Last December, the writer gained firsthand experience as part of a housekeeping team for a homestay. For her, the experience was humbling and eye-opening.
A homestay hosting adventure
During last month’s peak season, I was given the opportunity to run a homestay at Jalan Keretapi, Kuching. When I received my first two bookings, I was overwhelmed. I was surprised and happy because I had not expected anyone to be interested in staying at a place with no reviews as the listing had just been uploaded.
The fact that seven bookings were made from pre-Christmas to after New Year’s made the experience daunting. That would entail juggling motherhood, catching up with festivity programmes, and becoming a part-time homestay cleaner. Fortunately, I was on my annual leave from writing.
To date, I have never had a homestay experience and do not have any friends in the industry. My vacation accommodations are always at hotels. So, I had no idea what a proper homestay should look like or how the check-in/check-out process worked.
The first check-in
I met my first foreign family from a neighbouring country, who drove into our state. We arranged to meet at noon, but he was delayed and I was unable to reach him. Later, I found out that he was stuck in a long queue at the border’s immigration counter. Apparently this was something common as I later had another foreign family that was having the same issue.
I spoke with these families as well as friends who had previously stayed in a homestay both locally and abroad. I learned something from our discussions here: homeowners do not necessarily require to meet with their guests. They could seamlessly hand over the keys and information via a locker box attached to the homestay’s post box.
It was a fascinating way to host your guests without meeting them. It saves time for the homestay owners as not all guests show up on time.
Cleaning up
Surprisingly, most of the guests cleaned up before leaving. They would empty the garbage bins and place the towels in an easily seen spot. They made the beds and did their best to keep the kitchen neat.
Before the experience, I was nervous about the mess I would have to clean up. Nonetheless, I had wonderful guests during my attempt to handle a homestay.
To save time cleaning, I discovered a good two-hour way for cleaning a 933-square-foot apartment after a few experiences. Firstly, I found that multipurpose sprays and microfibre cloths are useful for quick cleaning. My cordless vacuum was my friend! Furthermore, the 360-degree mop saves energy when rinsing.
To save even more time cleaning, my husband used a three-tier storage tray with wheels to conveniently carry cleaning tools and equipment. Our trays contained cleaning products, various brushes, plastic bags, extra mats, and other items. For a while, we felt like an actual housekeeper employed by a hotel.
The next step is to divide the tasks — as the homestay experience was shared between my husband and me — me as the marketer and him handling logistics, while on-site, we are both cleaners. He does the toilets, and I do the rest. When he is finished, he will help with anything he can.
Discerning between fake clients, real ones
Over the course of dealing with inquiries, I learnt the best approach to respond to guests’ responses. I also learned how to discern between scammers and prospective clients. The first time I received a scam message was from someone who wanted to stay for three months, totalling RM15,000 or more. It was surely an exciting pursuit.
I kept wondering who this person was. What kind of a mess would he leave us with? How can we better accommodate him? He was quite convincing for first-timers of those types of messages. He even said that he will snap a photo of his passport for authenticity.
Hours later, I started feeling suspicious about that person and searched the internet for this type of scam. There is a scam going around that involves asking for the host’s personal contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses. The host would then receive a link to click on, which would initiate the hacking of his/her phone.
Since then, I have encountered many people that operate in the same manner. I just politely inform them that all transactions should be conducted through the website, and that contact information can only be shared after the booking has been made.
Adjusting prices on website
Similar to airlines, homestays have off and peak seasons. When I was adjusting the prices for our homestay in mid-December, I set a fairly decent rate — not too low, nor too high. However, by January, I was the most expensive, while the other homestays had reduced their rates in line with the current season.
I was taken aback because this was my first time navigating travel industry, and seeing prices hike low made me nervous. Is this why I haven’t received any bookings? Using my marketing logic, I figured out the move was necessary to entice guests to book the place during the off-season.
I suppose that made sense because booking airline tickets or accommodation during the school holidays would be much more expensive than on other days.
A humbling experience
Working at the homestay for two weeks was a humbling experience for me. I got to meet different people, and they were all friendly and understanding. Being a journalist has provided me with a unique perspective on all walks of life and how they lead it, and it was a similar experience. The friendlier guests would tell me about their lives as I led them up to the apartment, but the quieter ones, despite their silence, maintained a smile throughout.
One thing I learned from hosting is that people who wish to stay for a quick trip would only stay for one or two nights. Families will always stay four to five nights in order to enjoy a full vacation in Kuching.
Cleaning, which is not my strongest pursuit, was the most humbling aspect of the experience. Though I had gratitude for the cleaners in my life, I had a new appreciation after getting on my hands and knees and going through it myself. I realised that I no longer wanted to leave my hotel rooms and homestays messy and dirty. Instead, I would make an effort to make it easy to clean up after me.
