Being a host

BE EXCITED TO HOST

The MOST important thing about being a Bunk-a-Biker host is enthusiasm. You should only consider being a host if you truly enjoy helping riders, meeting people, or being supportive. Please do not sign up because you feel obligated to. You are welcome to be a guest, a host, both, or neither. It takes both hosts and riders for us to have a community.

Don't forget to take a picture with your guest and share it on Facebook, Instagram, etc! That shows other riders that Bunk-a-Biker is fun to be a part of and attracts more members.

SET UP YOUR PIN

On your profile, click “Your Host Pin” and fill in all of the information. We have provided a lot of easy to click options for your map pin and we recommend using all of them, plus adding a little bit about you/your accommodations in the “About your place, shown on the map” box. The more information you provide up front, the more likely that the guests contacting you will be a good fit for what you provide. All new pins submitted to the map will need to be approved by the admin before they appear on the map.

To have a pin on the map, you must be able to provide at least 1 of these things:

- A bed, couch, air mattress, floor space, cot, recliner, parked RV, bunkhouse, or other inside sleeping space. (Inside sleeping space is red.)
- Yard space, some trees for a hammock, a shed, a barn, or shop for camping-style accommodations that guests will need to bring their own gear for. (Outside sleeping space is green.)
- Garage space, tools for maintenance or repairs, or storage space. (This is optional for any pin color.)
- Tools, trailer help in the case of a breakdown, or local information. Or if you are a motorcycle shop owner, priority help for broken down travelers. (Non hosting support is blue.)
- If you have inside and outside space available, your pin would be purple.

*** You are not required to provide meals to a guest, but you can if you want to. Make sure to ask for any allergies or eating restrictions beforehand so that they can happily break bread with you. ***

Your address is private. The map will show a pin near your address and you can set how close that is. Your address can be provided via the map or you can choose to send it directly to guests when you've approved their stay.

You MUST use a real email address when setting up your account. That is how we reach hosts about anything that matters.

If you are going to be unavailable to host for a short period (less than a year), you can pause your listing rather than deleting it. Pausing costs you nothing and there is no penalty for it.

GETTING CONTACTED BY A GUEST

We advise guests to start a message to a host with their name, “Bunk-a-Biker”, when they are asking to stay, how long, and who's with them. Even with all of the reminders throughout the website, you might still get a message that says “hey can I stay with you”. We encourage you to set your boundaries up front and if people don't meet them, simply tell them “you're not available that night”.

*** Even if the answer is no, please respond to texts and emails from guests. If they don't hear from you, they might let us know and we will check in with you to make sure you're doing okay (not in the hospital or anything like that) and that you're still hosting. ***

Before you say yes to a guest, make sure to remind them of your rules. (Arrival time, departure time, alcohol/smoking/drug policy, whether you have pets or smoke inside, the parking situation, and what accommodations you are offering.) If a guest has an issue with your preferences, letting them know upfront will not only negate a potentially uncomfortable guest/host situation, but also give them time to make other arrangements.

CHECKING OUT A POTENTIAL GUEST

When you receive a message, it's easiest to ask the guest if they've stayed with anyone else, for their social media links, or pictures of them and their bike. Any guest with honest intentions should be willing to share that info about themselves beforehand. If you prefer to look for them instead of asking, go to the Bunk-a-Biker Hosts Only group to search for the guest's name. If you don't find anything about them, you can ask your fellow hosts. The other thing you can do if you're unsure about someone is ask them to call you as you can learn a lot about a person by hearing them speak or have them meet you at a local gas station before giving out your address.

If you are ever uncomfortable about a guest, say no. Don't force yourself to do anything you aren't comfortable with.

If you ask for pictures of IDs, please understand that identity theft happens very easily off of a picture of an ID and many people guard that information. Many guests will refuse that simply to make sure their information is safe. Texting and email are not secure methods of communication with all of the hacking going on these days.

ONCE YOU SAY YES TO A GUEST

The number one complaint from our hosts are NO CALL NO SHOWS from guests. Due to this, we recommend that you let guests know what your plans are and how they can fit into them. Ask them to update you throughout the day so you know when they will arrive. We do not recommend that you alter your plans to accommodate the guest. If you have plans and cancel them just to have a guest not show up, you might feel regret or consider quitting, and we don't want that to happen. If someone isn't considerate enough to let you know that they won't make it, please report it. We keep track of these things so that anyone who repeats this behavior will risk being banned from the community.
*** You do not have to provide the same accommodations to every guest. Many hosts prefer to only offer camping space until they meet the person staying with them, in which case they might invite them to stay inside. This is entirely up to you. ***

SETTING UP YOUR PLACE TO HAVE GUESTS

All of these suggestions will not apply to all hosts, nor are they a requirement. We just want you to be as ready as you can be to host a traveling rider.

- A spare room is most comfortable if you provide a multi plug outlet to charge devices, a nightstand lamp, and clean sheets. Whether you make the bed or ask your guest to is up to you.
- For the bathroom, lots of hosts have leftover travel/hotel bottles of soaps and towels left out. And if you host women, make sure the trashcan has a liner so they can take it out with them if they have hygiene requirements. Also, don't forget a dirty clothes hamper or tell the where to put their towel when they're done with it.
- A guest book is a fun way to track who has stayed with you and a good place to put the WIFI password too.
- If you want to provide your guest a little souvenir, poker chips, stickers, and patches are well liked!

WHEN THE GUEST ARRIVES

- Be welcoming and outline all the places they are allowed or not allowed to go. If you want to and you have some bottles of water on hand, it would be a nice thing to offer.
- If the guest is staying indoors, get them familiar with where the bathroom, shower, refrigerator, food, and water is. They will likely want to get cleaned up before chatting with you.
- Inform them of meal plans; whether they need to feed themselves, if you’re going to cook, or if you’d like to go out to eat.
- If outdoors, let them know where they can set up a tent, where to use the bathroom, and where they can/can’t ride their motorcycles.
- Give them a bit of space to “wind down” from the road. Traveling on a motorcycle has its stressful days and some travelers need to decompress, clean up, and/or organize themselves before fully engaging in socialization.
- Let the guest know what the “check out” procedure is; whether to wake you up if they need to leave early, if they can just leave, if they need to be out before you go to work, or if they’re to simply lock up on their way out.
- Make it known how your animals behave and how to handle them;whether they’re indoors only, if they’re prone to biting/hissing, if they may try to run out the door, etc.
- Try to be understanding that some people are introverted and may not talk or interact much. It doesn’t mean they’re rude, that’s just how they are.
- There may be moments where both you and your guest run out of things to say. It could feel awkward so always feel free to excuse yourself for a moment so both parties can gather themselves.

SAFETY

This is a self-moderated network. We make no promises of safety or security, and we encourage you to vet anyone you are thinking of hosting and to listen to your instincts. Remember, guests are being as cautious about coming to your house as you are about letting them in. Try not to ask anything you would not be glad to provide yourself.

- Meet somewhere public first if you like.
- Post on Facebook about your guests coming! It shows a lot of people not only who you're inviting over, but also encourages people to join the community.
- Take photos of your property before and after, and tell a neighbor or a friend that you have someone staying.
- Ask for social links to get a sense of someone. Bear in mind not everyone is on social media, and that is not by itself a reason to distrust someone.
- Move valuables out of common areas. Not because anyone is likely to steal, but because there is no reason to cause temptation.

If you think something has been taken, please look around thoroughly first. Once an accusation is made against someone, it cannot be unmade and it can do real damage to someone's reputation who did nothing wrong.

OTHER HOSTING CONSIDERATIONS

Hosting 2 or more guests at once: Sometimes riders travel as a couple, a group, or as parent and child, so consider whether you can accommodate more when setting up your pin.

During the off season months when it's cold and/or wet, you may get requests from those hauling their bikes to an area better suited for riding. Be ready to answer if someone asks if you have space and willingness for something bigger than a motorcycle to show up.

If you have a preferred type of guest such as only women, couples, solo travelers, veterans, etc, you are well within your rights to add that to your map pin. All we ask is that you are forthcoming about it so guests who don't fit your criteria will know not to contact you. Please operate within your comfortable zone.

WHAT WILL GET YOU REMOVED

Here are some behaviors that can get you removed as a host:

- Pressuring a guest to stay if they change their mind.
- Deliberately damaging their property - knocking their bike over, standing on their gear., etc.
- Stealing.
- Getting drunk or high and becoming a problem, starting a fight, etc.
- Anything sexual or perverse. This is not a dating site.
- Getting physical with them in a violent or sexual way.
- Not taking no for an answer.
- Trying to manipulate them into staying.

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG

If anything possibly criminal happens, contact the police. If there is a misunderstanding you cannot settle between you, contact us and we will mediate. We decide together whether someone has earned a warning or removal.