In 2016, my husband and I listed the mother-in-law apartment in our basement on Airbnb. Since then, we’ve moved into the house next door, turned the upstairs of the old house into another short-term rental apartment, and hosted over 1,000 guests.

We love welcoming people into our home, and we’ve learned a lot from hosting over the years. While there’s only so much one can extrapolate about humanity from having a short-term rental, there’s also a lot we’ve learned about people that has surprised us.

Most people are good in the world. I love people. I want to meet all and chat with all. I was told many times that the way I see the world would fade- but it never has. People have continuously showed me that most are good. Sure there’s some rotten eggs. One time I got robbed…— Santa Decides (@SantaDecides) May 23, 2026

Most people are good in the world. I love people. I want to meet all and chat with all. I was told many times that the way I see the world would fade- but it never has. People have continuously showed me that most are good. Sure there’s some rotten eggs. One time I got robbed…— Santa Decides (@SantaDecides) May 23, 2026

1. The overwhelming majority of people are great

The first and most unexpected lesson we’ve learned is that most guests are kind, respectful, and leave the place in good shape. Unfortunately, the negativity bias of social media skews reality. People with complaints, both hosts and guests, share them online. People who have great experiences generally won’t.

Of the 1,000 people we’ve hosted, I can count on one hand the number of truly problematic guests we’ve had. Yes, those experiences were bad. But that good-to-bad guest ratio has been a delightful surprise. It’s not even like it’s 90-10. It’s more like 99-1. It’s been a humanity-affirming experience.

2. You can tell who will........

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