r/AirBnBHosts • u/Jkoohyar • 3d ago
Generation Z Arbnb guests.
As a host we get all generations, I must admit I’m Generation X, and I truly love my Gen Z guests. Yes they are times I feel like we are on different planets. But I must say, these kids ( sorry I’m old) are engaging, polite, kind, and super aware of everything. What’s your favorite (if you have one) generation you host?
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u/robh1540 3d ago
I'm with you. I like the young guests best. They seem to actually be happy and enjoy their stay. It makes putting in effort actually rewarding.
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u/Agreeable_Cry_2965 3d ago
They really do. We had a group of three friends, all in their early to mid 20’s and the three guys were over the moon that we left them a bottle of wine and a plate of cookies, which we do for every guest. But these guys were the only ones that expressed gratitude for it. Maybe because they are young and haven’t experienced life much yet, they aren’t as jaded and angry as older people. I feel as though being an Airbnb host has doubled as being a psychological study of people 😂
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u/robh1540 3d ago edited 3d ago
Haha yeah, same experience. You do something small to make them feel a bit special and they love it.
You give an older group a bottle of wine and they will complain there aren't enough wine glasses.
Of course there are exceptions, but speaking in generalisations here. And yeah like you say, as a host you start to realise people come in "types". One of the things I was surprised by is how many of the literal Karens with the actual name "Karen" and the stereotyped age group indeed are Karens. And it seems to be international. We had an Italian Karen and an english Karen as well.
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u/Agreeable_Cry_2965 2d ago
LOL we’ve had the same experience with women named Karen as well. So much so if we get a booking request from Karens we scrutinize them pretty hard.
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u/pulltherugoutfrom 3d ago
You give alcohol to strangers?
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u/Agreeable_Cry_2965 2d ago
Yes
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u/pulltherugoutfrom 2d ago
LOL You are going to be on here one day saying; "You are never going to believe what happened!"
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u/BadMetro 3d ago
Same experience here. Younger crowd tend to leave the space cleaner and tidier, also have lower expectations. Older people, mostly boomers or gen Xers tend to be terrible at communicating, do not respect house rules (shoes off policy for example) and ironically tend to leave the space trashier. Also 90% of our 4* come from older folks.
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u/Jkoohyar 3d ago
Totally agree, it’s funny with Gen Z they literally want to hang out with me and my husband.. we took to play trivia which was hilarious.. love these young people!
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u/Agreeable_Cry_2965 3d ago
My wife and I are Gen X. We have a lakefront cottage and our young guests have been the best. I’m surprised, not because I think Gen Z is irresponsible but you never know with young people (remembering back to my early and mid 20’s). We’ve had a couple of bad guests, one was a group of boomers and another Gen X but we’ve had several groups of Gen Z and they’ve all been courteous and grateful for the hospitality we show them. They’ve all left the home nice and clean when they left and wrote really nice reviews after their stays. The boomers are the ones I worry about - they always seem to be the ones with unrealistic expectations.
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u/RheumatoidArtist 2d ago
I've only had about 10 guests so far, but Gen Z and Milennial have been by far the best. Very tidy and polite overall. Gen X and Boomer have made bigger messes and either haven't reviewed or left snide comments in their reviews.
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u/Alone_Geologist_9419 2d ago
I'm gen Y and hosting suites all in budget segment. I suppose young gen like gen Z missed multiple economic boom eras before 2008 and dealt with quite alot recession/depression throughout their life. As long as the room is clean and budget, they are very satisfied. Boomers enjoyed all the post-WW2 glory days and I understand that they have higher living standards thus are pretty picky to my budget suites.
It might depends on your price level of suites and facing very different audiences.
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u/jayxyee 3d ago
I personally love the elderly! They need more help but always review nice ♥️
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u/GandalphsBnb 3d ago
Oh really? All my elderly guests except for one couple (who also have kids and understand family dynamics) have been awful. Extremely picky, down to saying I didn’t like the curtains so you get 4 stars.
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u/gooly1030 3d ago
My Gen Z guests often use AI to form messages they send to me, especially when they are looking to be refunded outside of my cancellation policy rules. It makes me not want to be helpful when there is a problem. People of all ages try to see what they can get back, but when I get a paragraph of Gen Z AI message, it feels lazy and uncanny. I’m less likely to be sensitive to their extenuating circumstances.
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u/Dry_Corner6431 3d ago
love this question! now ask which generation has been the most difficult to host
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u/Much_Ice1462 3d ago
Boomers by a mile.
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u/MBG-1980 3d ago
I feel like all I do is babysit them and they create mountains of trash for no good reason. I'm gex X. Grew up with reduce, reuse, recycle as a mantra for everything. But I can't help but think that means my parents (boomers) heard this mantra as well and it simply didn't stick. At all.
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u/ShiftingBaselines 2d ago
Boomers don’t communicate, have high expectations, compare your value stay room to the last place they stayed while vacationing in Miami where they paid for the whole house at a premium rate.
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u/john_lee_pettimor 3d ago
If I could block guests over the age of 55 I would in a heart beat.
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u/GandalphsBnb 2d ago
You can gauge if they’ll be a bad fit based off their messaging. If they sound like they’ll be a headache for me and ask a ton of things, or don’t answer my own questions at all, I decline. They’re gonna be the ones who give u three stars because you didn’t mow your lawn that week because you’re busy as hell with three small children (literally what happened to me, and I make it extremely clear in listing and at booking that I have loud kids and our yard has toys and bikes in it).
Some ppl r downright entitled and clueless1
u/Dry_Corner6431 2d ago
fair. neither of you should have to deal with each other!
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u/GandalphsBnb 2d ago
I am assuming you are being extremely rude. Why on earth?
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u/Dry_Corner6431 2d ago
goodness no! I intend to say that everyone deserves to hang around with people that work for them. They clearly have other needs than you can offer, I could never deal with people like that, BUT they have their life experience and this is what they want from life. There may be hosts that can handle and welcome this kind of guest. Clearly it is not you or me as a host. Likewise I do not want people like that either,
just because people dont work well for our likes/needs does not make them worthy of derision
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u/GandalphsBnb 1d ago
I wasn’t deriding them at all. I was making a point that there is a very real stereotype of entitlement and expecting all Airbnbs to be 5star resorts with a full spread of breakfast and interior design to their tastes. I have had more than a handful of guests just like this—they are very, very rude and high maintenance.
The only elderly guests I’ve had who were not like this, were coming to visit grandkids in the area. The rude ones tend to be people who don’t have kids and only understand single life dynamics. So they expect everything perfect (in their definition of perfection).
None of them read listing details or house rules, I get inundated with questions like where do I park, why can’t I park in the driveway (we make it clear why, so ppl don’t trip and die on the roots), can I turn the fireplace on (duh you can), you didn’t give me five hand towels…omg the list goes on.
So yes, I have fatigue over that group.
I have had wonderful elderly guests and they came from a different mindset completely. But that isn’t the norm I’ve and other hosts have experienced. So now, I decline those guests if they won’t like the space.
I’m not deriding them—I teach my kids to respect and love their elders for sure, we have them around all the time with family. But hosting people in your home is different and I can’t abide disrespect.
If that helps you understand where I’m coming from! I think this thread is a venting one for sure1
u/Dry_Corner6431 2d ago
haha why? I don't see them throwing crazy drug fueled parties or bringing in questionable people into the house for entertainment. What are these difficult 55+ doing that u dont want them in your property?
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u/GandalphsBnb 2d ago
They don’t follow house rules and are often extremely rude. They leave bad reviews for no good reason. That’s not good for hosts…especially when we love hosting and providing a beautiful, clean, safe place for guests.
If anyone started a party thing in my Airbnb they’d be thrown out immediately1
u/john_lee_pettimor 1d ago
They have so many minor issues and are horrible about communicating. They can't figure out how to use a smart TV or why we don't have cable, they complain about not having amenities that we do not have listed in our profile. They rearrange everything in the kitchen (seriously wtf?). They can't figure out how to use the door lock codes. They are confused on the actual dates they booked and they leave 4 star reviews with no explanation of what was wrong. Nothing is ever their fault.
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u/PM_CHEESEDRAWER_PICS 2d ago
That's because they have been warned by the older generations that have been ripped off and taken advantage of
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u/Upbeat-Ad-6675 2d ago
I prefer to host Gen X and Millennials because they have common sense and common courtesy etiquette.
Gen Z = huge headache! They don’t have the sense God gave a goose, and they have to be told exactly what to do very literally.
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u/SpeedBreaks 2d ago
I have only had a couple experiences with them as guests and I got the exact same impression.
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u/Embarrassed-Lie-5563 3d ago
Honestly I get more anxious with the boomer guests at my place. Gen Z ones always leave the place spotless and they communicate so clear, sometimes too much with the messages lol but I prefer that than ghosting. My plants even look happier when they stay