Welcome to the goingbarefoot Airbnb

“Concierge & caretaker… Airbnb’s SuperHost designation couldn’t be more apt… There should probably be a statue of this guy in Durham Central Park…. By far the best Airbnb I've ever set foot in...."

These kinds of comments from guests make a guy very happy. I've been an Airbnb host since fall of 2014, and the listing is now moving upward of 900 5-star reviews from guests from around the US and abroad whom I've had the pleasure of welcoming to Durham.

The Airbnb hosting experience has provided memories I could never have predicted – with Superhost status for almost ten years now, hosting Airbnb weddings in my back garden, being at the Airbnb Open in Paris with 5000 hosts from around the globe - on the evening of the 2015 terrorist attacks, and becoming one of less-than-20 Airbnb international Belo Award recipients in the world, receiving the award in 2016 at the Orpheum Theatre in L.A. with James Corden as the event host, with special guests Lady GaGa and Maroon 5...

But more than that, it's provided welcomes and handshakes and smiles from guests, young and old, from all over. And I get to 'show off 'my town.'

When I decided to give Airbnb a try, creating a two-bedroom private apartment on the lower level of my house where I had maintained my office for more than 25 years, I knew very little about the still-young Airbnb organization. But learning more about the basic Airbnb concept took me back to a few years in the 70s when I was a part-time host & caretaker for Himmel House, the alumni house for The Experiment in International Living in Putney, Vermont. Former exchange students & host families from around the world would stay at Himmel when they were visiting The Experiment headquarters. The memories of that time in my life remain magical, even now. Thoughts of the Airbnb hosting experience conjured up warm recollections of extending a certain expanded hospitality at The Experiment that fed my soul. I wanted to see if I could get that back. I'm happy that ten percent of my Airbnb revenue is contributed back to the outbound scholarship program of The Experiment in International Living.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a two-and-a-half year-old politely ask me if his family could have a later checkout so he wouldn't have to interrupt his usual naptime and 'nap in two places'... He then whispered to me that he and his dad had seen some bamboo growing across the street on their walk and that “I should be careful, since it's an invasive species in case I didn't know.” Not even three-years-old…and exactly the gardener I’ve been searching for!

That's the kind of interaction that is Airbnb to me.

Click on links below for more information, videos, guest comments and more. After that, please come visit.