Għalliema żżid id-dħul mal-pensjoni tagħha billi tilqa' n-nies

When high school history teacher Viv hosted her son’s wedding on their family farm in New South Wales, Australia, she had fun transforming an old sheep-shearing shed into a crash pad for the groomsmen.

When the weeklong party was over, she thought, “What next?”

Viv, an animal lover with a passion for horses, toyed with the idea of hosting the shed on Airbnb, but wondered what visitors would think. Was it a rustic room by the stables or a one-of-a-kind garden cottage near the charming village of Cowra?

It was while visiting her first Airbnb home in Portugal a few years later that Viv thought, “I can do this.” Maybe hosting was her ticket to funding her passion for horses while staying socially active as she transitioned to retirement after 40 years of teaching.

“I wanted a source of income that would let me indulge my expensive passion for horses,” she says. “I've always had champagne taste on a beer budget.”

She listed her shed in late 2016. Apart from adding appliances and insulation, Viv decorated the space using items on hand—cowhides, farm-fresh eggs, garden flowers.

Bookings came fast. Guests raved about the star-filled sky and warm greetings from the "furry friends"—among them a horse named Topaz and a dog named Chardonnay—at the front door. “This experience is why I prefer staying in an Airbnb rather than in a hotel," one guest wrote.

Viv loves the synergy that hosting farm stays provides. Her horses are “totally sponsored by Airbnb,” and they delight her global community of guests.

“I get so much joy from people coming and going,” she says. “As a history teacher, I find it enriching. And it's really lovely feeling part of the Airbnb family—a bonus I honestly never expected.”