My adorable (horrible) Airbnb experience and how it relates to business

We all have a horrible Airbnb story, right? The place that’s too noisy, full of water, or worse.

The Airbnb I stayed in was super cute. They called it the naturebox because it was a big metal box with glass front windows in the middle of a horse pasture.

The whole thing was precious and the view was unbeatable. One morning, as I looked out the window, I saw one of the horses - the white one - being released into the pasture and she ran out into the sunlight and pranced around like a unicorn.

What a way to start the day!

But there were a few things wrong with the place that could have been fixed by the owner doing one simple thing. I’ll tell you that in a minute.

Ok, so the toilet leaked, lack of insulation meant that I could literally feel the wind blowing through the place, there was hardly enough hot water for a good shower, and the bed was terrible.

The bed seemed cute because it was up a little ladder, so going to the bathroom at night was an adventure, but the mattress was the worst. Soft and lumpy. Ugh. So terrible.

And I mentioned the wind, right? Brrrr.

To comfort myself and laugh it off, I thought of it like camping… with a slight upgrade. The horses made all the difference.

So here I had this unique Airbnb with a beautiful pasture, a sweet host, and a picture-perfect naturebox getaway. It just had a few problems that could have been solved to create a truly amazing experience, if the owner had done one thing.

If he had spent one night in his own Airbnb naturebox, he would have noticed the toilet leaking and fixed it, added some sealant to prevent the wind blowing through the corners of the place, and bought a quality mattress.

That’s it. Spending the night would have made all the difference because he would step into his guests' shoes and see what it was like to sleep there.

This is where it gets relevant to your business.

You could have a pretty website with a galloping unicorn, but if you don’t step into your clients’ shoes once in a while, you won’t know about the little tweaks that could make all the difference for them.

My invitation to you is to take a look at your business from your clients’ perspective. Approach your website as if you’ve never seen it before.

Is it easy to find your contact info?

Do all the links work?

Do you get your opt-in gift when you sign up for it?

Is there a follow-up email sequence that introduces people to your business?

Don’t just assume all of these things work. You have to spend the night in the Airbnb to be sure it’s up to your standards. And you have to do some Quality Assurance checks on your business so you know that it is comfy and warm for your guests.