The art minute

A new house, and a guest bedroom with a private entrance.

Would it rent on Airbnb?

Within a few months of moving to our new home, the startup I worked for closed its doors. Between projects, and knowing that we had extra space in the house, it seemed the perfect opportunity to experiment with Airbnb.

The house is designed with a daylight basement, with a door leading out to the backyard. We realized we could add a sliding barn door to an opening that leads to the upstairs, effectively dividing off a private “guest suite” from the rest of the house. Guests would have their own private entrance – sort of like a duplex!

The question was, in an area outside of Seattle, would anyone want to stay? We knew Airbnb was popular in urban areas – but had no clue about more residential settings.

Airbnb suggested that there was demand in the area, and for years we had wanted to experiment with furnished rentals. Moreover, I wanted to learn about how the booking system worked. We figured the worst that could happen was no one would ever rent.

The day our listing went live, we had plans to meet friends for a tour of the Seattle Art Fair. I published it, and we headed out for Seattle. In the car, I got our first alert. Someone had a question about booking! Then, walking around the Art Fair came another request. And another. It sort of felt like winning a prize each time a notice came through. We were on our way.

We became “super-hosts” within six weeks, which required a minimum number of rentals, high ratings and a quick response time. But the best part was actually being ready and able to help our neighbors across the street – that we didn’t yet know – as they welcomed family to gather for a celebration of life.

This probably isn’t what you expect out of an Airbnb story, when neighbor complaints make the headlines. But in our case, one neighbor told another neighbor that a host across the street may be able to help. And our ability to easily open the door, with a setup that could provide a quiet place for rest to strangers, meant the creation of a real friendship with our neighbors across the street.

Kindness and fun, from sharing flowers and garden vegetables, to fire pit sessions, and even a set of handmade place-mats from Mexico.