7 Lessons From Our First Year as Airbnb Hosts

It’s official: we completed our first full rental season!!! We’ve hosted wildlife enthusiasts, road-tripping families, groups of friends, first-time visitors, and Yellowstone regulars alike. We navigated everything from cleaners unexpectedly stepping away mid-season to a sprint kitchen remodel. And somehow—between lost packages, last-minute repairs, and a few impromptu pep talks in the driveway—we made it to the end of the season with our sense of humor (mostly) intact.

Even better? We wrapped our first year as Superhosts, received incredible reviews from wonderful guests, and launched our All-Seasons Yellowstone Travel Guide, which became a bestseller in our little corner of the internet.

What They Said: Guest Reviews From Season One

We felt we were creating something special, but hearing it reflected back by others—real guests, real experiences, real gratitude—has been more affirming than we ever expected.

Some of our favorite guest comments from our first season:

“We’ve stayed for 5 years in different places to launch into the park and this by far was our favorite.”
“Fell in love with the place instantaneously.”
“Don’t stay anywhere else. This place is an absolute 5star hotel at the end of long days in YS.
“We loved our stay! They thought of everything. It was one of our favorite places we stayed.”
“Jonathan and Kelly are very responsive and take great care to make your trip comfortable, memorable, and worry-free!”
“Truly a great place to rest. It really has everything you need.”

Off-Season Kickoff (Because There’s Always a Project)

The off-season doesn’t exactly mean rest. It means the space to start two of the biggest projects remaining on our list:

Turning the “dry” guest cabin (no water) into a one-bed, one-bath studio.
Drafting plans and breaking ground on the third cabin—a full “tiny home” build we’ll cover in an upcoming post.

But before we get to the new new, let’s introduce something you haven’t officially met yet: The Main House.

Meet the Main House: “Lincoln’s Lodge”

Lincoln’s Lodge is named after our rescue dog, Lincoln. She’s our snow-loving, squirrel-chasing sidekick who’s been with us through every major chapter of this adventure.

In many ways, she’s the reason this all began.

We adopted Lincoln just before Jon and I got married, and like so many good dogs do, she changed everything. But it wasn’t all sunshine and happy hikes right away. Lincoln was incredibly shy, cautious, and anxious… a scared of her own shadow kind of nervousness. She had a tough time with strangers, loud noises, and being left alone. (Even now, she’s known to flash a sweet smile at the people she loves… but she’s not looking to expand that circle anytime soon.)

When Jon got a remote job, the timing felt right to make a change—and we needed one. Lincoln was having a hard time where we were, and staying put no longer felt like the best option for anyone. So we packed up, hit the road, and hoped for the best.

We weren’t sure how Lincoln would do with full-time travel, but as it turns out, she thrives on the road.

She loves hiking trails, sniffing new places, sitting on dog-friendly patios, and curling up in a cozy Airbnb at the end of the day. She still likes her solo time (and considers her “Do Not Pet” harness her cape), but something shifted in her while traveling. She came alive. She got braver. And honestly, so did we.

We kept traveling—and eventually, our travels led us to Gardiner.

So, when we bought the main house on our property… the first building we renovated, the one that launched our hosting journey… it only felt right to name it after her.

Lincoln’s Lodge is where it all began.

It was the first place we ever handed over the keys.
The first guest check-in.
The first five-star review.
The first everything.

We’ve worked hard to make Lincoln’s Lodge feel like the kind of place you want to come home to after a day in Yellowstone… cozy, welcoming, and filled with thoughtful details. Lincoln’s Lodge is special to us—not just because it was the first, but because it holds so much of her story, too.

This lodge carries her name, but it also carries her legacy.

A reminder that one small, scrappy pup can change the course of your life (even if the journey is, at times, hard and confusing) and help you find home in the most unexpected places.

Lincoln’s smile making an appearance in the last picture (bottom right) :)

Lincoln’s Lodge: Before & After

When we first bought the property, the main house had little personality. White walls, basic furniture, minimal charm.

A year later? She’s blooming!

We added a wall mural in the living room, a fun nod to Yellowstone National Park.
Created a photo wall featuring our own wildlife and landscape photography from the park and surrounding areas.
Fixed broken doors, patched walls, added quarter round and floor transition strips, spray painted railings, stained the back deck and bench, replaced old appliances, deep cleaned (again and again), reorganized layouts, and then some!
We also upgraded the laundry room, bedroom, and kitchen (oh hi, bold blue cabinets and yellow accents) to add warmth, comfort, and just the right amount of rustic meets modern.

7 Lessons From Our First Year as Hosts

When we started our hosting journey, we knew it wouldn’t be easy. What we didn’t expect was just how emotional it would be.

Hosting—even if it’s not your primary home—is deeply personal. You’ve poured your time, money, energy, and care into creating something special. So when a guest walks through the door for the first time, there’s this subtle but powerful shift:

You’re not just managing a property anymore.
You’re sharing something that means something to you.

There’s a strange vulnerability in that that I didn’t expect. And if you’re just getting started—or trying to figure out how to host with more care, more presence, and maybe a little more sanity—here are the biggest lessons we’ve learned along the way.

1. It Will Feel Personal—Because It Is

Even if you’re running your rental as a business (and you should!), it’s still something you built. That means every part of it carries a bit of you.

The layout, the lighting, the plates you picked out on a Target run with too much coffee and not enough sleep. The view that made you say yes in the first place. It’s all personal.

For us, it was confusing how something we had poured so much into felt so fragile the moment we started to share it. And yet, sharing it was always the point.

You don’t build something just for yourself.
You build it to be experienced.

But inviting people in means letting go of control and accepting that not everyone will treat it the way you do. That there will be imperfections and unexpected challenges and moments when it feels like everything you worked for can fall apart in an instant.

And in those moments—when a mess is left behind or a dish gets broken—the dream starts to feel breakable too. Delicate. Vulnerable.

But this wasn’t built from perfection, and your dream isn’t fragile. This was built from vision, grit, and the belief that something good could grow here, so when someone else walks in, it’s okay if that stirs up some emotion. It’s normal. It means you care, and that’s a good thing!

2. You’re Going to Be “On Call”…And That Can Be Hard

Hosting doesn’t end when a guest arrives. Especially in those early days, your brain doesn’t shut off. You wonder if everything’s working. If the heat turned on. If they like it. If they’ll treat it well.

And if you're managing remotely, that "on call" feeling hits even harder. Because you have to rely on someone else if there’s an issue.

I’m someone who prefers to keep her phone on silent—and ideally, in another room. So, being emotionally and logistically available at all times? That was a real adjustment.

I’ve had to learn (and re-learn) this: If a guest doesn’t need me, I don’t need to be thinking about what if they do.

It makes me think of my grandma, who used to say, “No news is good news.” (She’d say it to my mom when we were out and about as kids—basically, if you’re not hearing anything, then trust everything is fine.)

Yes, we’re available for messages from guests or team members. And yes, we do our best to respond quickly and thoughtfully. But we don’t obsessively check for updates and won’t sit in a constant state of “what if.” No news is good news.

Let your guests breathe—and let yourself breathe too.

3. Imagine You’re Hosting Friends and Family

This was really helpful for our first few stays as we were getting comfortable with people being in our home.

When we shifted our mindset from “we have to get this right” or “someone we don’t know is our home” to “we’re hosting people we want to take care of and who want to have a good time,” everything softened.

It became less about performance, more about presence.

When you’re hosting people you love, you don’t obsess about perfection—you focus on comfort. Warmth. Thoughtfulness. That’s the kind of energy guests remember.

4. Things Will Go Wrong—Here’s What Helps

Even if you plan, prep, and triple-check everything, something will go wrong. Appliances break. Wi-Fi cuts out. Weather delays a delivery. A guest can’t figure out how to turn on the heat. It happens.

We know, because we’ve lived it.

In just our first season of hosting, we’ve had:

A guest reach out about no hot water and no working microwave (our very first guest, nonetheless)
Broken plates and glasses
Random power and internet outages due to summer storms and the remoteness of a town like Gardiner
Spiders making surprise appearances, despite having just sprayed
Cleaners stepping away unexpectedly (with three days until our next check-in)

We’ve been there… in the thick of it, trying to solve problems from 1,200 miles away while guests are on-site and your stomach is doing backflips.

So when we say something will go wrong, we’re not being dramatic—we’re being honest.

Here’s what we’ve learned actually helps when it does:

🧭 Do right by the guest. Always.

This is your guiding principle. Lead with care.

💬 Apologize sincerely.

Even if the issue wasn’t technically your fault, own it. Guests want to feel seen.

👣 Step into their shoes.

Imagine how you’d feel in their situation. That empathy should guide your next move.

🛠 Be specific about what you're doing.

Tell them what you’re working on and when they can expect updates.

⏰ Be timely.

Fast responses build trust. Even a quick “I’m on it” helps tremendously.

🔄 Stay in touch.

Silence is worse than the issue itself. Keep them updated, even if it’s just “still working on it.”

🎁 Offer something, if you can.

A small refund, a local treat, a personalized note. It doesn’t have to be big, just thoughtful.

No, this doesn’t fix everything. And no, it doesn’t guarantee a glowing review. But in that moment, it’s not about reviews. It’s about the people who trusted you with their trip.

Care for them like you’d want to be cared for. That’s the part they’ll remember most.

5. You’ll Care More Than Anyone Else (And That’s Okay)

You’re going to care more than your guests. And even if you’ve found your dream team, you’re going to care more than them, too. That’s just the nature of the work and of building your own business.

Guests will probably not treat everything with the reverence you hoped for.
They may leave the lights on, the heater running, the coffee pods scattered.

It’s okay.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth doing.
It doesn’t mean the effort didn’t matter.
It just means they’re on vacation… and you’re running a business.

Stay rooted in your why. Your care will carry you farther than any checklist ever could.

6. Build a Local Team You Trust

Especially if you manage from afar, this will save your sanity. You cannot do this alone.

Cleaners, contractors, emergency contacts, kind neighbors… Your support system matters. They’re the boots on the ground when you’re miles away with guests arriving in three hours and a broken faucet.

If you find someone good, treat them like gold. Say thank you often. Pay fairly. Celebrate the wins together.

7. Your Guests Are Looking for a Feeling, Not Perfection

At the end of the day, we believe hosting isn’t about having the trendiest decor or the most photogenic coffee setup.

It’s about how someone feels when they walk through the door.

Do they feel safe?
Cared for?
Like they can exhale and just be?

That’s the goal.

In our experience, hospitality isn’t about flawlessness, it’s about thoughtfulness.

It’s not about everything going perfectly.
It’s about what you do when it doesn’t.

If you care deeply and show up accordingly—that’s enough.

What’s Ahead For Season ✌️

In the next post, we’ll take you behind the scenes of our off-season plans, including the cabin we’re turning from a dry cabin into a one-bed, one-bath studio, and introduce the third unit in all its “what-have-we-gotten-ourselves-into” glory!

Stay tuned. The off-season is just getting started…