Safety: The only thing you need to fear is fear itself

When I tell people that I do airbnb one of the first things they say is. "I could never feel safe doing that." "Or how do you feel safe letting strangers into your home when you have children?"

At first I didn't.

I was so nervous about my first guest. She ended up being fabulous. Really I still think that my first guest was the best. She really set our expectations high.

Right after her we had a guest stay that I will refer to as the crazy lady. I felt so violated and scared by her. We weren't sure we wanted to do it anymore. We had such a good first experience that we decided to try again. The next couple months were filled with learning experiences.

Even though some of our guests were a little odd, I felt safe having them there. I have had hundreds of guests. I leave out my purse and laptop in plain sight and I have never had a problem.

I eventually moved my kids and I into the same room with me. Not because I had a problem with any guest. But because my kids are small and I wanted to be safe than sorry. Plus they ended up in my bed every night anyways. Might as well start in the same room.

Both the guest and the host are a little in a precarious position. Really either of you don't know what you are going to get. But if we were going to live lives where we were scared of everything then we wouldn't be able to leave the house. That would be a life not worth living.

Airbnb makes guests and host verify themselves before they can host or stay. The more points of verification the better. If you aren't sure about a guest have them verify more on the site you are using, or decline them. It's not worth the money to have someone in your home that you aren't comfortable with.