My Experience as a Black Airbnb Host

Living Room Photo Used on Airbnb Profile to Attract Potential Guests, Jersey City, NJ.

Overall, I’ve had memorable experiences as an Airbnb host, luckily more good than bad. The most positive experiences were from befriending guests and providing recommendations for places to visit since their local knowledge of the region was limited. One of the biggest fear for me, as a host, was the fear of a potential legal battle with my landlord. Another was the constant fear of my guests completely trashing the apartment.

Why I decided to become an Airbnb Host

There will be times in our lives where we may fall into difficult circumstances, such as financial trouble. Luckily, advances in technology and a strong economy has fed the growth of a new “shared gig economy”, in which large companies’ flexible schedules allow contractual jobs with sole proprietors. For the contractor, more flexibility provides an opportunity for more income, and in my case, an advantage to relieve a financial burden.  

Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft are just a few of these companies that comprise of the shared gig economy. 

To help reduce some of your fears, towards the end of this post, I’ve created a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis (SWOT) for you to evaluate the advantages vs. disadvantages of “bread and breakfasts” and determine if hosting is for you.

“I lived in Jersey City for 3 years. My neighborhood of Bergen Hill-Lafayette was on the brink of gentrification.”

Back in 2015, I thought my life was finally coming together. I settled in my one bedroom jersey city apartment and just when I thought everything was perfect, finally a salary job after graduate school, my own car and my own 1-bedroom apartment, something turned for the worst. 

Five years ago, I was in a car accident with my 2010 Chevy Malibu I’ve nicknamed “Sade”. To make matters worse, the insurance company deemed my car “total loss”, and since I did not have ‘Guaranteed Asset Protection’ insurance, (widely known as “GAP” insurance), I was required to pay the remaining balance of my car note which was considered irredeemable: $3,000.

So, to quickly pay off a worthless expense, I resorted to AirBnb, although there are now other “bread and breakfast” companies such as Noirbnb geared towards black people and Misterbnb for the LGBTQ community.

Neighborhood

I lived in Jersey City for 3 years. My Bergen Hill-Lafayette neighborhood was on the brink of gentrification. One of my favorite local bar/restaurant was Carvao Barbeque, located a few blocks away from my home. My job’s office was a 15-minute walk from my apartment. The apartment building was located on the end of the block bordering the neighborhood’s beautiful redbrick row-houses, and tree lined streets, (as shown below), similar to the pictures you see of Bed-Stuy, or Brooklyn Heights where the Cosby’s resided.

The further end of the block was a strong contrast, with predominately vinyl building facades, a busy commercial strip and lots of idling individuals. There was no doubt that all the negative neighborhood reviews were based on that end of my block. I would always remember embarrassingly telling my guests to avoid that route when heading to the closest PATH station.

My Experience as a Black Airbnb Host

As a Black host, I was in a constant state of worry. There was a fear that my guests would not be fond of me, my place, or my neighborhood. In one situation, one of my guests, a middle-aged woman from San-Francisco accompanied by her husband, wanted to cancel upon arrival to the apartment. After speaking with her for one hour, it was apparent that she was more than unimpressed with the neighborhood. In fact, she was concerned about the dilapidated look of the houses I’ve mentioned ‘up the block’.

I told her that I was more than willing to process her refund, but luckily I was able to persuade her walk around the corner to view some of the neighborhood’s historic brownstones. I also told her to check out what the neighborhood and its vicinity have to offer. Despite her safety fears, she decided to stay, and even provided a good review, after she left, (below).

Strengths

Extra income - Airbnb or other hospitality related services are an easy way to increase your revenue stream. My rate were fairly inexpensive to tourists, averaging $65 per night, but adequate for me accomplish my goal to pay off my car note.

Gifts - A young woman from Switzerland left me Swiss-made chocolate, and it sure was delightful.

Weakness

Uneasiness - You may feel some sort of uneasiness or discomfort with a stranger sleeping in your home, or even your bed. Depending on your living situation, that uneasiness can range from mild to paranoia. For me, I stayed with my parents in Queens while I had guest stay in my one-bedroom apartment.

The paranoia was with concerns about prospective unmet emergencies, unkept guests, or guests trashing or stealing items from the apartment. However, guests are able to review comments of their prospective host by previous guests. And hosts are able to review comments left by previous hosts of potential guests before agreeing to their stay.

Opportunities

Networking - As a host, you will meet a variety of different people from around the world. Some folks will invite you to their hometown and offer to show you around based on the friendships you’ve established. For someone who likes to travel, that’s a good way to save money on a future tour guide.

Threats

Local Ordinances and Land Use Regulations - It is imperative that you know and understand your local/municipal laws and regulations regarding short-term rental.

Some communities are welcoming to the shared gig economy, while others have increased regulation to protect the interests of homeowners and renters in the community who prefer a less transient neighborhood. If you’re a homeowner, you don’t want to end up with a fine. And if you’re a renter, your landlord may have ground to evict you. But it all depends on what the law says.

Ratings

Tourism as a Tool

Kings Theater, Flatbush, Brooklyn - Courtesy of Garrett Ziegler via Flickr

Tourism is a viable source of income for millions of people around the world. Although the United States has the largest travel economy in the world, at $488 billion, people in communities throughout the world rely on the revenue from tourists to make ends meet. The World Travel and Tourism Council has found that the tourism industry consists of 10% of the world’s GDP and 1 in every 10 jobs are supported by the industry.

In America, cities and towns invests millions of dollars to lure tourists to their destinations. Most of those investments go towards downtown streetscape improvements, sport arena rehabilitation projects, wayfinding, crime prevention tactics, public transportation and improvements. The goal of these investments are to create an ultimate user experience for visitors. 

In contrast, little investments from government go towards communities of color and specifically Black spaces. If low-middle income communities can utilize tourism as a meaningful source of income in other countries then the same logic can be applied to low-middle income black communities in the United States.  

There needs to be a larger interest to increase tourism in Black urban spaces throughout America. Advocating for more black tour guides and bringing tourists to Black urban spaces can have many positive impact ranging from economic to social and cultural benefits. Some advantages for tourism in Black urban spaces can:

1: Increase business for the local economy through local mom and pop stores. 

2:  Provide a primary or secondary source of income for Black tour guides.

3: Introduce people from other cultures to foods that represent Africa and its diaspora. 

4:  Raise awareness of Black history in a community. 

5:  Raise the level of compassion understanding and respect for black spaces and communities. 

Cities such as Atlanta, New York and the Washington D.C/Alexandria V.A regions offers great opportunities to experience African-American history and culture. Visitors in Atlanta, GA can experience Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy from his birth place to the many cultural centers he has inspired. D.C/Alexandria VA offers a series of museums, theaters, houses and restaurants owned by prominent Black owned figures and Howard University, a Historically Black University that has paved the way for many successful Black leaders including Zora Neal Hurston, Carter G. Woodson, and Thurgood Marshall. In New York,

Harlem is known to be the prominent quintessential African-American neighborhood with unique cultural sites and amenities. Over time other note-worthy African/Caribbean-American neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn and Queens such as Flatbush, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Jamaica have surfaced, offering unique cultural experiences.

These cities and a few others across America have large Black cultural influences that can offer a unique taste to a visitor's palette. Equally as important, there are American historic and cultural sites that are situated in Black neighborhoods throughout the country that are worth seeing.  

Black spaces and neighborhoods have interesting stories to tell, compelling people to meet, taste-worthy foods to and riveting cultural institutions that can all be successfully curated from a Black cultural perspective. 

The benefits of tourism in black communities are endless.  

Check out Steps on Becoming an Independent Neighborhood Curator (Tour Guide) to find out more on the ins and outs of being a Neighborhood Curator including how to get your start in the industry and pointing out some of its limitations.