Submitted by Melissa Moran, Host2Host Member, owner of Forage & Scout Interiors and host in North Portland.

On February 10, we welcomed guest speaker Jeff Iloulian to our February meet-up. Jeff is co-founder and COO of HostGPO, the first Group Purchasing Organization for the short-term rental industry. GPOs leverage the purchasing power of a group of businesses to obtain discounts from vendors based on the collective buying power of the GPO members.

HostGPO partners with many companies you’ll know, such as Pottery Barn, RugsUSA, and Public Goods; as well as some you may not, such as Standard Textiles provider of linens to hotels around the globe. Previously open only to hosts with multiple rental properties, Host2Host members can now take advantage of buying direct from manufacturers at close-to-wholesale prices through HostGPO. Signing up is easy. Go to HostGPO and click Join Us Now.  

Host2Host Members are automatically approved when joining HostGPO, with no minimum unit requirement needed. Host2Host members can view the event recording here.  

______________________________

H2H member, Ann Kopal, let us know she was grateful for the HostGPO membership. She ordered some blankets and quilts from Standard Textiles and was very happy with both the quality of the products and the customer service; expressing: "the representative was very generous and the items we ordered are an improvement over what we had been using."

Submitted by Debi Hertert, Host2Host Founder and member of the Business Outreach Committee.

We held our first sponsored event with Breezeway on Tuesday night, with Justin Ford presenting via Zoom.  Our Business Outreach Committee Chair, Ryan Tigner, introduced Justin to our group of hosts.  

Justin is the driving force behind Breezeway’s Safety Program.  Safety is a huge issue for our short-term rentals.  Justin pointed out a number of ways that hosts fail to protect themselves and their guests from accidents and possible litigation.  Some of his examples were of BBQs catching houses on fire, homes lacking proper railings on stairs, and a lack of mounted or expired fire extinguishers.

Breezeway offers a safety program which involves a host using an app that walks them through specific safety questions about their property.  Based on the answers, if the property is already at passing level, a certificate will be issued.  If repairs are made and the host goes through the process again, they will still receive the certificate.  Justin pointed out that not only will your property be safer for your guests, but you would also be more protected legally in that you had proactively gone through the certification process. In addition, Proper Insurance offers a 5% discount for hosts with the Breezeway certification.

Justin offered Breezeway’s two certification programs free of charge to our event attendees. 

1. Self-Safety Certification Report, valued at $69, is currently a free-to-download app. 
   
2. Short-Term Rental Safety Inspector Course (STRSI), valued at $500, was offered free to the first 15 hosts to sign-up. This program is for people who want to become inspectors and earn money doing it. If you missed the free offer, Host2Host members can take the course for $100. Use the promo code found on Breezeway's member profile.

Host2Host members can find similar offers by looking up Breezeway up on our H2H member’s site.  And can view the event recording here. 

Submitted by Nancy Stevens, Pamela Jeanne and David Boe. All are members of the Host2Host Meet-up Team and H2H Charter Members.

Host2Host kicked off the New Year with a meetup entitled: Hopes and Plans for 2021. Debi Hertert, Host2Host Founder, shared some of the “forecasts” for travel in the future. Among them:

• Pent-up demand will result in far more travel beginning in the second quarter of 2021. 
  
• Trends blurring between short-term rentals, vacation rentals and long-term rentals. 
  
• Business nomads will continue to be common. 
  

Debi also suggested that we reflect on five questions in order to keep hosting in perspective: 

1. What’s more important to me, results or relationships? 
   
2. How does hosting reflect who I am? Or does it?
   
3. What impact does hosting have on the world around me? 
   
4. What is something that makes me feel proud about hosting?
   
5. What does my work-life balance look like?
   

Based on the forecast that we can anticipate more travelers this year, the members chatted with each other in small breakout groups on four popular topics on how best to prepare for a return to hosting. They included:

Technical upgrades: locks, pricing systems, etc

Airbnb platform changes

Property upgrades: interior design, kitchenware, etc

Building your own website

The evening was enjoyed by all – especially the break-out rooms where hosts could talk to and learn from each other. While the meet-up was recorded, the break-out rooms were not. This made for a less interesting viewing of the event and we will not be sharing or posting the recording on the Host2Host website.

Submitted by David Boe. David hosts in his SW Portland home and has remained open through the pandemic. 

Before Covid-19 appeared on the horizon, a popular YouTube channel called Vsauce published the latest episode of its Mind Field series. Released a week before Halloween of 2019, the episode was entitled “What is the scariest thing?”

Mind Field’s creator Michael Stevens has a knack for mixing comedy with serious scientific content, and it’s made him one of YouTube’s most bankable stars. His resources allowed him to assemble a unique and diverse panel of world-class experts on fear; a curious mix of authors, researchers and scientists that also included the producer/director of one of the world’s most well known horror films. 

Serious science involves years of tedious research. It’s not usually the stuff of Hollywood movies. Yet it’s Mr. Stevens’ gift to make such things both accessible and entertaining, and he succeeds beautifully here, with one small but significant exception: 

Over the course of the program, the search for the scariest thing is the constant focus, and the question itself is repeated and restated throughout the episode, building up to a big reveal. But the answer he provides in the last half-minute of the video is so dryly clinical as to be almost meaningless. Are you ready? After a 40 minute build-up, here it is: The scariest thing, the single thing that universally provokes terror in all human beings is:

“Elevation of Carbon Dioxide in the Blood Caused by an Uncontrollable External Threat.” 

What? 

It was an anti-climax after such a long build up. As if Dorothy’s house had just landed in Oz, but instead of opening the door to reveal a technicolor world, she just wakes up in a hospital bed, skipping the whole story.

But I quickly realized the point. The preceding 40 minutes had offered up everything I needed in order to fully appreciate why this cold, clinical explanation was indeed the correct answer.  It was never about the destination. It was always the journey.

Now, you may be wondering, what does all this have to do with hosting during a pandemic? Hold on. I’m getting there....

The bulk of the program is an exploration of our most basic, innate fears. Innate fears are present at birth; they aren’t acquired or learned. Although we can learn to manage them, we can never entirely master them; they are always present, encoded in our DNA.

You can easily guess the first two: The fear of falling, and the fear of sudden movement, deeply connected to the startle reflex. 

Here’s where it gets really interesting. Remember that this episode was conceived, written, produced, and posted online the week before Halloween, on October 24, 2019; 23 days before patient zero was first documented in Wuhan, China, on November 17, 2019. Yet watching it today, it’s chilling how fully Covid-19 inhabits the six remaining innate human fears:

*Pain

*Disease

*Isolation

*Suffocation

*Incapacitation

*The Unknown/Abnormal

These all flow from the greatest fear of all, the fear of Death. (Did I mention that this video is mostly a comedy?) In writing this article I am filled with even more admiration for Mr. Stevens’ comedic genius, especially in tackling such a dark topic. But then again, if you harken back to that innocent time before the pandemic, such gallows humor went down a lot easier.

For readers currently living through the worst pandemic in a century, it is immediately clear how directly each of the six remaining innate fears relate to Covid-19: It’s an Invisible (unknown) Disease that Incapacitates its victims with tremendous Pain. Moreover, it forces us into Isolation, and causes Death by Suffocation.

An especially ingenious aspect of the episode is that it is structured like a horror movie, and even includes an interview with Sean S. Cunninghan, the producer/director of Friday the 13th and many other films. The program uses this movie connection to explain how fear is maximized in horror films through something known as “category jamming.” 

Category jamming is a technique that has been perfected over many years. It’s why a character like Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street is so terrifying: Several of our most basic fears are piled one on top of the other to multiply the terror.  It also explains why movies like the Alien franchise are so effective: unknown creatures hunt human prey, isolated in a spacecraft where air could run out at any second. It even explains the logic behind a movie about Snakes on a Plane: People already fear both snakes, and flying. Putting them together creates a confluence of terrifying factors including fear of falling and sudden movement.

How does this relate to hosting during a pandemic? 

The pandemic we’ve all endured over the last year is a lot more like living in a horror film than anyone realized. But not just any horror film. This seemingly endless movie moment is category-jammed with all of our most basic, innate fears, and they have been more effectively stitched together in real life than any horror film. 

For me, the concept of category jamming was a light bulb moment: It’s no wonder we’re all so stressed and disoriented. We’re simply not built to live with so much fear, and there are numerous studies that show the adverse effects of constant stress (though I’ve seen none as yet, about the pandemic). Our bodies are evolved for fight or flight; something that ends in a matter of minutes, or maybe hours, but not days or weeks on end. Months or years? We’re not built for that.

From a hosting perspective, every guest is potentially Freddie Krueger in a hockey mask, carrying a Texas chainsaw in his oversized luggage. Every child is The Good Son. Every toy is Chuckie. 

From the guest’s perspective it’s just as bad: every host is Norman Bates welcoming them to Hotel California: You can check out any time you like, but (if you catch Covid) you might never leave (alive, that is). 

As a home-host, welcoming guests into my own living space, these issues are compounded. It’s no wonder that on many of my days off (when no guests are around, no arrivals scheduled) I’ve found myself unable to get out of bed, sad to the point of incapacity, weeping for no good reason that I could figure out. Until now. 

I simply didn’t appreciate that we are being category-jammed by the most frightening monster of them all: Our own imaginations, as fueled by the combined resources of the entire planet’s news, information, and entertainment industrial complex. 

Dealing with it

It’s said that acknowledging the reality of a situation is one of the first steps toward healing. Working through the anxiety and the range of other emotions brought on by a year of lockdown and isolation is no easy task. But luckily, the same advances in science and technology that allowed us to create a vaccine and find effective treatments for COVID-19 also offer a number of proven strategies to help us deal with such monsters, both real and imagined.

Exercise your knowledge and your body

Once you appreciate the full scope of what's going on emotionally (i.e. in addition to the physical dangers we face, we’re also being held in a psychological prison by a tiny, invisible invader), there are many ways to help reduce your fear and anxiety. Two of the most important are related to movement, both physical and mental. 

More than any time before, during the pandemic I’ve come to appreciate the value and the volume of information that now resides at our fingertips. Educating yourself about the realities of COVID-19 is an effective way to gain a measure of control over the situation. And of course, a daily walk with my beloved dachshund, Buddy, does wonders for dissipating the monsters too. 

The bottom line

Hang on, and stay as healthy as you can by exercising both your body and your mind. You’ll need them both for the next Renaissance.

_____________________________

An Airbnb Superhost since 2016, David Boe has welcomed more than 1,100 guests into his home in Portland’s West Hills. This article is based on his experience of personally hosting more than 50 trips between April and December of 2020. David is a charter member of Host2Host, and is also the author of Secrets of an Airbnb Superhost, and Walk With Me, Discover Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon, based on the Airbnb Experience he created in the Arboretum, which is within ½ mile of his home. Both books are available on Amazon.com.

Submitted by Amina Moreau, Host2Host member and CEO & Co-founder of Radious

Locals… I thought people loved locals. But as it turns out, many short-term rental hosts shudder at the thought!

For some of us hosts, a booking request from a local guest, raises red flags. Will they be partying it up? Will our place get trashed? We start to cycle through the countless things that could go wrong.

Before the pandemic, there seemed to be a general sentiment that out-of-towners were the safer, more responsible guests. After all, it’s less likely that they’d be traveling with a huge entourage looking for a place to party. Locals, on the other hand? They signaled trouble.

As a relatively new host, this aversion to locals was counterintuitive for me at first. Until I’d started having conversations with more experienced hosts, I’d assumed that locals would actually show more respect for hosts’ properties. I figured people would be less likely to cause turmoil in their own neighborhoods, for fear of being recognized and called out as the community hooligan. But no. It seems that every town has its bad apples and it’s up to us to recognize them before they inflict their wrath.

And so I learned to consider “locals” as a dirty word.

And then COVID-19 happened. 

Travel all but halted completely, which meant out-of-towners were a thing of the past. Many short-term rental hosts found themselves with a greater number of inquiries coming from locals looking for a change of scenery. Cooped up families were looking for a holiday refuge or simply for a quiet place to work away from distractions.

While some nervousness about locals lingered, the pandemic increased demand for “legit” local rentals that didn’t include partying or property damage. More and more local guests were proving themselves to be quite lovely. Was this the start of a shift in perceptions? Maybe locals might not be so bad after all?

In parallel, we’ve seen small businesses suffering immeasurably due to the pandemic. But, in inspiring fashion, communities have come together in solidarity to support local businesses in any way they can. “Shop local” has become an ever-present philosophy, and people have really leaned in. Locals have stepped up as stewards of their communities, taking on projects to clean up graffiti, donating food, propping up those who have stumbled, and being all-round good neighbors. The word “local,” in this context, seems to mean “friend.” And short-term rental hosts have played a big role in being those good friends.

One might suggest that as hosts, we really are leaders. We provide shelter, safety, a sense of warmth and community, at a time when distance and isolation are the norm. 

If we’re afraid of locals, we’re afraid of each other.  I believe we have a unique opportunity to come together, see one another as allies, and rebuild our communities in a way that feels welcoming, open and genuinely collaborative.

2021 began with it a much-needed feeling of hope. No matter what happens, let’s embrace hope by taking every opportunity we can to help one another, and let go of past beliefs that may no longer serve us. Let’s create the “new normal” we really want to see.

Amina Moreau

CEO & Co-founder of Radious

Your home office, away from home.

Submitted by Alan Colley, Host2Host Past President & Newsletter Editor

Dear Members of Host2Host and Hosts Everywhere

As the new year dawns with all its potential, it occurs to me that it may be a good time not only to consider how we can reinvigorate our own properties for our guests, but also to embrace our neighbors in that invigoration. Here are some thoughts.

As a community of hosts we are doing a pretty good job of gathering and building our own community. We have learned to support each other as we all have navigated this pandemic. While we have been prone to saying “We’re all in this together”, we can often forget that our neighbors are likely struggling too. How can we then begin to reach out to them? 

Here are some good tips from Matt Landau, founder of VRMB to get us started. I quote them here to prompt our own conversation.

“Across the research and interviews, it became obvious that all successful regulation starts at home and it starts with... being a good neighbor to others in their neighborhood.

• “Being a good neighbor means spending more time on your porch, front yard, or hallway, taking neighborhood walks, introducing yourself, helping fix things that affect you (like broken fences or overgrown weeds) by inventing your own hair-brained solutions some of which will work and some of which won’t. Being a good neighbor means trying...

• “Being a good neighbor means listening to neighbors, asking open questions, saying hello when you pass in the street, or calling to check in regularly if you live somewhere else.

• “Being a good neighbor means chipping in where you can, ... and leaving the place better than you found it.”

With all the horrific events that took place on January 6, our actions now count even more. The need to care about and for each other, and to renew our commitment to our social contract is more crucial than ever. John Paul Lederach, Professor Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame statement is particularly poignant:

“Act on and walk into what you know to be true. Start local. Reach out beyond your comfort zone. Commit to nonviolence. Always protect the dignity of others. Walk together.”

You may not be able or ready to take on all these suggestions, but just opening up to the possibilities you can take action on, could be beneficial.

Whatever you find worth pursuing, I hope you find satisfaction and prosperity in this coming year.

With deep gratitude for you,

Alan Colley (he/him/his)
Host2Host Past President & Newsletter Editor

PS: Check out Rent Responsibly's Fostering Good Neighbor Relations brochure for more in depth ideas about embracing your neighbors.

Dear Members and Friends of Host2Host

We can truthfully say this year has been like no other. As 2020 winds down we want to extend our warm thank you to each of you. As a people, and as members of Host2Host, we have greatly pivoted and achieved milestones that are worth celebrating. They signal we are capable and willing to face challenges. As an association of hosts we are showing the world we are resilient, creative, caring and professional. 

We look forward to what can be achieved in the coming year, and are grateful for your continuing participation and support of the work that we do together - a community called Host2Host.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we offer our sincere good wishes for a safe and very prosperous 2021! 

Alan Colley (He/Him/His)

President, Host2Host

Written by Nancy Stevens and David Boe, Host2Host Meet-up Team and Charter Members.

Host2Host’s first virtual Holiday party was, well, like nothing we’ve ever experienced. We were a bit skeptical about holding a holiday-themed Zoom party, but we wanted to mark the end of a strange year with a hopeful look forward. We called it the Bon Voyage 2020! Happy Hour and Gift Giveaway!

Many of our host/members and a few non-members Zoomed in, some 58 in all, a healthy turnout for any meetup! Many participants wore party hats, as well, lending a celebratory atmosphere to the evening, even if we had to flip our screens frequently to see everyone!

Debi Hertert was our Master of Ceremonies, and she was certainly masterful at moving things along while handing out prizes left and right! She ran a series of repeated events, starting with a gift giveaway, then on to a poll/survey, followed breakout rooms with four to six participants in each room.

Zoom’s “instant polls” were fun and fascinating. There were five in all: 

• “Is your STR currently open?” was first, and to our surprise, 66% of participants said yes!

• “Are you a Superhost?”  88% said yes. (We wondered aloud if Portland still has the most Superhosts per capita of any city, but all agreed that it’s great for both guests and hosts!) 

• What color towels do you use? (White is most popular, followed by blue & other) 

• What type of coffee maker do you offer guests? (“Mr. Coffee” style was most popular) Finally, 

• How many stars would you give H2H? No surprise here – 5 stars! 

Three breakout sessions of ten-minutes each allowed attendees a cumulative half-hour to mingle in smaller groups.  Each session had a different topic: What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you as a host or guest? What’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done for a guest or a host? And what’s the best thing that happened to you in 2020? Attendees from all of the rooms said that they enjoyed the chance to meet and share stories with hosts from as far away as Missouri and New York.

The highlight of the evening were the amazing prizes. Some two dozen vendors and individuals donated gifts valued at more than $2,000! The wonderful giveaways included:

★ An ice cream party for 10! ★ Free annual memberships!  ★ An amazing array of gifts & gift cards! 

The full list of prizes and donors can be found on previous blog posts:

• Bon Voyage 2020! Gift Giveaway
  
• BonVoyage 2020! Thank you donors!

We hadn’t imagined that a Zoom party would be that much fun! It was so well received that the meetup team is thinking about doing it again in the future! 

There you go, 2020, out with the old, in with the new. We are so ready for 2021. After the year we’ve had, it gives the expression “20/20 hindsight” a whole new meaning!

A great time was had by all at the Host2Host Bon Voyage 2020 event on December 8, 2020. A huge thank to all our donors. Their generous support allowed Host2Host to give away over $2000 in gifts.

iTrip Vacations

iTrip Vacations is a locally owned short term rental property manager. Advertising the properties they manage on over 85+ different channels while delivering the local white glove boutique level of service to both the guests and homeowners. iTrip Vacations currently manages over 80 short term rentals from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast and everything in between! Locally owned by Corey Tigner and Ryan Tigner, who is on our Board of Directors.

Goddamn Man Co.

We love men and their beards and want them to feel confident about how they show up in the world so they can attract their lovers and be on top of their game without distraction. That's why we handcraft premium body and beard care products with love, humor, and responsibly sourced organic, wild harvested, and Oregon-made ingredients.

   Ensourced

Ensourced is a premium Airbnb management service specializing in maximizing Happiness for guests and their hosts. From cleaning to concierge, we are Listing Management experts. 

 Ruby Jewel Ice Cream

Handmade ice cream, locally made and sourced in Portland, Oregon.

 Proper Insurance

Proper Insurance leads the Nation in short-term rental insurance, with over 40,000 policies written in all 50 states. Backed by Lloyd's of London and exclusive endorsements from HomeAway & Vrbo, our company is built on world-class insurance coverage designed for vacation homes, townhouses, condos, duplexes, cabins, cottages, and more. 

     The Distinguished Guest 

TDG's an educational portal and your go-to source for hospitality data, advice, and inspiration. Let us guide you toward the best industry events, products, people, and marketing strategies for small/independent hospitality providers!

 Hosting Your Home Podcast

Stories from short-term rental hosts and guests. As hosts, guests, and human beings we can lower cultural barriers, making friends and sharing powerful experiences using this simple travel method.

 Spin Laundry Lounge

Spin Laundry Lounge is here to help with all of your laundry needs! We are an essential business and are grateful to be able to stay open to give our community safe and healthy laundry options. Both stores are open daily 8am-7pm for drop off and self service laundry.

 FabStayz

We believe traveling the world should be a relaxing and fun adventure for every person. Our mission is to provide a platform of truly inclusive and welcoming super host allies to the LGBTQ+ traveler.

Dr. Pamela Jeanne

Dr Jeanne has been in private practice for 30+ years and helps people with their health and wellness. Hosts need to stay strong through this unprecedented pandemic, so health education is imperative. 

         Together Anywhere

Together Anywhere is a new company, taking visitors and locals on tours of Oregon from the comfort of your car using our smartphone apps (still free). Listen to stories and fun facts about our state!

     Guest Hook

Guest Hook creates marketing, copywriting and branding campaigns for vacation rental businesses. 

              Tyann Marcink

Tyann Marcink Hammond, co-founder of VR Mastered Vacation Rental Boot Camp, Community Ambassador for Touch Stay digital guidebooks, owner/manager of Missouri Haus Vacation Rentals and Branson Family Retreats, creator of Natty Media, and photographer, author, and consultant in the vacation rental industry.

 InnStyle

InnStyle is your complete resource for all things hospitality.  From bedding to bath amenities, dining and other lodging accessories including personal protection equipment, InnStyle is your one stop wholesale shop.  Anyone in the lodging business, including a one room Airbnb is eligible for wholesale pricing. 

  Kopa Website Builder

Kopa Website Builder takes the technology off of your hands. Create a professional, all-in-one direct booking website in 4 minutes. On average, hosts using the Kopa Website Builder earn an extra $5,000 each year by taking bookings directly and avoiding the 15% platform service fees.

Property Protect

Supplemental Damage Waivers to preserve your primary homeowners policy, great for direct bookings!

      Breezeway

Travelers want to stay in high-quality properties, and safety and regular maintenance are at the very core of this expectation.  As the leader in short-term rental safety, Breezeway has developed safety checklists and education programs that help ensure managers are operating at the professional level they are expected to be at.

 StayFi

With StayFi, you can brand WiFi, collect guest data, and increase direct bookings – all while providing a better WiFi experience for vacation rental guests.

     Vrolio

Vrolio is a vacation rental real estate brokerage that connects buyers and sellers of short-term vacation rentals. We know 2020 was a rollercoaster of a year for hosts and investors and we are wishing everyone smooth sailing into 2021 and beyond!

 Sweet Haven

Sweet Haven hosts a variety of unique vacation rentals in Oregon! Discover your next sweet getaway.

Host2Host Letter from the President

Dear Fellow Members of Host2Host and hosts everywhere,

I once wrote that I had let milestones in my life become millstones which were rapidly leading me to gravestones. I’ve since learned that milestones can just as easily signal achievements that we can build upon and with. It’s not the achievements per se that are worth celebrating. It’s who we have become to reach those milestones that really counts.

No one has to tell you that this year has been like no other. The challenges, set backs, pain, fear and loss have been daunting to say the least. Yet without being glib, I believe it’s also fair to say that as a people, and as members of Host2Host, we have achieved milestones that are a great deal worth celebrating. We have demonstrated that we are creative professionals, open to learning and moving forward.

These milestones also signal we intend to keep building. They signal we are willing and capable of facing challenges. As an association of hosts we are showing the world we are resilient, creative, caring and professional. We are ready to keep building a world that welcomes guests with professional grace and competence.

So let’s say, “Bon voyage, 2020, thanks for showing us our grit and resilience. We look forward to 2021!”

With deep gratitude for you,

Alan Colley (he/him/his), Host2Host President