Back in the golden days of Airbnb, before it was mostly property management companies or a full-time business for many hosts, it was more common to stay with real people. This was an especially significant feature when travelling on a budget.
We stayed with the cutest elderly couple over the Easter Weekend in 2019.
I’ll never forget them. Their names were Bill and Bev and they lived in a charming house next to a bay on the North Island of New Zealand. They had a basement unit they used for family visits, but their kids suggested they rent out the room on Airbnb when they weren’t using it. I think they were pretty new to the whole thing.
We had just finished the 8-hour Kauaeranga Kauri Track (also known as the Pinnacles) and were exhausted. We got to the Airbnb after dark, and instead of giving us the quick tour and leaving, they invited us for a cup of tea in their lounge upstairs.
They’d travelled a lot and visited Canada years and years ago, so were very keen to share their stories. They recalled their few-hour drive from Toronto to Vancouver, which is impossible. So I’m not sure where they really went, but that isn’t the point.
I loved them.
We were only staying one night and again, these were the golden days, so it was more common for breakfast to be included.
At 7am Bev knocked on our door to announce that breakfast was ready. We don’t usually wake up that early, and were more used to a self-serve cereal situation, so a formal invitation to the table was a bit of a surprise. But we hopped out of bed all the same.
Bill had set up their rectangular dining room table with two place settings next to each other on one length, and he was standing on the other side. When I say the table was a feast of breakfast options, I mean it. Not only were there several types of cereal, we had regular toast, French toast, an array of jams and spreads, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit from their own garden. He pointed out all their trees in the backyard, and they had basically one of everything. Feijoas, limes, lemons, peaches, plums, apricots, figs, apples, though the apples were stubborn.
I think this was my first time trying an actual feijoa.
Bill stood on the other side of the table and entertained us throughout breakfast. We obviously ate way too much food, but it was incredible. I briefly wondered where Bev was, but didn’t give it a second thought.
When we went downstairs to pack our bags, we found some chocolate Easter eggs hidden around the room. Including one neatly placed on each of our bags. I didn’t know how to tell them they should definitely never go into a guest’s room while they’re not there, because it was too adorable.
Personally? I was obsessed. It definitely felt like staying at your grandparents’ house. They even gave us some feijoas for the road.