Back in 2014, I (Janice) was running a startup and had moved out to San Francisco to join an accelerator. It just so happened the founders of Airbnb had gone through our sister accelerator a couple years prior, and that’s when I first started learning a lot about Airbnb. 

When I moved back to NC I decided to kick out my roommate in order to try out the whole ‘Airbnb’ thing. I had renovated a 100-year old mill house several years before, and decided the guest room was a great spot to start. Originally, I was looking for more flexibility and additional income, but it didn’t take long to learn that my favorite part was actually meeting and getting to know all the guests that we got to host.

Fast forward to 2016, and after my Mom died I decided to use the money she left me to buy a foreclosed cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. I spent only one month furnishing and decorating, and this is when I first started hosting guests at a second home. My family thought I was crazy. I remember the strongly-worded email I got from my Grandma telling me what a bad idea this was.