‘Recently, I discovered a new outdoor sauna and a small, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant just down the road from my house – all thanks to guests staying with me,’ shares journalist and Good Housekeeping’s Style Director, Melanie Rickey. A writer and fashion editor by trade, Rickey has been hosting her spare room on Airbnb for five years – carrying the title of ‘Superhost’ (what the platform calls those with ‘excellent hospitality’) for the last two.
As well as offering a chic, hospitable home-away-from-home for guests looking to explore the capital, she’s found herself gaining plenty in the process too. ‘It can really work both ways as a host – as well as sharing my favourite local pubs, coffee shops and bakeries with guests, I’ve discovered so much from the people I meet. It’s really become an exchange and I adore that.’
While the empty guest bedroom in her Kentish Town home had long served as a haven for travelling friends and visiting family, the idea to make her space work a little bit harder came from needing some extra help with bills. ‘Hosting was initially a short-term solution, which then became a long-term love. I signed up to help with the cost-of-living crisis - mainly fuel bills - since I run my property alone and carried on because I enjoyed it.’
Clearly, the role of host comes naturally to Rickey. ‘I really enjoy meeting new people, finding out what brings them to London, what their plans are - I love a kitchen table chat!’ she says. ‘As a journalist I’m naturally curious and love to expand my horizons from the comfort of my home. My aim is to share a proper London experience with guests and I think that’s one thing they really love. I always recommend art exhibitions and local restaurants – I’ve even been known to go with them, too.’
Her hosting philosophy? ‘To help my guests live like a local and feel at home everywhere.’ It means she’s enjoyed a variety of visitors – from professors and composers to artists. One guest, a Canadian landscape architect, won a scholarship to study Britain’s ‘Queer Plants’, spending a whole month in Rickey’s home. ‘He’d bring back flowers from famous gardens, which he pressed in his room to preserve and later paint,’ she recalls. ‘He even got invited to take part in the Pride Parade thanks to my local connections - it felt good to be able to help him.’
As a Superhost, it’s the little details guests notice and appreciate - things like the carefully chosen linen bedding, fresh flowers and the scented candle Rickey lights before guests arrive, together with the serene, art-filled walls of her tasteful and tranquil home (‘a peaceful sanctuary in the centre of town’). ‘My warm hosting style and helpful recommendations also get a lot of mentions in reviews and guests love that the location is very central and well served by London transport links,’ she adds.
While her experience on the platform has happily been smooth sailing, she says access to Airbnb’s support and safety features should she need them, proves reassuring. ‘The AirCover policy really gives me peace of mind,’ she notes of the top-to-bottom protection program that means that every booking comes with guest identity verification so you know who’s staying and hosts get up to £2.2M in damage protection. ‘A special mention should go to the review system which inspires a code of conduct that brings out the very best in people, both guest and host. I really love that.’
Wondering who you could end up meeting? Discover more about becoming a host at Airbnb
