If Stephanie Hays ever travels to Las Vegas, she’ll probably stay in an Airbnb, as she’s done in dozens of countries.
This will come as a relief to the hotels there, which would likely prefer Hays steer clear of their casinos given her propensity for beating incredible odds.
A Chattanooga native, Hays is one of 12 individuals from around the world who will spend a year living in Airbnbs as part of the company’s “Live Anywhere” program.
Hays was chosen from a starting field of 314,000 applicants.
“We felt like we’d won the lottery,” says Hays, 35. She includes her British husband, Peter Woolcock, and their nearly 2-year-old son, Hays, in the winners’ circle.
“We hadn’t slept for weeks. Every stage of the process narrowed down the field of applicants but made it seem like more of a long shot. And the further we progressed, the more we wanted it.”
Looking at Hays’ credentials as a dedicated world traveler, one might wonder why she ever doubted Airbnb would choose her.
Hays and her husband have traveled to more than 70 countries and lived together in Shanghai, London and Mumbai for two years each. Before the pandemic grounded the family in the Scenic City, traveling abroad was not something they reserved for vacations, it was part of their lifestyle.
“I love waking up in a big city and knowing there’s something new to discover,” she says. “There’s a restaurant we haven’t tried, or a neighborhood we haven’t explored.”
Hays cites the food as one of the things that draws her to a country.
“I love Indian street food,” she gushes. “When I managed a tour company in Mumbai, I developed a street food tour with my colleague, Asim, that became our fastest-growing attraction.”
Hays loves Chinese breakfast street foods, as well, including jianbing, which are similar to crepes, and boazi, a steamed bread roll stuffed with any variety of filling.
The Chattanooga native also includes the people and public transportation on her list of the things she most enjoys experiencing in a foreign country.
“We love big, bustling cities.”
Airbnbs have been a part of Hays’ travel itinerary since 2012, when she and Woolcock stayed in someone’s home in Lisbon, Portugal.
“We stayed in a great neighborhood where there were no hotels in sight. It was totally local. We loved getting a real taste for the place.”
Living overseas has also been a part of Hays’ nomadic way of life. In 2008, she and Woolcock met in China, where they lived for two years. (She jokes she and her husband met the old-fashioned way – at a bar in Shanghai.)
Next came an equally long stint in London, where they converted a small bedroom into an Airbnb out of financial necessity.
“That was the only way we could survive there, but more importantly, traveling is our favorite thing, and hosting guests who are traveling is the next best thing because you meet people from all over the world,” Hays explains.
Their first guest was an Italian named Fabio who was living in Lisbon. When he arrived, Hays and her husband were sitting down to dinner, so they invited him to join them. The three of them wound up spending the evening conversing and getting to know each other.
When Hays and Woolcock traveled to Portugal in 2012, Fabio acted as their tour guide.
“Airbnb will tell you it’s all about connection and belonging, and we’ve found that to be true,” Hays adds.
By the time Hays and her husband moved to Mumbai, they were seasoned Airbnb hosts.
“Mumbai is our favorite place in the world. It’s truly special. I enjoyed our experience there because I was able to help people navigate a challenging city, whether I was booking train tickets for them or finding them a place to eat,” she recalls.
Hays and her husband are now Airbnb “Superhosts,” a designation the company reserves for hosts it says provide an exceptional experience. This gives them a selling point in the local market, where they’ve hosted guests in two homes.
As a Scenic City resident who loves her hometown as much as any other place she’s experienced, Hays says she’s enjoyed introducing people to Chattanooga.
“I’ve told everyone everywhere how much I love this city, so to then host people who come here and unbiasedly love it as well, and tell you they’re having a great time, is exciting.”
Hays’ experience as an Airbnb host has been uniformly positive, so she doesn’t have any guest horror stories to share. But after nearly a decade of short stays at Airbnbs while venturing beyond their borders (they have booked 41 Airbnbs in 19 countries), she and Woolcock will now test their limits as they tackle longer-term living via the same concept.
“We’ve always wanted to travel for a year, so the fact that Airbnb removed the accommodation side and gave us the ability to work alongside a brand to which we’ve been loyal for almost a decade is a dream come true,” Hays notes.
Leaving Chattanooga for a year will mean more than leaving their home; Hays and Woolcock will both be quitting their jobs as well before leaving Sept. 1. Hays is currently employed at Chattanooga Tourism Company, while Woolcock runs an after-school soccer program for Hamilton County Schools called Operation Get Active.
One thing the couple won’t be leaving behind is their budding toddler, who will not only present fresh challenges for Hays and her husband as they travel abroad but also push them to explore new frontiers.
“Keeping him safe during the pandemic will be challenging. But we’ll also be looking for different things. We used to look for bars and nightlife, and now we’re looking for parks and playgrounds.
“A major silver lining to 2020 was the extra time we spent with Hays; it’s such fun watching him learn and discover new things every day. So, the thought of seeing the world through his eyes is exciting.”
While Hays and Woolcock would like to visit destinations in Asia during their yearlong jaunt, they’re curtailing these plans due to cities in that part of the world shutting down as the coronavirus resurges.
Instead, they’re planning return visits to cities where they wished they had been able to stay longer, such as Rome, and new stops, such as Mexico City, which would be a new notch in Woolcock’s belt.
“More than 20 million people live there, so it ticks a lot of boxes for us,” Hays says.
The only criteria the family must follow is staying at least one month at each place so they’re able to experience what it’s like to live in an Airbnb for an extended period of time.
While Hays and her family are gone, they’ll also serve as hosts in absentia, as their home will be fully open to Airbnb users. (As of last week, they already have five bookings.)
Hays adds she has “itchy feet” after more than a year of being in one place, so she’s excited about traveling again to experience new places, people and food. But above all, she’s looking forward to sharing these things with her son.
“How could we forget his first sentence if we hear him string it together in Turkey? Or his first bite of octopus if he tastes it in Japan? We’ll remember the moment he learned to jump if it happens in Morocco and the look on his face when he meets monkeys in Peru,” she writes on a website she created as part of the “Live Anywhere” application process (WeLiveAnywhere.com).
“He won’t remember these things, but they’ll shape him.”