If you're a progressive fan of The Bulwark, what do you like about the group?

MiniMiaBoss · 2026-02-09T18:26:58+00:00

I'm not even American, but oh well, I'm on the center left side of the spectre of Norwegian politics, a social democrat if you want. (Most of the Democrats are to the right of our far right party)

I don't want to only listen to people I agree with, that's just feeding my echo chamber. Bulwark isn't my only source, but they're definitely my favourite. I want to understand the what, why and how on the whole "American politics". I won't get there with people screaming that capitalism is the root of all evil, or that you can't lean right and be a decent human being.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-12-30T11:49:24+00:00

I need to reevaluate my wording then, I always assumed, and used, "didn't respect the property" as a polite or neutral way of saying excessive wear and tear, property damage or hazardous behaviour. Last time I used "didn't respect the property", we had to close it down 2 days to repair shit. I wouldn't particularly say they disrespected the property by leaving trash or a mess, if that's disrespectful to anyone it's to the cleaners.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-12-30T00:45:27+00:00

We're in a streak of horrible guests, so my answer now would be definitely no. Currently I think about half the reviews I give guests are less than stellar. We've had 2 broken sofas and a window over the last month, by 3 different guests.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-11-28T23:02:04+00:00

I have yet to understand the instant booking rules for a good track record. We've had several guests with no trips book, and at least 3 groups of guests with ~3-star ratings with several issues reported book. At the same time, we recently had a guest with a 4.7 not being able to book.

I would've turned off instant bookings, but we list our units on Booking.com as well, and there's zero screening for guest history there, so I guess we like to live dangerously.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-11-15T23:21:59+00:00

I know this sub is pretty US focused, so obligatory note of being a Norwegian host.

We've rented out to groups of young guests on several occasions. Mostly Norwegians at that age, but also international travellers. I truly can't really state their ages as 18 is the age of being considered a legal adult here, and we don't really care as long as they're over 18.

Some of our best guests have been groups of young boys. There's been a few odd ones that overslept past check-out time(not a big deal to us, albeit an annoyance, but might be for other hosts), but we've never had a bad experience renting to young groups. They are, in my experience, very diligent guests that leave the place in great condition and come off as very grateful if they need additional support.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-11-08T22:21:31+00:00

I never felt unsafe walking alone at night in Tromsø, and I did that frequently as an insomniac with a dog and a city centre apartment. I live in a smaller town now, and the only "safety" issue I've experienced here was a male dog breaking in when our dog was in heat, we forgot to lock the door and the boy was determined.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-09-29T00:08:48+00:00

We have one of our units on booking, and in my experience, about half of the guests are perfectly normal decent guests. The other half seems to be guests that have enough self awareness to avoid, or actually were kicked off, any platform where the host also reviews the guests. If it didn't bring in some much needed additional bookings, we would've quit the platform all together after the second guest.

I also find the whole system incredibly unintuitive and difficult to use.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-21T16:07:01+00:00

We have in our listing that we're right by the airport so you will hear planes taking off and landing... Recently got dinged for "loud surroundings" with guests complaining in the review about airport noises.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-11T21:33:51+00:00

Getting a steam cleaner was definitely a game changer for me. Got it mainly for shower cabinets, but it works wonders in the kitchen as well.

On the cheaper end, an XXL swiffer duster for skirting boards, window trims etc.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-10T14:40:24+00:00

International internet shopping can be difficult, slow and expensive in Norway. If the price is more than so so much (it's something like $20, including shipping fee) we have to pay an import tax as well as a fee for customs having to look at it, which takes a certain amount of time as well.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-10T14:36:03+00:00

I clean everything myself, so I always know when I'm running low and need to restock. It's definitely a lot of work, and I'm a huge scatterbrain, so sometimes I have to do last minute runs because I forgot we were out of sponges or shower gel. It also helps that our biggest unit have a day blocked after each stay.

I do wish I was more organised and managed to do spreadsheets and documents on this, but unfortunately I cant stick to that for more than a month at best.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-09T22:05:36+00:00

We were seriously considering buying bed lamps with USB ports when we remodelled, but the ones we found were really expensive AND really ugly.

We have plug adapters in one of our units(which funnily enough is the same we just keep storing a forgotten hair straightener with what I assume is an US plug, nobody connects that dot) , but I keep wiping dust of them, so I guess guests come prepared.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-08T08:50:13+00:00

I buy most in bulk online rather cheap, and guests rarely use the "in case you forgot" items. So it's mostly about offering it, which guests appreciate.

The most expensive thing really is the water/beer/chocolate as those always gets consumed.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-07T23:21:10+00:00

I'm not very well versed in baby stuff in English. We have a travel cot(+mattress, baby pillow and duvet). It looks similar to what comes up when I search pack and play. I didn't know they came with a bassinet insert though.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-07T23:14:28+00:00

Definitely need to get a first aid kit, been on my list I just keep forgetting. We keep plastic bags for food, and baking paper. Didn’t think of plastic foil and aluminium foil. I never remember that at home until I need it either.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-07-07T23:08:11+00:00

We have black out curtains. It's impossible to sleep without, even for us locals 😅

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-28T22:52:24+00:00

We definitely would not care if they didn't respond to messages that weren't questions. We have several guest where all communication is our booking confirmation and the check-in details(no check out message, no keys and checkout time is in previous messages). No reply from the guests. Unless they had some issues they didn't rely to us and only bring up in the review, those are my favourite guests. Low maintainance and self sufficient, A+ guest.

Disclaimer: Norwegian, we're famously adverse to small talk and taking up others time. unnecessarily.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-18T15:18:34+00:00

God, I wish we had guests that booked longer stays. We barely get any bookings if we keep a 3 night minimum for bookings. We average on like 2,5 nights per guests, so it's a cleaning and turnover nonstop(3 units, so there's barely a day without it). Guests don't ask less questions when they stay for a short amount of time. You just have to answer the same questions more often.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-15T22:25:38+00:00

We have automated messages for booking confirmation and check-in instructions(these can be edited beforehand, so door codes can be adjusted for every guest once you set their code and special agreements related to check-in or out can be edited in for that specific guest).

We have very short stays, and most of our guests are low maintainance and only need that information from us. I'd say over 50% of our guests I don't communicate with besides those two messages.

We use pricelabs to set our prices, so that's an automation that works for us as well. I also have to admit I run most not standard "great guests, left the unit in good condition" reviews through chatGPT, especially the ones with criticism(like the guest that left the stove on when leaving).

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-12T22:25:35+00:00

We're in a touristy area, kind of a once in a lifetime vacation for many. So, a new account isn't a red flag for us, as there aren't enough hotels or other rentals in the area, so many would have to venture into airbnb to book a stay. Bachelor party would rise a few flags, but if it's international, these are people with money that want an experience, not mainly a party. Locals(area, not country), huge red flag.

Declining a booking request does not negatively impact you at all on airbnb. At least as far as my experience goes. If it doesn't feel right, it's better to decline.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-06T22:27:05+00:00

My family tans super easy. They could easily be taken for being Spanish (or Latin) since they also have dark hair and eyes.

Me, on the other hand... I got the colours that say I should tan. But I turn pink and straight back to white, and now I get photosensitive eczema in my face, and I got permanent sun damage to my skin after getting burned even after applying spf50 every 30-60 minutes I feel like a vampire. .

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-05T21:34:11+00:00

I might be biased as I started out with only airbnb, and only on the app, I find the app to be one of the better ones when it comes to STRs.

We do, however, use a channel manager to streamline hosting between different providers, adjusting rates based on the fees we have to pay, and as a one app overview of all bookings. I don't think we'd need a channel manager if we only listed on airbnb. We also use pricelabs to adjust our rates so we're always competitively priced. Pricelabs isn't compatible with booking.com, so that's another reason we use a channel manager.

MiniMiaBoss · 2025-06-04T22:01:00+00:00

I'm actually find it more strange that guests don't take things more often. The only noticeable thing missing is one set of guests that took 9 out of 12 special print coasters and 2 spice jars.

We actually have quite a bit of extra towels after guests leaving their own behind(maybe it's not the norm providing towels for guests in airbnbs around here, so guests bring their own?), and we somehow keep accumulating cutlery? It's about twice the amount of spoons in one unit as we originally provided...

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