I have a big todo list, otherwise known as an inbox (101 emails now
). When things are going good, I’ll get that inbox down to ZERO, which
means I’m keeping people happy and generally doing all I want to do.
One recent departure from my inbox was a task for me to list my frequently vacant downtown Hong Kong apartment on Wimdu.com.
What is Wimdu?
Wimdu is a new breed of “social travel” sites, first made famous by Airbnb.
These sites allow common folk like me to list their apartments, rooms,
houses, boats, etc online for any interested travelers to make
reservations to stay. The concept is great, it opens up an amazing
amount of cool places to stay and people to meet all over the world.
Hong Kong apartment I’m listing
A good friend of mine has allowed me to use one of his apartments in
downtown Hong Kong, in the district of Sheung Wan. I also have another
apartment I lease about an hour out of the city, in a place called Tuen
Mun. Between these 2 apartments, my full-time study and frequent trips
overseas for work and pleasure (my wife and kids are in Manila,
Philippines), the apartment remains vacant a lot of the time.
When I told my friend about this new type of social travel site,
Wimdu, he agreed we should put it online and see what happens. The rest
remains a mystery…. until the next paragraph!
See my Hong Kong apartment listing on Wimdu
Immediate Response
Wimdu’s awesome HK staff, offer to come and take professional photos
to help make your listing look appealing. On the day of my Photo shoot,
Charlene Choi, Wimdu’s HK CEO (and awesome girl), told me there was
already someone interested to stay in my apartment as soon as that
night. Well, this was definitely going to be a rush for me, but it ended
up the guest was coming from mainland China the next day, so after
accepting, I did have some time to prepare.
Hustle Hustle
While I’d just managed to get the bare necessities in time for the
photo shoot, right after, I went and procured some goodies for my first
official Wimdu guest.
Better than Shangri La
Most of my close friends will know that I am a die hard Shangri La
hotel lover. It’s the service. They always make you feel good and are so
well trained in customer service and guest relations… I just love it,
though cannot often afford to stay there
. My aim in letting out my apartment on Wimdu is to give guests an
experience even better than that which could be received at the Shangri
La. High standards, I know, but there are some areas I have an
advantage, such as:
- Knowing more about my guest via social profiles and extended correspondence prior to their stay
- Complimentary food and toiletries (I like to offer a complete
selection of goodies to ensure the guest does not need to leave the
apartment their first night/day/week if they are tired) - Personal concierge services (3G iPad/iPhone rental, personal tour
guiding, luggage collection from anywhere in HK, currency exchange,
etc…)
While somewhere like the Shangri La or most hotels for that matter
may be limited by their procedures and guidelines in the maximum service
they can offer, something like Wimdu allows for new levels in
accommodation service previously only available in Bed n Breakfast
establishments.
Having previously worked in various hotels in Australia and other
hospitality roles in both Japan and Australia, I think I have an idea
what makes guests happy and want to help make people’s travel and
accommodation overseas more comfortable and enjoyable.
Meet and Greet
One other great benefit of being a host or guest in Wimdu, is that you get to actually MEET new friends from around the world.
Sandor Lau, was my first Wimdu guest, and I could not have been
connected with a more interesting and nice guy for my first guest.
Sandor is a really interesting guy, and I’ll let his websites ( sandorlau.net | Facebook
) tell the whole story, but as a Hungarian/Chinese raised in the USA,
making cool documentaries and working with NPOs, he’s definitely someone
worth meeting!
Though I was certainly in a rush to get the apartment ready for my
first guest, I believe Sandor had a great experience (notwithstanding
the dodgy water heater issues I could not fix in time).
Here’s the great review he left me on Wimdu:
In more than a decade of traveling, Leon was one of the
most gracious hosts I’ve ever had. His place is small and tidy, and very
convenient, just a short walk from Sheung Wan MTR station and just a
block from plenty of retail stores and food, and a short walk to
ferries. The balcony really adds to the place. I was coming from
Shenzhen to meet some people for hiking and was running late on the MTR.
Leon came and met me at the station to pick up my bags so I could go
straight to the hike and wouldn’t be late. He took my bags to the
apartment and gave me a printout of a Google map to where I was meeting
the hikers. When I got back to the place, the fridge was stocked with
snacks and beer! When I had to bid a fond farewell to HK to catch my
early flight out of Shenzhen, Leon made a personal wakeup call visit,
brought me hot breakfast, and took me by taxi to the bus station
himself. At 4:30 in the morning! Thanks Leon for making it such a great
stay.
I’ve not been much of a social person the last 5 years or so, with
programming through the night and now studying in the remaing hours.
Wimdu offers me a chance to meet new people and hopefully make them
happy with great accommodation and hospitality.
I’m looking forward to my next guest coming in a few days. The
scheduling calendar provided by Wimdu for my apartment is rapidly
filling up due to the central location and no doubt helped by Sandor’s
glowing review.
If you have a spare room, apartment, boat or even castle (yes, there
are castles on Wimdu!!), I recommend offering to be a host. I know next
time I travel overseas, I’ll be hunting through Wimdu for a more
interesting travel experience.
