Owning an Airbnb can be very rewarding and lucrative, but hosting is often challenging because managing a short-term rental business requires much time and effort. But there are ways to make the hosting process more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Here, we share some Airbnb advice for hosts that will help you stand out among the competition and make your journey to success faster and easier.
You may also want to check out our blog post, where we share some Airbnb hacks to help make your life as a host easier.
Airbnb Advice for Beginners
If you’re looking to turn your house into an Airbnb to become a full-time host or make additional money in your spare time, here is some Airbnb advice to help you succeed.
Be honest when creating your listing
You’ll be competing with thousands of listings, so invest time in a detailed description and professional photos to make your listing stand out. Include everything you offer in the description and highlight your property’s best features and amenities.
Provide as much information as possible, keeping your ideal guests in mind. Try to answer all possible questions your guests would have and let them know exactly what to expect at your rental space.
But don’t exaggerate, and make sure your listing is accurate. If your place has challenges, tell about them so travelers can know what they’re getting into. If your guests arrive and find exactly what they expected, they’ll be more inclined to leave you positive reviews.
Complete your Airbnb profile to show that you’re real and make travelers feel like they know and trust you. This way, you may encourage potential guests to book a stay with you.
Automate your communication with guests
Guest communication is critical on Airbnb, so being responsive to your guests and their requests is a good place to start. Try to respond to your guest messages as fast as possible and check in with them before, during, and after their stay to make them feel welcome and cared for.
The best part is that you can automate your Airbnb messages at all customer journey stages using vacation rental software like Hospitable. You’ll be able to create a personalized message flow for each guest using templates and applying shortcodes to them. You can also set message rules and schedule messages in advance to provide your guests with the necessary information at the right time.
Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep
Be flexible with check-in and check-out time
Remember that your potential guests are travelers, so it’s not easy for them to arrive at a specific time. Do everything to ensure they can count on you for a smooth vacation no matter what flight delay they might encounter.
The best solution is to install a smart lock, which you can manage remotely from your smartphone, and offer your guests a self-check-in. Then, you should provide your guests with clear self-check-in instructions and include photos for each step of the process.
You can rely on automation to proactively upsell late check-outs when you have a free spot in your calendar.
Keep your Airbnb rental spotless
Your property’s cleanliness will affect your Airbnb rating, so ensure that your property is spic and span for each guest. Your cleaning checklist should include deep cleaning the sofas and pillows, vacuuming carpets and rugs, mopping floors, dusting all surfaces, washing and replacing bedding and towels, and replenishing supplies in every room.
Cleaning for Airbnb guests is time-consuming, so you may want to delegate this important task to professional vacation rental cleaners and automate assigning tasks to them using tools like Hospitable.com.
Set competitive prices
Price is an important factor for guests when deciding where to stay, so you should research to find a competitive price similar to other vacation rental properties in your local area. You also need to ensure that your nightly rates cover your operational costs and allow you to make a profit.
Although Airbnb offers Smart Pricing, it’s not your best option. The platform will underprice your listing because it’s working to maximize the profits for itself. A better solution is implementing a dynamic pricing strategy using tools that automatically suggest pricing based on current market trends and supply and demand data.
Airbnb Host Advice: How to Attract and Maintain Constant Bookings
When your listing goes live on Airbnb, you are ready to start receiving bookings. But you’ll need to do more work to maintain a consistent booking rate and get repeat bookings. Here’s some Airbnb host advice that can help you achieve that.
Improve your listing’s ranking
Airbnb is a highly competitive platform, and many new hosts join it daily. So, you need to take steps to increase your listing’s ranking on Airbnb results pages. This way, you can improve your visibility and booking rate. Here is what you can do:
- Use relevant keywords to ensure your listing appears in a proper Airbnb category
- Upload stunning photos that can inspire travelers
- Regularly update your calendar and prices
- Quickly respond to booking inquiries and other messages from Airbnb guests
- Provide great customer service to get as many 5-star reviews as possible
Use vacation rental automation
Invest in vacation rental management software to automate your property management. Tools like Hospitable can help make your life easier and achieve long-term success.
With Hospitable, you can automate almost all your routine tasks and streamline all your processes, making your business more efficient. As a result, you’ll be able to ensure better customer service that can help you get more bookings and positive reviews and improve your host rating.
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Moreover, Hospitable will allow you to run your Airbnb remotely and ensure that all your operations run smoothly without your presence. You may want to check out the success story of Jason Wolohan and his wife Rachel, who use Hospitable to manage their rental property entirely remotely without sacrificing attention to detail or guest experience.
Market your property on multiple channels
Listing your vacation rental property on other OTA platforms, such as Vrbo and Booking.com will help reach a wider audience and increase your visibility and chances of getting bookings. Creating your direct booking website is another effective way to drive traffic to your listings. This way, you can control your marketing and build relationships with your guests to encourage repeat bookings.
Never stop learning
If you are thinking about starting a vacation rental business, our Airbnb advice for hosts can give you a chance for a great start. But if you want to succeed in Airbnb hosting, you should realize there is always more to learn in the highly competitive STR market. The vacation rental industry is always evolving, so you must be willing to keep an open mind and do your best to stay on the pulse of the hosting community.
Luckily, many free resources are available online—you can join host groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, subscribe to YouTube channels focused on managing vacation rentals, and attend online webinars. Check our selection of short-term rental books and trusted consultants. You can also find many tips for Airbnb hosts on our blog.
