How to Become an Airbnb Host

Airbnb is a popular OTA website that connects travelers with places to stay and things to do around the globe. Over 5 million Airbnb hosts in 220 countries provide their guests the unique opportunity to live like a local while traveling.

If you're considering offering an extra room in your house, would like to list your entire apartment for a share on Airbnb, or are looking to buy a property, this blog is for you. Learn how to become an Airbnb host to have the flexibility to earn extra income and meet new interesting people from all over the world.

How to Become an Airbnb Host

If you're interested in hosting guests, getting started on Airbnb is straightforward. But to become a successful host, be prepared to put in some good old-fashioned hard work along the way. You should be ready to go above and beyond to ensure a memorable guest experience, and it will be easier if you opt for short-term rental software like Hospitable.

This way, you can ensure you don’t miss out on anything essential and keep control over your short-term rental business. Hospitable will help you seamlessly manage your listings across multiple platforms and streamline your operations.

Whether you want to become a full-time Airbnb host or get extra income, these steps will help you get started.

1 Do Some Research

If you’re looking to buy an Airbnb property, you should first do market research to choose an attractive location with high tourist traffic and find suitable properties for short-term rentals. The most important metrics to pay attention to are the occupancy rate and the average daily rate, as they indicate the profitability of each location for short-term rental properties.

Doing an STR market analysis can be challenging, so a good idea is to use Airbnb analytics tools to help you identify high-demand areas and estimate the profitability of any rental property you’re interested in. If you plan to buy an Airbnb property in the US this year, you may also want to check out our blog article to find out the best cities for Airbnb investment in 2025.

You must also research local laws that apply to short-term rental properties in your area and understand the tax implications of running an Airbnb business. Depending on where you live, there might be legal restrictions on renting your home short-term.

Do your research beforehand to ensure that short-term rentals are something you’re allowed to do in your neighborhood. Some cities may require you to obtain a business license, a short-term rental license, or a special permit, and violating local regulations can result in substantial fines. Therefore, it is best practice to visit your local government website and check for STR laws and regulations before proceeding with your listing.

2 Get to Know Airbnb

Before you list your STR property on Airbnb, spend some time on their website to learn more about how the platform works. Explore the various features and examine existing listings to find interesting ideas for inspiration that will help you prepare your rental space to welcome guests. A conducive place for new hosts is Airbnb’s Community Center. Here, you can find answers to commonly asked questions and practical tips from other hosts.

You should also learn more about Airbnb’s terms of service and policies to get a good idea of what is expected of you as a host. It’s essential to remember that the global Airbnb community is built on trust, so all hosts and guests are expected to uphold specific standards and follow Airbnb's rules, which help ensure safe interactions on the platform and foster a sense of belonging.

Make sure you have a good understanding of the key Airbnb policies that you are required to comply with:

• Host and guest safety policies address or prohibit unsafe conditions or behavior, including providing unsafe listings with safety hazards. Hosts are responsible for making their rental space safe for guests, so you may want to check out our article to find tips on how to minimize safety risks to Airbnb guests.
• Host Privacy Standards promote the safety and security of private information and prohibit certain behaviors like interfering with other people’s ability to use a private space. To protect guests’ privacy, hosts are not allowed to install security cameras and recording devices that monitor any part of a home's interior. You may want to check out our blog article to learn more about the Airbnb camera policy.
• Community Disturbance Policy bans disruptive parties, open-invite gatherings, and other disturbances to the surrounding community (e.g., excessive noise) during stays. Please note that hosts are not permitted to describe their listings as party- or event-friendly.
• The Major Disruptive Events Policy explains how Airbnb handles cancellations and refunds in the event of large-scale events that prevent ongoing or future reservations from occurring or are legally prohibited. This policy covers events such as unforeseen natural disasters, government travel restrictions, and public health emergencies.

3 Create a Listing for Your Place

Create an Airbnb account and list your property by entering basic information about your listing with easy-to-follow prompt questions. You’ll be asked for details such as the location of your property, the type of property you’re offering, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other information regarding amenities.

Write a detailed description of your listing to help travelers understand the kind of experience they can expect if they book your rental. Give your place a catchy, exciting name to attract the attention of potential guests, and explain all the details of your rental property and amenities that make it special. Let people know what's available to do in the neighborhood. Think about the types of guests you want to target and highlight your rental’s best features and amenities that may help attract their attention.

Remember that the Airbnb algorithm categorizes listings into clusters based on their location, style, specific amenities, nearby travel activities, and other factors to help travelers find the right rental. Consider the Airbnb categories in which you want your property to be listed and use relevant words and phrases in your title and property description.

Make your Airbnb listing stand out by providing high-quality photos of your space. Airbnb recommends adding at least one image of each room your guests can access, as well as the exterior. Ensure your rooms are clean, well-decorated, and inviting to give travelers a clear idea of where they’ll stay.

You may choose to take photos of your STR property yourself. You may find it helpful to check out our blog article, which shares some tips on taking great photos of your Airbnb listing to tell a compelling story about your place. It's also a good idea to hire a professional Airbnb photographer who can help you showcase your rental space in the best possible way and attract the attention of potential guests.

4 Set Your Prices

What you charge is always up to you, but we recommend looking up competitive pricing for Airbnb listings in your area and then creating your pricing strategy. Make sure that your nightly rate covers your operating costs and allows you to generate a profit. Start low and increase your prices once you get a few positive reviews. Airbnb will suggest a price per night based on your location and the size of your rental property, but it’s up to you to decide whether to accept the proposed rate or not.

5 Establish Rules and Expectations

Add your house rules to help guests understand your expectations. Include details about whether or not you’ll allow smoking, pets, and extra guests on the property. Set your check-in and check-out times, as well as your quiet hours. It’s essential to establish clear boundaries for your guests, but also ensure you don’t overdo it with rules.

6 Complete Your Profile

Creating an Airbnb profile is essential in establishing personal connections with travelers and building trust. You should provide enough details to help potential guests get to know you as a person. Upload a photo that clearly shows your face so that others can easily recognize you. Add a detailed bio written in a conversational tone.

Becoming an Airbnb Host: How to Succeed

Now that you know how to become an Airbnb host, it’s time to decide whether it will be worth your time. If you invest more time in providing the perfect experience for your guests, you’ll likely receive more bookings, more positive reviews, and a higher ranking. Then you’ll appear more frequently in people’s search results and will be able to secure more bookings and earn more money.

Therefore, you’ll need to put more effort into your rental space to furnish and decorate it, making it as beautiful, functional, and comfortable as possible. You’ll also need to allow ample time to be available to respond to your guests’ concerns as quickly as possible. Still, with the proper planning, becoming an Airbnb host can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Automate Guest Communication

As your vacation rental business grows, you’ll receive many messages from current and potential guests. Maintaining clear and prompt messaging with guests to provide them with the necessary information is time-consuming, but it’s critical to making them happy and becoming a successful host. The good news is that you can automate this aspect of your business, as well as many others, with Hospitable and save a significant amount of time.

With Hospitable, you can automate messages at all stages of the customer journey and ensure proactive, personalized communication with guests using templates and shortcodes. Powered by AI, our system can detect questions on more than 20 topics in guest messages and answer them instantly using your pre-written templates. You can also take advantage of the Suggest with AI and Improve with AI tools in your Inbox to quickly create detailed, personalized responses when messaging guests manually.

Encourage Guest Reviews

Positive guest reviews are very important for your reputation on the Airbnb platform and can help your listing appear higher in search results. So, you must provide excellent service and encourage your guests to write reviews about their stays.

It’s vital to be proactive and review your guests first. Then Airbnb will notify them about that, encouraging them to review you. You can also remind your guests to leave you a review in your check-out message.

Use Dynamic Pricing to Maximize Your Profits

You can’t just set a fixed price for your listing and forget about it. You need to regularly check and update your pricing in accordance with market trends. Optimizing your nightly rates according to seasonality will enable you to maintain a high occupancy rate and increase your revenue. The easiest way to set flexible rates based on real-time demand is to use a dynamic pricing tool powered by AI, which helps you set your prices automatically with ease.

Hospitable users can leverage our built-in Dynamic Pricing to maximize revenue and occupancy in their properties. The good news is that our Dynamic Pricing solution is included in Host, Professional, and Mogul subscription plans at no extra cost.

If you enable this feature for your properties, Hospitable will combine your settings with real-time market data to generate recommended nightly rates and immediately push them to all your connected booking channels. Your prices will then be automatically updated every 24 hours, based on the latest market conditions.

Maintain Good Relationships with Neighbors

Your Airbnb property may receive great reviews and generate a steady income stream. But if it’s in a residential area, there’s always a risk that your neighbors are unhappy about having strangers around their homes, especially if any issues arise. Neighbors are most likely to be upset with excessive noise, late-night parties, or uncontrollable guests who smoke in non-smoking areas.

That’s why you should prioritize establishing trust and rapport with your neighbors and taking measures to prevent common neighbor complaints, which can cause serious obstacles to your business. Setting clear rules on issues that might disrupt relationships with neighbors and screening your guests before you accept bookings is essential. You should also invest in noise monitoring tools that can help you detect the noise level in your property via a mobile app and contact your guests before it becomes too loud.

Offer Self-Check-In

Self-check-in is one of the most popular search filters guests use when browsing Airbnb to find a place to stay. Travelers appreciate the flexibility of this option, which allows them to arrive at their convenience. Offering it will make your listing more appealing.

The simplest solution is installing a lockbox for storing keys, but it’s somewhat outdated. Today, an increasing number of STR hosts are investing in smart lock technology that eliminates the need for physical keys, ensuring a seamless experience for both guests and hosts.

List Your Property on Multiple Channels

Airbnb is a great platform to list your property and earn additional income, but it should be part of a broader strategy. You should also embrace other channels to increase your exposure and get more bookings. List your rental space on multiple vacation rental websites (at least major OTAs like Vrbo, Booking.com, and Agoda) to reach different traveler audiences.

Are you unsure which platform is the best option for you? Check out our blog post, where we compare Vrbo vs. Airbnb and learn about the key differences in their features, fees, cancellation policies, and the audiences they target. We also recommend you check out our Booking.com host guide for beginners.

Focus on Repeat Direct Bookings

If you’re serious about building a thriving STR business, you can’t rely only on OTAs like Airbnb. You should create your vacation rental website for direct bookings. It will enable you to build your brand and establish strong relationships with guests, fostering their loyalty and encouraging repeat bookings.

You don’t need technical skills to build your direct booking website if you use our dedicated service, Hospitable Direct. You’ll have complete control of your bookings and the way you market your property, and we’ll lighten the load by taking administrative hassles off your plate. Your property will also get listed on Google Vacation Rentals, and you’ll be able to get direct bookings without paying high third-party fees. 

Bottom Line

Whether you rent out a single room in your apartment or an entire house, it’s important to treat your Airbnb not as a side hustle but as a profession. Hopefully, with our tips on becoming an Airbnb host, you should be able to start an Airbnb business and build an income with your vacation rental property.

By providing accurate details in your listing, ensuring prompt communication and a spotless rental space, and doing your best to meet guests’ needs, you’ll be well on your way to providing the great experience that guests expect. This way, you’ll increase your chances of getting more 5-star reviews that will help you win more bookings and make more money.