there’s an abundance of activity options, there’s a spa treatment every day……  I want to go.

I have two weeks scheduled off work in November but it pains me to say I think that will be too soon for me to book this trip, once again due to cost.  It will be close on £3000 and I doubt I can get this amount of money together so quickly.  However, I am putting it on my list for next September.  This year they have the month of September focused on solo travellers so I’m hoping they do the same next year and I can start putting some cash away now!

So I need options for November.  I have another trip I would like to do, but again I don’t know if cash would be available so soon for it.  Four years ago I had a two week trip to the USA with a very reluctant travel companion.  I spend 5 days in Las Vegas (should have been 6 but took a day out to travel to the Grand Canyon National Park and stay overnight) and I would love to go back and do some more national parks in the area.  I wouldn’t rent a car by myself – waaaaaaaayyyyyy to stressful (someone ran into me in LA on that 2012 trip) so I would look at tours.  I know, a tour, more expensive than driving myself and I’m on someone else’s time schedule.  I am happy to do that though.British Airways currently have flights to Las Vegas for under £500 and I’ve found a 3 day tour by Bindlestiff Tours for their National Parks Winter Tour.  I’d have a few days in Vegas either side of the tour and could all be done for about £1500.  Which would be easy to do but I then have to factor in spending money.  Now when someone hands me American dollars (normally the bureau de change worker) it’s like handing me Monopoly money. I lose all concept, and control, so I’d need at least £1000 for a week away.  I may not spend it all but I’d like to have the option.

There is also the option of simply a week in Vegas which I can do for about £800 and take a couple of day trips – Death Valley, Zion, that kind of thing.  I’m clearly not short of options, I know what I want to do, it’s simply that I could lack cash by the time it comes around and right now I lack the bravery to go ahead and book it.

Why am I afraid?  Of what people will say probably.  Will they say I’ve no friends to go with? (I do have friends – I just don’t want to go with them and they probably don’t want to go on that kind of holiday).  Will I look sad and pathetic?  Will I be lonely when I get there?  Why do I care about what other people think?  Anxiety.  Back to that old chesnut.

I’m going to work out some cash flow from the next couple of months wages and take my options from there.  If anyone has any suggestions about any other holidays up to 10 days that may suit me as a first time proper solo traveller then let me know.  I’m thinking USA or all inclusive sunshine, where if I want to stay on the resort there is plenty to do.

Send me some suggestions!

LJ