To host is to be human
Yup! That was me, up on stage in the Grand Hall of Parc de la Villette during the 2015 Airbnb Open in Paris, rocking my super cool head-band and posing like I was presenting something important. In fact, I was invited by Airbnb, along with my business partner, Mike, as members of Airbnb’s SuperHost program, to represent Airbnb hosts from Vietnam.
Airbnb Open is an annual gathering of Airbnb hosts to learn more about the latest development at Airbnb, directly from the co-founders and their employees. Airbnb hosts are encouraged to mingle with other hosts from around the world to share hosting experiences. Just imagine the energy of a Star Wars Convention, but instead of “the force,” people talk about “the reviews.” The biggest difference is the role reversal — most people who are hosts, are now guests in a stranger’s home, in Paris.
Speaking of role reversal, do you see that couch in the lower right corner? On Friday, November 13, 2015, I was an Airbnb guest and that couch was my bed, located just 600 meters from Bataclan Theaters, where 89 people were shot to death and 368 others were injured in the deadliest attack in Paris since World War II. That night, I came back from the interrupted Airbnb gathering, via an Uber, lying in a stranger’s couch, wondering what it actually meant to be a host.
“Hi, this is Xavier your host. I don’t know if you heard the news but there is a shooting just near the flat so it is better to stay at home for safe.”
Just a few moments prior to this SMS from my French host, Xavier, I asked my Uber driver as he was driving me back to my Airbnb flat, “Why are you still picking up passengers? Aren’t you afraid since the attackers are still on the run?” He responded, “I am scared, so I need to drive.” That response, to me, made the stranger who drove me home, whose name I never asked, one of the best hosts I have ever encountered. He was the REAL SuperHost that night.
When my brother and I started Christina’s almost 2 years ago, we were mostly looking to cover rent, meet new people, and go on with our day-jobs, like many other Airbnb hosts. We focused on impressing our guests with every little detail, from the top-quality Turkish cotton towels to the little personality bonsais that we have tragically needed replacement many times over. We challenged anyone to find another bathroom cleaner than ours, or another set of sheets softer than the gazillion thread-count Supima cotton that we hand-carried back to Vietnam. We even have the Honesty Fridge, allowing our guests to “consume whatever you want, and pay whatever you want. No questions asked.” The 5-star hotels’ got nothing on us! We pounded our chests and claimed to manufacture joi by focusing on the little things in life.
With Airbnb relatively new in Vietnam, our clean and simple design and the extensive attention to details got us the top ranking, and in no time, SuperHost status, a designation for hosts who impressed their guests via 100% commitment rate (zero cancellations), above 90% response rate, and above 80% 5-star reviews. Bookings soon filled up for months in advance and we seized the opportunity to expand our host operations, making new hires and bringing in more partners.
That sounds awesome, right? It wasn’t always awesome. Hosting became extremely stressful — particularly trying to maintain the SuperHost status with 5-star reviews. Working under constant pressure with little prior leadership skills or operational experience, I became one of the worst hosts to our team. With so many things to do, there was little time to properly develop our team…at least that was my excuse. Needless to say, this lack of training grew into frustration at work and resulted in significant conflict between team members. More than once, I considered shutting down because I was at risk of losing my friends, my family, and even myself. I had not fully understood what it meant to be a good host.
That night in Paris, on that couch, in light of what just happened outside, I wrote a short note to the co-founders of Airbnb:
I have gained more confidence in my belief that to host is to be human. To host is to step into our neighbor’s shoes and for whatever bit that we can, lift his burden, even just for a brief moment. These acts of kindness and compassion are the only chance we’ve got against the horror that continues to spread in our world.
Earlier in 2015 when Charlie Hebdo’s office was attacked and a lot of people replaced their Facebook profile photos with “Je suis Charlie,” I hesitated to follow suit. I asked myself, would I identify with “Charlie” who deliberately chose to offend a certain group of people for their belief? Je ne suis pas Charlie…or at least I am trying not to be. I believe that just because we have the right to do something, it does NOT mean that we should. As human beings, we have something I believe is even more powerful than our intelligence and our so-called rationality. We have COMPASSION.
Just now, I searched my inbox, and my Uber driver’s name from that night in Paris is Christopher. Christopher has demonstrated his compassion for me despite fearing for his own safety. He stepped into my shoes, and made getting back to my flat a lot less scary, when he didn’t have to. His action exemplified what it meant to be a good host, even though he may not even have an Airbnb account.
My encounter with Christopher was brief, but his compassion towards me has become ever lasting. Since Paris, I have committed to become a better host, not only to our guests, but also to our team, our community, and our planet — our HOME — focusing more on matters of the hearts, not just the towels. Just as I wrote the co-founders at Airbnb, I have gained more confidence in my belief that to host is to be human.
That’s my Thucents!
Trevor would probably argue with me that to host is to…một, hai, ba, zdô!!!
Related Article: Obama Time @ Christina’s Saigon
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