How did I get into Hosting?

My hosting journey was something that perhaps had always been a long time coming. Throughout most of my life, I was often traveling with my parents and my brother – able bodied and fit. So much freedom and we had many choices in location, size and price. We have travelled to many countries together and really have had some adventures.

For example, when I was 9, my parents rented a sleeper van and drove us all over Europe for a summer. Then, in my 20’s, I spent time with my mother in a Beijing youth hostel with questionable plumbing. We were the only mother-daughter team and the rest of the hostel was full of European backpackers. 

Fast forward a few years to 2011, I had just started my own family. I lived in Japan and my parents were living in Australia. We thought it would be great to meet up in a third country – relive our travel adventures of the past. So, we planned a trip to Seoul, Korea. My family, my brother’s family and my parents. I searched for a large serviced apartment or linked hotel rooms where we could all be relatively together, prepare food and have a quiet zone for daytime naps. 

It was impossible. Or exorbitantly expensive. The mid priced hotels were tiny, separate rooms and BLAH, soul-less and same-same to every other mid priced hotel on the planet. Large fancy multi bedroom suites sounded interesting. However, we didn’t need all of that 5 star excess (and expense) when our goal was to spend time with each other, do some sightseeing in a different country and my parents could spend quality time with their newest grand-baby. 

The Downside of Hotels

Traditional hotels or hostels have never really accommodated guests who are not adults, fit and able bodied. Add children or elders or disabilities and needs change. After having a baby and traveling with my parents, who are in their 70’s, this becomes so clear. 

I really wanted a way to prepare meals? Other parents will understand me when I say that young kids hate restaurants in general. Hotel breakfast buffets are completely a misery for everyone – kids, parents and other patrons wanting a leisurely meal.

My kid is like a shark, consistently moving and grazing so trying to keep him quiet and still in a restaurant is a nightmare. (This is why iPads were invented I know but that is another story.) Plus, who wants to eat 3 meals a day in a restaurant when all you want is a sandwich and some fruit for lunch. Of course you want to try new foods, but sometimes you want the option of just refueling when you are on the go. 

Then somebody suggested Airbnb. I went on-line and found a lovely little family cottage just four streets away from a bustling shopping area and close to public transport. Price was great and it ticked all of the boxes for a comfortable adventure in a different city. 

A lightbulb went on in my brain. This is what was needed in my life. This was the start of my hosting journey.

This wasn’t a hotel or a place to crash, but a place for my family to set up a home – even if just for a few days – in a different country, city or neighborhood. 

We all had enough space for privacy – my Dad could take an afternoon nap at the same time but in a different room from my infant son. We could sit around a dining table as a family and catch up. Plus it was super fun to experience home life in a different country and not be in some cookie cutter, soulless beige hotel that could be in any country or city in the world. 

This was an adventure but we still had everything we needed. 

My first listing

Fast forward a few months. We returned to our daily life in Tokyo and it was the start of the tourism surge. Japan had done a great job in marketing itself, visa restrictions were being relaxed and it was starting to be a desirable destination for leisure travelers. Plus we were getting lots of interest from family and friends who wanted to see our new baby (and us) but we just couldn’t accommodate them. There were a few decent Airbnb’s in our neighborhood but it was hit or miss when it came to their suitability and availability. 

I looked into renting a second apartment for our family and friends. Criteria was: walking distance from our house and suitable enough for western needs – a bed, kitchen, washing machine. I set this up with my “ideal guest” in mind – which were people that I knew. I knew their needs and so it was easy for me to think of everything they needed.

Unconsciously, I already had my ideal guest avatar.

I was just starting my hosting journey and new to hosting. I wasn’t thinking about marketing or creating a business. My main focus was covering my costs and providing a service to visiting family and friends.

So I found a 1 bedroom apartment that had a separate bedroom space from the eat in kitchen. I could put in a small dining table, a proper bed, a sofa bed and it would fit a portable baby bed. It was small but ticked all the boxes of needs for my known visitors. 

Listing on Airbnb was really only supposed to cover costs. I did some rough calculations. The figures seemed doable. Hopefully if I could get 50% occupancy at a certain price point that was a break even scenario. 

Well then this exploded. I had my first booking in under three hours of the listing going live. The guests were to arrive the next day. It seemed that there were plenty more of my “ideal” guests who thought I was their ideal host. 

Scaling the Business

I wanted to expand as I could see the potential. There were many requests from groups that wouldn’t fit in my first place. So, I found a larger apartment – one that would suit larger groups. But I wasn’t wanting to create dormitories and cram as many people into a space for “heads in beds”. I wanted to create a safe and comfortable home away from home for other families who needed it – just like we had when we went to Korea. 

I learned so much in those first few years. For me, setting up houses was fun and instinctual. Not being a decorator, it wasn’t about finding the exact colour throw rug to harmonize a colour scheme. It was more about imagining who was going to be inhabiting the space and what they would need.

I loved to focus on the “flow” of a space. Imagining how it was going to be used and “lived in”. Plus the practicalities and what people need – from potato peelers to wine bottle openers. Thinking of what I needed to provide guests for comfort and convenience during their overseas stay was an unexpected joy and filled me with purpose. 

This was all instinctual – there wasn’t a blueprint or a business model or even a coach to guide me.

I had figured out that my skill was in identifying the sweet spot between the listing, my hosting style and my target guest. This was a sweet spot that attracted a ton of new money into my orbit. I unexpectedly had hit on a product in a market that was needing it and prepared to pay for it. 

A Family Empire?

My brother and my husband started to see how much new money my little “side hustle” was generating. I had hired cleaners to help me out but I was doing all of the guest communication, listing management and creation of the hosting tools. But to really expand I would need more help – I had a full time job, the side hustle and I was a full time Mum.

Ashley, my husband, quit his restaurant job to help out with house maintenance, guest checkins, cleaning rosters etc. I would still do all of the guest communications and general admin. We hired additional cleaners and additional check in staff.

There was no scarcity of my “ideal guest”. They just kept on coming. So we kept expanding. In under 5 years we had listed 24 listings. We were generating large amounts of revenue that we would need to really look at our taxes and company structure. Our biggest month we generated over $100,000. In a single month! That was insane in my mind. It was easily a 7 figure business that I had built from nothing. 

Passive Income? Hardly.

This isn’t passive income – not in the way that I do it.

We look at each space we set up as a fresh project. We think carefully about who is our target guest and how they will inhabit the space, what things they would need for comfort and convenience. A great deal of attention is spent on where furniture is placed to provide logical “flow”. We look at how many people would be comfortable and what the optimal group size. We do this for each listing given how many bedrooms, bathrooms and the type of living spaces. Are their stairs? No stairs? Where would we place a portable crib if their are infants?

Most of our guests fly straight in from overseas and come directly to us. We don’t have self check in and we meet every guest. This helps them settle in and relax after an internatonal flight – plus we can answer all of their questions in person.

We listen to our guests, we keep tweaking our listings, we maintain our spaces, throw away things that have been well used. It is not a set and forget business. We take very seriously that we are creating a space for real humans to inhabit and while they are under our care, we will do our best to ensure their comfort. 

Superhost Secrets

The results speak for themselves. We are superhosts with a very loyal and happy guest list. They keep coming back, write great reviews and recommend their friends. Plus, the immeasuable joy they give back to us is priceless.

So, no soul-less, cookie cutter spaces for us. We have unique homes that have their own soul infused with our love and care in each room. Come see for yourself at www.tokyofamilystays.com