Small business can be such a fun! You just need to tickle your brain a little bit and to make the things feel like a game then thousands of crazy or wonderful ideas will come, so probably you will need a list to not forget them. Do not treat your business like a “business”. Imagine yourself on the other side of the “barricade” and ask yourself what would make you happy and you will be amazed!
You will not want to stop “working”
Someone told me once these great words: “Work at something you love and you will not “work” all your life”. But, actually, you can grow love in everything you do. For example, I hate washing dishes, but love to have a nice sponge and like to make bubbles. So… you can imagine… if you see me now in a dishwashing moment, maybe I will look like an old girl playing with the soap froth.
Life is too short to make the things with no fun and love! Instead of complaining and starting the day with “Oh, I have to go there and to do this…”, why not just say, “Wow, I will make my job today such fun that everyone will be jealous about the fun I having”. Hunt for great moments and inspirations! If you don’t like the word “hunt”, ok, “create” great moments and inspirations. Your brain is so powerful! Use it!
The phrase cards
But – oh! – I went got a bit off track from the main idea… which is: how to make Phrase Cards for your foreign Airbnb guests. Yes, you will have guests from all over the world and some of them will know only 10-15 words in your language or maybe not even that much. And they definitely will not know the area, the neighbourhood, the great sites around your place. They will know almost nothing about the spirit of your location.
So, as their host, you are the person who needs to help them not only to sleep in your bed, but to feel all the spices of your locality. You can save their time and help them do the things easily – By making a pack of phrase cards!
In my article Hand drawn map for your airbnb guests. I showed you how to create a hand drawn map of the area even though you are not an “artist” and have never drawn a single line in your life before. Yes, I know there are wonderful city maps, but yours will be unique! And will it be a wonderful souvenir. And, if you put your contact details at the bottom of the card, one day someone will call you and say: “Hi there! Mary and James told me that they had a great time at your place! I want to come too!”.
So, the cards! Yes, your guests from distant foreign countries will probably travel with their own phrase books. But they will not know how to say in your language “Please, tell me where is Papa Joe’s secret brewery” for example. Maybe this fictional Papa Joe and his secret brewery are famous among the long-time residents of this location. Of course, you’d never suggest anything criminal, but you might pass on a funny name given to a place by the neighbours as a joke, for example. The point is that by giving your guests small hints like this, you are giving them something like a “secret handshake” with your world. You are making them special and more welcome.
The nicest way is not just to give them a list with information. It is better to make something special – a pocket version of the basic “Neighbourhood information”. The basic idea is to offer this information bilingually on Phrase Cards with one side of each card in English (or their language) and the other side in your (local) language.
The way I am making the phrase cards
First, I cut from a thick watercolour paper about 15 small rectangles with a size close to a business card.
After that I made the corners round – to be easy to put the cards in a pocket or wallet.
After that I decided on the colour scheme. The colour scheme is very important – different themed cards must be easy to find. Especially the emergency ones, because as you know, anything can happen, people get panicked, especially when they are in unknown place.
So, I made four colours schemes. Red – for medical and health emergencies. Blue – for police and connected information, the local emergency number. White – for normal situations and suggestions of where to go or how to ask about recommended locations. (It will be good if you connect them with the map. For example, I put green dots on the cards with recommended markets, restaurants, bars and beaches. My guests will see the same green dots on the Survival kit map.) And yellow – with the residential address.
To make these I used again watercolour markers (love this technique!) and a water brush – great for saving time and keeping the working space tidier.
Very easy to see and find in a small package as you can see:
It is not necessary to make a lot of cards. Your guests are not babies. They just need some hints & tips on how to have a better and more enjoyable visit to your world.
So, have fun, tickle your fantasy, look around your area and make the most inspiring and helpful Phrase Cards ever! Оk, mine are not, they are just an idea, which needs some more improvement. But yours will be! For now we are using these phrase cards in our Airbnb place.
Enjoy!
