I Wish I Had Known This Before I Started Co-Hosting

When I first started co-hosting, I had no idea how important setting boundaries would be.

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If I could go back, establishing clear boundaries from the beginning would have been my top priority. Some clients don’t have them, some don’t respect them, and others acknowledge them but then violate them regularly. Without boundaries, your co-hosting experience can quickly become chaotic and stressful.

Like many people, I entered the world of co-hosting with rose-colored glasses. I was excited and focused on the positives, expecting everything to run smoothly. I didn’t anticipate the challenges that would arise, particularly those related to boundaries. Reflecting on my experience, I realize that the lack of boundaries was the single biggest mistake I made early on.

When we signed our first two clients to our attorney-vetted co-hosting contract, I felt confident that everything would go smoothly. But as soon as we went live, the issues started pouring in. One client would jump in and message guests before we had a chance to respond, while the other would send follow-up messages offering “further clarification” after we had already replied to a guest’s question. This made us appear confused, unprofessional, and disorganized to our guests. It was a mess, and that was just the beginning.

The communication issues weren’t limited to guest interactions. Our clients would text us with random questions at all hours—10 PM, 5 AM—and expect immediate responses. They would call us seconds after a guest reported a maintenance issue, demanding to know what we were doing about it.

My initial reaction was anger. How dare they expect me to be on call 24/7 for non-urgent matters? Yes, I would get the running toilet fixed, but I needed more than 30 seconds to handle it!

Then it hit me: the reason my clients were treating me this way was that I had failed to set clear boundaries from the start. Our contract didn’t outline them, and we hadn’t discussed them during onboarding. I had allowed this behavior to continue unchecked.

I knew my capabilities, my skill set, and that I was a proactive problem solver. But my clients didn’t know that—at least not in the beginning. To them, I was just some guy with a few STRs, and they felt the need to monitor my every move.

I realized I needed to have a tough conversation with my clients. I had to assert myself as the expert in this relationship. I knew how to respond to guests’ questions appropriately, how to handle maintenance issues promptly, and how to manage pricing. I also needed to establish that I wasn’t available between 8 PM and 8 AM, and that I was in charge of the listing copy.

We also went back and revised our contract for future clients. It now specifically addresses guest communication, our availability, and other critical issues. We revamped our onboarding process to clearly outline what is and isn’t acceptable behavior from the start.

I won’t pretend that all boundary-related issues with clients have disappeared. Some clients still text me late at night, but now we wait until the next morning to respond because we’ve set that precedent. Overall, our clients now respect and understand our boundaries, allowing us to run our business more efficiently and with less frustration.

The lesson here is clear: set boundaries early—right from client number one! Don’t wait for problems to arise before you establish the rules. With clear boundaries, you can maintain control, reduce stress, and create a more professional and effective co-hosting experience.

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