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I can think of many reasons for visiting the Keighley area of West Yorkshire. It's a popular destination for tourists given that Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters, is just a couple of miles away. The ancient market town of Skipton is also nearby and attracts...

Guests Charging Cars

When I started in the hospitality industry, guests who needed to charge their electric cars didn't exist - electric cars were many years in the future. Gradually though, the USA followed Europe and we saw hybrid cars, then full electric vehicles became increasingly...

That Pesky Airbnb Cleaning Fee…

One of the huge (I know that sounds silly) debates regarding Airbnb hosts is that most charge a cleaning fee. Crazy, eh?"Hotels don't charge a cleaning fee" say grumpy guests. "My cleaning fee doesn't even cover the cost of my cleaner" say disgruntled hosts.Some hosts...

Mallory Park: Motorsport Statues

Mallory Park in Leicestershire is well-known as a racing circuit. And a favourite experience for visitors is to attend one of the frequent track events where you'll be taught by a professional racing driver how to handle a supercar around the 1.35-mile track. That's...

STR Hosts: Confirmation Bias?

If you're a host specialising in short-term rentals, because of today's media it's likely that you are affected by confirmation bias. We all are to some extent. Those who write for the media just love to publish articles on the web about how very terrible short-term...

London Canal Museum

Main image courtesy of Ell Brown I've written often suggesting that visitors to the UK venture beyond the usual London tourist traps. But if you are in London, the Canal Museum is a great place to visit. The UK was the first country in the world to have a nationwide...

The Mille Miglia, Alfonso Portago and the Kiss of Death

The Lombardy region in Northern Italy is a fabulous place to visit - and still so very Italian. If you're visiting the area I have a great, albeit sad little story for you to bore entertain your companions. The story dates from 1957 and the list of characters includes...

Enforcing Rules in Your STR Rental

Quite a few STR hosts, those who advertise on online sites such as Airbnb or VRBO, are dismayed to find that their guests simply don't follow the rules. Many hosts have a quite extensive list of rules and regulations and some of these can be quite restricting. 'Quiet...

‘Interesting’ Icelandic Museum

An online thesaurus has 493 synonyms for the word 'penis'. You might be amazed by that. I am. (You can see them here ... if you like.) I admit that I found that many of them were completely unknown to me. But I bet that Sigurður Hjartarson is familiar with many.You...

Racing Circuits – Around the World

Just a quick informative one... Some people have no idea just how much entertainment there is to be had at racing circuits. There is so much more to racing tracks than the high-profile stuff you're likely to see on the television.Spectators can watch single-seater...

Bartolomeu de Gusmão Airport

Image credit If you should ever find yourself in Rio de Janeiro, which sounds like a great idea to me, then travel about fifty miles to the west to Santa Cruz to visit a very eerie place.It could just be me, but I find airships remarkably spooky. I get the feeling...

The Wettest Place on Earth

I'm from England, now living in the USA, and I have to say that I have got rather tired over the years of people 'telling' me that it always rains in England. Or that in England, you never see a blue sky because it's always grey and raining. That's because it's just...

Reims-Gueux, France

Abandoned anythings are spooky. Abandoned places that were once the scenes of fun and frolics are somehow even spookier. I'm thinking here about derelict funfairs or holiday camps. I get a bit weird and tend to imagine the ghostly sounds of laughing children. But...

Airbnb: Its Not a Dating App!

Of course, it isn't. You know it isn't. So why do so many hosts complain and/or comment on their guests' personalities and little foibles?One of the most frequent is that 'guests are so entitled these days'. Er, well, for me the fact that so many hosts require guests...

Hosts: This Laundry Business…

Short-term rental hosts often complain that they have had to throw away a sheet, pillowcase, towel or other items because of 'stains'. This can really cut into your bottom line very severely. The sheets and so on that I am using now were bought in 2015 (I'm writing...

“Well, No One’s Ever Complained”

Where to Stay

Most people are just fine. Yes, there are a few weirdoes in the world and a few strange folks but if you operate a short-term rental you've no doubt found that most people are are perfectly fine human beings. This is why, more than likely, when I've heard hosts say...

Can I Take my Dog on the Plane?

That little dog in the picture is such a little sweetheart. But where were we? Can you take your dog on the plane when you travel? Come to that, can you take your cat? Your parrot? Your emotional support gerbil? It would be wonderful if there was a simple answer but...

Italian Cuisine: Cacio e Pepe