When I go back to the memories of my last on-site job as a Content Marketer, I can’t forget the wonderful experiences I gained during that tenure. One such unforgettable experience was that of my first Airbnb stay. Before this time, I’d heard of Airbnb from a few of my friends, checked their content marketing strategies, and listened to a TED talk by Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb while working on a project. Frankly, I considered it a luxury from the listings I’ve viewed on the primary landing page of the site. Also, it was a bit weird for me to feel what it’s like to live in someone’s else home.
Well, as we are aware of the different styles of new-normal in the post-COVID era, hybrid WFO, and quarterly meetups are some of the distinct ideas corporates implemented. So, in the last year, my workplace was also following a similar culture. My first office visit was said to be for a week. And, since I was visiting for the first time after I joined, I was happy. It was a lavish journey for me, I booked my first flight and spent a week in the hotel. But, in the second journey, I got my reality check for it was a WFO for 15 days. That’s when I started searching for other options for staying.
Since my office was in HSR layout, I thought to explore stay options in the vicinity, else I could sense the rising budget. I’ve checked for the place and luckily got one room somewhat in the vicinity on Airbnb. After exploring a few options, I finally booked it. After that, I got busy in the usual humdrum of the office.
Guest Turned Out To Be A Friend
Since it was a quarterly meetup, I made up my mind to have 1 side train and 1 side flight given that it was 36 hours of journey from my hometown. So, this time I planned to go by train. Only when I boarded the train I remembered to ping my host for the address. Now, once again the worries of sharing the place with someone else started circling in my head. As I checked the contact of my host and saved it on my phone, opened my WhatsApp message, I realized I knew her in person. Strange that we worked together earlier in our internship days. I was happy and relaxed now that I was going to meet and stay with someone I sort of knew earlier.
AirBNB nahhhhhh… My New Home For a Few Days
I reached the place, and my friend cum host Anu & Ankit welcomed me. I settled in their cozy place and as I entered the room I fell in love with it. It was the compact room with all the essentials I imagined multiple times in my room since childhood. Bed with charging board near me, cool wooden wardrobe, attached let-bath with hot-shower, washing machine, few plants, a big functional window that brings natural sunlight and air, and a table you can ask for. Just after talking for an hour, I started feeling like I visited some long-lost friends and the vibes were exactly like that living in my home.
Transformation From Guest To Host
We spent around 3 hours talking when gradually in conversations I realized I spent more than a day journey on the train and should relax for some time. We retired to our chores and sat for another round of discussion at lunch. I had delicious kheer that Anu served and I was going Woowww about my Sunday. We were talking about each other’s weekend plans and that’s the time when my friends realized they had a friend going abroad in the midweek and they had to plan a surprise treat for her. Coincidentally, they had booking via Airbnb at their nearby property and they will be arriving in the evening for the same day. Finding all the ways they can try to manage they thought to run an experiment which was the original idea of Airbnb – host the guests and share the place. This implies even guests can host other guests because it’s like co-sharing the space/other properties. So, I being guest of the day was to host another guest. I was instantly happy and ready with all my zeal to have this new experience. We all went to the place, and they showed me everything, the basics to be answered while greeting hosts, and told me to ping them instantly if I needed any help. Around evening the new guests came. I welcomed them with my 24-inch smile, showed them a place, gave information about all the details, had a little chit-chat, and then retired to my place. They gotta know that I’m also a guest here and they were so happy to meet me. It was such an interesting incident where I became a guest from the host just in a matter of a few hours. And, that circumstance made me more curious about the platform and how this all exactly works!
I spent my week & weekend just like I live in my home. I got up a bit early to have some time to myself for bootup, read a book in the corridor with the breeze, get ready, and leave for the office and short talks whenever we had time. On the following weekend, we went shopping together at KLM sarees to shop, had a pizza party, and I tried to learn UNO (Yeah, tried coz I forgot again 😀). All in all, I couldn’t forget that stay, my hosts, and the time I spent with them.
Concluding my first Airbnb experience with the note that if you are visiting Bangalore and have your meetings/workspace near HSR Layout, do check the space of my host-guest-friend. They have beautiful properties in different locations in Bangalore, so the Bangalorites can check more details here.
Hosting @ My Place – Tribhuvan Homestay
Now, some good news for tourists and travelers to Ujjain or nearby pilgrimages. I’ve registered my place at Airbnb. While I was staying in Bangalore, I had lengthy discussions with Anu & Ankit about how this home hosting works, what to remember, and things to take into account. I took that learning with me and after planning it for a few months I joined the Airbnb community in Ujjain for travelers and tourists a week ago. If you are planning to come to Ujjain to explore Mahakal Lok, offer prayers in Mahakaleshwar temple, Harsiddhi Temple, take a dip in Holy River Kshipra, or enjoy workation while traveling, you are most welcome at our place. For your convenience, I have made distinct listings per guest holding capacity of the room. Take a quick look here:
So, if you are planning to take a trip to Ujjain or Omkareshwar, you will have a decent place to yourself at affordable rates. Book yours earlier to not miss out on the dates and I’ll be here to welcome you. 🙂